Monthly Archives: December 2012

Is it time for a cultural river through Birmingham?

There are a lot of people looking to tomorrow, 12/12/12, as a day of significance. It could be a day that marks a new chapter and an evolutionary leap for a community.

I’d argue a decision of that significance for the future of Birmingham was made late Tuesday morning when the Birmingham City Council reconsidered agenda item 34 at the end of their meeting.

That’s when they decided to unanimously approve the sale of Lot D, the site used as the muse for the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham‘s Prize 2 The Future idea competition last year, to Alabama Power for $2.95 million– based on a recommendation from the city’s Budget and Finance committee. The redevelopment project that has been hinted at when talking about this purchase could include a conversion of the soon-to-be dormant steam plant currently operated across the street by the utility.

Many would find it hard to not agree the property’s location is not ideal or pivotal to the current level of activity underway south of the railroad tracks. Despite years of some disliking when Southside was referred to as downtown, it may become an essential part of its genetic makeup fairly soon. Those who remember the residential development known as The Standard originally slated to go across from Railroad Park at 18th St. well before the urban oasis was completed may notice soil is being moved, perhaps suggesting it may yet move forward, in some form, soon. Keep in mind that Rev Birmingham (formerly ONB/MSB) has promised upcoming announcements about two residential projects close to the park in their recent newsletter.

It got me wondering about what kind of project could be capable of continuing the transform the City of Birmingham. I started thinking about the areas surrounding the parks that Railroad Park are often compared with and found a common theme – one that could lead to a proposal as transformative as the ones considered during last year’s idea competition.

While folks like to compare Railroad Park to New York City’s Central Park, there are many native New Yorkers who’d find Bryant Park a better comparison and one that leads to far more potential. The park acts and looks like more of a living room than most, allowing for an outdoor reading room, movie screenings, fashion shows. The first use included in that list is made possible in part because of the park’s next door neighbor, the main branch of The New York Public Library.

A similar situation is found at Chicago’s Millennium Park, as its eastern edge is defined by The Art Institute of Chicago. There are other examples of civic cultural institutions anchoring gathering spaces throughout the country.

This is why seeing two people who were in attendance at today’s meeting made me think of a crazy idea for  Alabama Power’s rumored project – Kate Nielsen, the Community Foundation’s executive director, and Gail Andrews, the director for the Birmingham Museum of Art.

Ms. Nielsen spoke in support of the sale of the property at Monday’s committee meeting, with the Foundation posting a supportive statement on its site yesterday afternoon. Ms. Andrews enjoys overseeing the largest municipal museum of art in the Southeast, though at times at least 60% of the collection is not available for viewing. An expanded home or an opportunity to establish a second location (similar to what the Guggenheim Museum was able to do in New York years ago), would be extremely beneficial, especially as the eyes of the world turn to Birmingham in the coming months.

Birmingham's Railroad SkylineThere are others that could benefit from such an opportunity – including the Birmingham History Center (though it would still be pretty cool to see them end up at The Powell School long term). All in all, it would enable a cultural stream to run through the middle of our greater downtown area – the ballpark, Railroad Park, Line Park, Sloss Furnaces – connecting our city’s present (an expanding medical-based economy) with the heart of it’s central business district. Now think about it expanding west…

You may not be able to float down that stream per se, but imagine the potential dreamers such an idea could influence and inspire in our fair city? It’s potentially enough to help drive a transformation…

André Natta is the stationmaster for bhamterminal.com

The Cola Wars via Birmingham's billboards

Two North Twentieth through the walls at Regions Field.Yes, this is a photo of construction at Regions Field along the first base wall, taken early Friday morning. They’re doing an incredible job considering they’ve got approximately 120 days until Opening Day.

It’s not so much the construction efforts I was trying to capture but the potential view for those in attendance. It’s something to think about as you take your seats in April.

I’ll explain…

I probably wouldn’t have paid attention to it if I hadn’t been reminded about a story filed by Joseph Bryant for The Birmingham News this past June. That’d be when he wrote about the partnership between the City of Birmingham and Birmingham Coca-Cola Bottling Co. – the one that provides the largest privately-held Coca-Cola bottling company in the country exclusive serving rights at the Crossplex and Legion Field.

Why is this important?

