Council Meeting 10/30/23.
Item 20
On Tuesday, the Council approved an agreement with Common Thread Community, opening the door for the organization to expand their small business incubator in District 6.
The Common Thread Community initiative will provide services to the City by supporting 10-15 new small businesses by expanding its existing Cultural Center in the Titusville Project (“The Project”) through the redevelopment, rehabilitation, and enhancement of their facility located on the existing premises at 222 6th Avenue SW.
Councilor Smitherman supported this project with $100,000 from her ARPA funds.
“This is a great initiative for my office to be able to utilize the federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars that we were allocated,” Councilor Smitherman said. “When I first came into office, my number one mission was to revitalize the small business corridor along 6th Avenue South. By providing this kind of assistance to small businesses, we’re looking to get homegrown, local businesses on their feet and out into the community. We’d love to see some of these companies eventually occupy buildings along that corridor that have been vacant.”
Currently, Building One of the Cultural Center houses important community-based organizations such as BuildUp, A4One Sports Facility, Step-by-Step and Cahaba Medical. This expansion will allow for more start-ups to be able to scale their businesses and serve residents in the surrounding areas.
Here is the item as it appeared on Tuesday’s agenda:
A Resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute and deliver an agreement between the City of Birmingham and The Common Thread Community in an amount not to exceed $100,000.00, under which The Common Thread Community will provide services to the City by supporting 10-15 new small businesses by expanding its existing Cultural Center in Titusville Project (“the Project”) through the redevelopment, rehabilitation, and enhancement of Building 2, located on the existing premises at 222 6th Avenue SW, Birmingham, Alabama, into 15,000 sq. ft. of additional office collaborating space for a totaled combined office collaborating space of 60,000 sq. ft., inclusive of both Buildings 1 & 2, with an estimated investment of approximately $525,000.00 by Consultant for improvements to Building 2. [Funding Source: ARPA-District 6] (Submitted by the City Attorney) (Recommended by the Mayor and the Chief Community Planner) **
