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Backers believe venue can strike the right tune in Woodlawn opportunity zone

Will Mason plans to turn the former Woodlawn Theatre into a music teaching and performance hub, but the project might be more transformative than just revenue and revitalization. A federal program that gives capital gains tax breaks for investments made in economically distressed areas is funding the project at 5503 1st Avenue North in Woodlawn, a neighborhood just east of downtown Birmingham.

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Headland honors local heroes with banners around town

As a part of the Main Street program, the city has started hanging banners of "Headland Heroes." The banners come with a $300 application fee, and the hero has to be approved by the Main Street Committee. The $300 goes toward revitalizing downtown through the Main Street Program.

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City Council approves board for Enterprise Main Street

Enterprise Main Street has its first Board of Directors. A 13-member board as well as an additional seven non-voting, ex-officio members will be working with Enterprise Main Street Director Cassidi Kendrick. The project, part of Main Street Alabama, next will takes its first steps toward planning and preparing for the future prosperity of the city’s traditional downtown business district. The Enterprise City Council on Tuesday night approved the 13 Board of Directors.

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Renovation coming to Masonic Temple in Birmingham

The renovation of Birmingham's Masonic Temple is just a few months away. The empty building - an economic and cultural hub of Birmingham’s early African-American community - is also a key part of redevelopment planned for the city’s northwest quadrant. Project developer Irvin Henderson told property owners in the civil rights district that work to turn the building into an economic incubator should begin this summer and finish by summer of 2021. "The northwest quadrant plan really gives us an opportunity to sync a lot of plans together to actually use the masonic temple as a catalyst for a number of other development opportunities" says Urban Impact Executive Director Ivan Holloway.

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Opportunity Alabama wins national award and grant

Opportunity Alabama, the nation’s first nonprofit organization to create a marketplace for Opportunity Zone (OZ) investment in a state, has been named the best OZ organization in the U.S. for rural communities. Forbes, in partnership with the Sorenson Impact Center, examined more than 100 OZ organizations around the country, judging them on the Opportunity Zone Reporting Framework, which prioritizes community benefit and engagement, transparency and impact. Forbes awarded Opportunity Alabama the grand prize Feb. 5, saying the organization is the best in its category of connecting OZ communities, investors and entrepreneurs, plus larger institutions like banks, universities and development organizations.

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