Photo by Erin Nelson
The new home of Little Donkey on 18th Street South in downtown Homewood.
Now that the east side of 18th Street has seen expanded parking and beautification efforts in the median of the well-traveled street, it’s time for the west side of the road to receive the same treatment.
The next part of the 18th Street project is to add parking to match the east side of the street to the west side, near the U.S. Post Office, Ed’s Pet World and other businesses on the street. Sidewalks also will be installed and will end near Rosedale Drive, Homewood City Council President Alex Wyatt said.
Parking will be added along the street as well, allowing more residents to park and walk to the many shops and restaurants in the area, both on the north end of 18th Street and the south end, past the Valley Hotel and Central Avenue. The same work has been done on the east side, adding more parking near the Valley Hotel, Edgar’s Bakery, DeVinci’s Pizza, the recently opened Little Donkey and Rodney Scott’s BBQ set to open Dec. 7.
Wyatt said the road, historically, was too wide and there was “nothing remarkable” about the street, especially toward the northern end of the road approaching U.S. 280.
Adding parking spots reduced the width of the road, and adding greenery in the median made it a more welcoming sight for drivers entering Homewood from Birmingham. Part of the second phase of the street’s revitalization is adding a right-turn lane onto the road from Valley Avenue.
The idea of the City Council when the project began was to make the north end of the street match the south end, which sees constant foot traffic and attention at the various shops and restaurants, Wyatt said. The goal was to bring the street “up to form” and “beautify the area,” Wyatt said.
This improves the quality of life for Homewood residents, Wyatt said. It provides an area of the city of which people can be proud, with new sidewalks and lighting providing a nice look for one of the entryways into the city, he said.
While it faced resistance, the new townhome development further along 18th Street will also see some improvements made by the property owner, Blackwater Resources, Wyatt said.
Rosedale residents were concerned about their neighborhood shrinking with the coming development, telling The Homewood Star in May they worried that their historic community was being encroached upon.
Photo by Erin Nelson
Passersby walk along 18th Street South in downtown Homewood on Nov. 4.
Mary Edwards, a Rosedale resident for 88 years, in May said in the beginning, Rosedale was one of the best towns she’d ever known.
“I would describe Rosedale today — the love is still here, but business people have taken over about half of the community,” she said. “Everyone that’s still here knows each other and still associates with each other, and the older people are sick of being moved out of Rosedale.”
Wyatt said the beautification of the street will be beneficial to Rosedale residents because it will allow them better access through sidewalks and a signalized crosswalk to downtown amenities.
Having more businesses open up on that side of town is also beneficial, not just from a tax revenue standpoint, but in providing great amenities to go with better parking, lighting and sidewalks, Wyatt said.
In addition to the Valley Hotel opening in January 2021, Edgar’s Bakery has opened, and several more businesses on 18th Street and in the set to open in late 2021. Mike Mouron, whose company owns 50% of the hotel, owns those businesses, as well as the Valley Mall on 28th Avenue South, which he plans to turn into an Italian restaurant and another separate business.
Little Donkey, relocating from Central Avenue, opened Nov. 15 while Rodney Scott’s BBQ is slated to open next door on Dec. 7. The build-out for those restaurants has gone well, despite his decision to completely redesign the building before starting construction, Mouron said.
Edgar’s already opened this fall and is doing well, and he expects the same of the other two restaurants, he said.
“I think it’s going to be a real boon,” Mouron said.
Mouron also owns nearby Robertson Banking, which is the building next to the BP gas station where U.S. 280 meets Mamie L. Foster, with the latter seeing significant road improvements, Mouron said.
Mouron also owns CapTrust, a financial advisory firm on 27th Avenue South, a block down from Robertson Banking.
Business has been good, not just for the new establishments, but for existing businesses like DeVinci’s, as well.
Ben Sears with the restaurant, which has been in the city for decades, told The Homewood Star in October the development had brought more business to the Italian eatery.
“It’s been fantastic actually,” Sears said. “With the hotel there, we are getting so many guests coming over here. … I can’t tell you how much of a boom this has been.”
Increasing the city’s connectivity and walkability is important for city leaders, Wyatt said. “It has always been a priority and will remain a high priority,” he said.
Wyatt said that, in the future, he hopes the city will increase connection across 28th Avenue, the area around SoHo, headed toward Rosedale.
The next phase of the 18th Street project is funded in part by the Alabama Department of Transportation, which will pay 80% while the city of Homewood pays 20%, a cost of about a cost of $603,000, with federal funds paying for the rest of the $3 million project. Now that ALDOT has approved the project, Wyatt said the plan is for the project to be bid by the end of the year and construction to begin in early 2022. Construction should take six to nine months once it begins, he said.