Well, consider the fact that Regions Field will be a city-controlled facility. This would lead many to logically conclude that Coca-Cola will get exclusive serving rights inside the new facility. It also means that you’ll more than likely see signage reflecting this throughout.

A photo shared on Facebook via the Barons’ fan page on Tuesday starts to illustrate a couple of things. You can make out the iconic sign atop Two North Twentieth at the far right edge of said photo. This would be the same sign that’s been before the city’s Design Review Committee on three separate occasions in the last two months (an account of the most recent appearance is available over on Magic City Post). Here’s one of the most recent proposals:

The company responsible for managing the property, Harbert Realty Services, would like to lease it as a large static billboard space to Buffalo Rock for an extended period of time while they raise the funds needed to replace it with a modern LED display. The proposed sign wouldn’t reference Buffalo Rock however; it would contain the iconic Pepsi logo. You’d be able to see it from Malfunction Junction, Red Mountain Expressway, and potentially from inside Regions Field if you’re sitting along the first base line.

Let’s take a moment to think about the number of Coca-Cola billboards currently located in downtown Birmingham. There are four of them – two located along I-20; one located along I-65 (visible as you’re traveling northbound); another located along Red Mountain Expressway as you pass the 2nd Ave. N. exit ramp.

Now how many are associated with Buffalo Rock products? One – located along Red Mountain Expressway before you pass under Highland Avenue on Southside heading northbound. Incidentally, if you didn’t know that Dr. Pepper is distributed by Buffalo Rock, you do now, as it’s the brand featured on this sign.

I won’t even get into the huge Coca-Cola sign most travelers see as they take-off and land at the airport… (It is pretty cool though.)

Don’t get me wrong – there’s nothing wrong with iconic signs sitting outside of ballparks. The most well-known is the one Citgo continues to maintain just outside of Fenway Park in Boston. There is, however, a precedent that suggests the proposed sign here should not be approved as presented. I’m not the only one taking that position either.

It may also be a pure coincidence that there’s been three attempts to get some version of a Pepsi billboard approved by the committee.

Might it not make more sense to use the opportunity to demonstrate your significance as a corporate leader by asking for a display that celebrates the history of our city? Buffalo Rock used to have a very prominent sign in the City Center when it was located within its boundaries. It just happened to reference the flagship product. Maybe it could recognize or inspire us to truly look 50 years forward as visitors from around the world gather in Birmingham not just next year but throughout the next five years?

There’s also the issue of the cost of replacement which depending on which available online calculator you use; this one suggests it can get costly, quick.

It’s also not as if the city hasn’t been trying to reduce the number of billboards in the city. It was stated during a recent Design Review Committee meeting that significant progress had been made – and that the sign atop Two North Twentieth has been grandfathered in under current ordinances.

One hopes that maybe they’ll get the message – and that it won’t have to be posted onto a billboard first in order for them to notice.

André Natta is the stationmaster for bhamterminal.com

Support food trucks: An open letter to Birmingham's Mayor and City Councilors

NOTE: The following is an open letter that was posted as a note to Facebook at 8:24 a.m. December 5, 2012. Shaun Chavis has given us permission to re-post it here in its entirety. Links have been added where appropriate.

Dear Mayor Bell and Councilors of Birmingham,

I am Shaun Chavis, a citizen of Birmingham. Professionally, I am a cookbook editor for Oxmoor House/Time Home Entertainment, Inc. In my spare time, I co-own and organize FoodBlogSouth, LLC, a food blogging conference held annually in Birmingham that attracts food bloggers to Birmingham from across the South and the U.S.

In 2012, our second year, FoodBlogSouth had an impact of more than $110,000 on Birmingham’s economy, as estimated by the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau. FoodBlogSouth also benefits the Desert Island Supply Co., a non-profit children’s writing center in Woodlawn.

FoodBlogSouth has brought new attention to Birmingham’s food scene by bringing hundreds of bloggers and food professionals here to spend money in the city’s hotels and restaurants. Those bloggers go home and write about Birmingham, some of them for professional online and print publications, including the New York Times. In addition, FoodBlogSouth has attracted national corporate sponsors such as Goo Goo Cluster, Roland Foods, Welch’s, Harvard Common Press, and Evernote, who have come to Birmingham to see what our city has to offer.

