Birmingham moves forward with Next project

By Grace Lovins

After discussions on a new senior and community center that would have served as the new home for Next senior services and the Birmingham YMCA fell through last year, Birmingham City Commissioners authorized city manager Jana Ecker during the Monday, January 26, meeting, to continue the project under the terms set up in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the city and Next in May 2023.

Ecker reiterated Next’s current situation, noting that the organization will need to be moved out of the building on Midvale Street in 2027 because the school district plans to use the entire building. She said the intention with bringing the item back to the commission was to make sure everyone was on the same page about moving forward with the original plan laid out in the MOU.

Since the city’s last discussions on the project, plans for a potential new building that would house Next and the Birmingham YMCA are no longer being pursued. The Birmingham YMCA, which sold the building to the city, announced earlier this month that, after 25 years, it would officially be closing its doors at the end of April but will continue summer programming offered at the location through the end of August.

Outlined in the MOU, the city was to find a permanent home for Next which would occupy 75 percent or more of the building, enter a lease agreement negotiated between the group and the city and pay one dollar in rent per year, among other items. Ecker said that by moving forward, the next step would be to hire an architect to complete construction drawings laying out the renovations that would be needed for Next to move in.

Ecker said that Next is not able to utilize the upstairs and downstairs levels without major improvements, but the main floor has enough operating space for them to work with. Funds from the senior millage, passed in 2023, would be used to pay for building improvements necessary for Next to move in, she said.

Ecker also included in the agenda packet memorandum that improvements would be split into Phase I and Phase II, with Phase I including negotiations for a lease agreement with Next, completing construction drawings for specific upgrades and analyzing how unused space by Next could be used by the city. Phase II would look at renovations to the building space not being utilized by Next.

Lengthy discussion between commissioners alternated between trying to continue working with the YMCA, hitting pause until a lease negotiations have been finalized between the city and Next, and raising concerns over the operable square footage of the building in its current state.

Ecker and Next executive director Cris Braun both explained that moving forward and hiring an architect to complete the drawings would be helpful in negotiations when it comes to determining operable square footage, among other things, and they would like to keep the project moving forward.

Commissioner There Longe, mayor Clinton Baller and mayor pro tem Anthony Long each countered at various points in the discussion that the city has been told repeatedly by the YMCA that they are not willing to stay in the building at 400 E Lincoln.

Ultimately, commissioners voted 4-3 to allow Ecker to move forward with the plans laid out in the MOU. Commissioners Andrew Haig, Brad Host and Bill Kolb voted against the motion.