Nonprofit seeks help to preserve view off Shades Crest Road

The Friends of Shades Mountain group recently purchased another lot along Shades Crest Road in an effort to preserve it from development and now is asking the public for help to pay off the debt.

The nonprofit group, which formed in 2003, bought .41 acres at 712 Shades Crest Road for $40,000 and took out a $30,000 loan to make the purchase, said Larry Rodick, president of the group.

The lot is on the bluff side of the road along a stretch of mostly undeveloped land between Mr. P’s Deli and Tip Top Grill and has a view of Shades Valley below and Red Mountain to the north.

For many years, this lot has held an antenna tower for security alarm companies, Rodick said. One of the alarm companies went bankrupt, so the antenna currently only serves one company, he said.

The Friends of Shades Mountain for now plans to let the antenna stay, but some members would like to remove it at some point in the future, Rodick said. In the meantime, the group plans to clear some of the trees and open up the view as a beautiful vista again, he said.

“We’re trying to save what’s left of our part of the mountain from being developed,” Rodick said. “That’s always been our mission — to preserve and protect the mountain.”

When this piece of property went up for sale, the nonprofit group decided to seize the opportunity. They’re hoping now that people will appreciate the effort and help the group pay off the loan early so the group can save up to $3,900 in interest over the next five years, Rodick said.

The current payments are about $560 a month, he said. If 300 people donated $100 each, the loan could be paid off, Rodick said.

This lot is right next to two other larger parcels that cover about 18 acres of undeveloped land, Rodick said. One 6-acre parcel is up next to Shades Crest Road, and a 12-acre parcel is down the mountain below it and contains the historic Hale Springs, where people from Bluff Park once got their water, he said.

The Friends of Shades Mountain tried to buy those 18 acres when they went up for sale a couple of years ago, but the owner was asking about $600,000, and the group didn’t have that much money, so the property ended up going to someone else, Rodick said. The group tried to get the city of Hoover to help purchase the land and make it a vista point, but Hoover officials had other priorities, he said. Plus, that land is in the Birmingham city limits, he said.

“It’s the last really open section of Shades Crest Road,” he said.

The Friends of Shades Mountain in 2004 successfully fought off development of about 14 lots on the mountainside in Homewood, Rodick said. “It was a pretty healthy battle. It took a year,” he said.

The group ended up buying six of the lots on 3.5-4 acres in Homewood and unincorporated Jefferson County for about $60,000 and was able to pay cash for them because of donations, he said.

Anyone who would like to donate money to help pay off the new debt can contact Rodick at 205-823-7367 or email friendsofshadesmountain@gmail.com. People can mail checks payable to Friends of Shades Mountain at P.O. Box 59651, Birmingham, AL 35259 or send money via Venmo at friendsofshadesmountain@gmail.com.