Southtown Court

Southtown Court or the Southtown Housing Community is a 455-unit housing project located at 2501 University Boulevard in Birmingham's Southside. The community is bounded by 23rd Street South to the west, 10th Avenue South to the south, Red Mountain Expressway to the east and University Boulevard to the north.

The community was first constructed during the administration of Cooper Green. It is managed by Bessie Word. The Southtown Resident Council is presided over by Dondrea Clarke.

Murals

Beginning in 1981 the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District commissioned a series of ten murals from artist Vance Wesson for Southtown. Of them, the most familiar extends along a retaining wall on the University Boulevard edge of the project, a brightly-colored sequence featuring flowers and plants. Other murals face the playground and the day care center.

The Downtown Church organized a volunteer effort to restore some of the murals in November 2007.

Proposed redevelopment

In 2008 Birmingham mayor Larry Langford proposed partnering with the Daniel Corporation and Magic Johnson's Canyon Johnson Urban Fund to redevelop the Southtown site as a commercial district. The projects 730 residents would be relocated to newly-built condominiums or residences, move to other housing projects, or receive Section 8 vouchers for rent assistance. New homes could be built at the Trinity Steel site in Titusville, and some assisted living and mixed-income apartments could be constructed as part of the redevelopment. At a March 31, 2009 meeting Langford asked current Southtown residents to vote on their support for the idea.

In April the Birmingham Housing Authority Board rejected Langford's proposal by unanimous vote.

References

• Long, Laurie K. (1986) "A City With a Face: Street Art in Birmingham." in Ada Long, ed. Birmingham Then and Now. UAB Honors Program
• Coman, Victoria L. (October 28, 2007) "Church seeks workers to restore Southtown mural." Birmingham News
• Williams, Roy L (November 18, 2007) "200-plus volunteers restore faded mural painted alongside Birmingham's Southtown housing complex." Birmingham News
• Norris, Toraine (April 1, 2009) "Southtown residents to vote on razing complex and moving." Birmingham News

External links

• Housing Authority of the Birmingham District
• Restoring the wall video on YouTube