Cantina truck on Southside. acnatta/The TerminalI am writing you today because I am troubled by the proposed food truck ordinance, as presented in Bob Carlton’s article in The Birmingham News on November 13As an owner of FoodBlogSouth, a business built in part upon the food scene and food tourism that Birmingham has to offer, I must ask that you reconsider sections of this proposed ordinance. I also write as a journalist and food advocate who wants to see our city do all it can to support small business and grow our local economy. The proposal that food trucks sell food for no more than two hours of service at a time, have service hours dictated by the city, and pay higher fees for operating in certain parts of the city are too restrictive and unrealistic. Specifically:

  • The suggested two-hour limit and suggested hours for meal times do not take into consideration special events such as FoodBlogSouth, The Sidewalk Film Festival, and others. These events benefit from having food trucks operate as part of an event and for longer than two hours, in locations near a specific event venue, and outside of the suggested meal times. This is restricting the options we have to make our events attractive.
  • The suggested breakfast, lunch, and dinner hours for food trucks disregard the fact that many food trucks do not serve meals per se; they also serve food that can be consumed at any time and foods that do not constitute part or all of a meal (such as coffee, cupcakes, doughnuts, frozen desserts, snacks, and more). In addition, the suggested hours assume that people eat meals at prescribed times. The proposed hours do not take into account that many people have different meal times due to their work schedules and other demands of daily life. I would also like to make the point that food trucks provide high-quality, low-cost meals; many of Birmingham’s food trucks, such as Shindigs, use locally produced and sometimes organic ingredients, which are healthier than standard fast-food offerings of comparable cost. They also further support the local economy by sourcing ingredients from local producers.
  • In shopping malls and airports, food businesses are often right next to each other. The language in the proposed food truck ordinance suggesting a distance between food trucks and brick-and-mortar restaurants seems unfairly targeted against food trucks.
  • I am concerned that the hours, fees, and restrictions you propose are restrictive to the point that it would not be profitable at all for anyone to run a food truck business; and in fact, several food truck owners have said the proposed ordinance would make vending unprofitable and force them out of business.

My last point, I feel, touches on a much larger issue that I ask the mayor and city councilors to take into serious consideration: The city needs to do more to encourage small business. With high nationwide unemployment rates and a lagging economy, I think it would be obvious that this should be a priority in Birmingham.

Nationwide, food trucks have been an engine of economic growth and employment, and have helped revitalize cities such as Portland (Ore.) and Austin (Texas). Both of these cities have become nationally recognized for their food truck scenes, which have been a big draw for events, corporate recruitment and broader economic and community revitalization efforts. Events have been built around food trucks themselves—Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Las Vegas, and Columbus, Ohio have food truck festivals—that again boost the economy with tourism.

I know many talented, enterprising people who want to start a food business, but the costs can be prohibitive. Organizations around Birmingham are helping to support these entrepreneurs, but the city needs to do more to help these small businesses and, in turn, our overall local economy.

The proposed food truck ordinance, with its fees and hour and distance restrictions, will do just the opposite: It will to deliver a blow to people who are trying to start an honest business on a small scale. It will send a strong and clear message that Birmingham is not a place that encourages fair competition in the marketplace. It will indirectly hurt tourism in Birmingham. And it will mark Birmingham as regressive, as a place not willing or able to stand up to pressure from brick-and-mortar restaurant owners who fear healthy, fair competition.

I hope that you, Birmingham’s leaders, will choose to protect free enterprise. I hope you will decide the appropriate response to any business owner who fears new competition is to suggest that he or she innovate to remain competitive. In fact, many brick-and-mortar restaurants in Birmingham are doing just that by opening food trucks and carts of their own.

Please reconsider the impact the proposed ordinance will have on the economic and cultural health of our city. Remove the time and distance restrictions and location-based fees. I encourage you to set aside the current propose legislation and create a food truck ordinance with language limited to matters of public safety and public health. Prohibit regulations based on competition. There are also alternative solutions used in other cities that are favorable both to brick-and-mortar restaurants, food trucks, and public health and safety, such as lot-based vending, which many food truck owners in cities like Portland (Oregon), Austin, and Miami find preferable to vending on the street. Food trucks should be allowed the same operating hours as any other food service business, and the same opportunities to grow and become part of Birmingham’s employers, tourist scene, and economic engine.

My best regards,

Shaun Chavis
Co-owner, FoodBlogSouth, LLC