Southtown residents file suit to stop development

Southtown public housing residents say a new mixed-use, mixed-income development is pushing them out of their homes with no clear plan for where to go next, and they're filing an injunction to stop it.

Inside Southtown's gymnasium on University Boulevard today, Richard Rice of The Rice Firm announced the filing of a suit to stop the development on the basis that fair housing standards were not met and residents not given a voice in the project.

The proposed development would include both subsidized public housing and units leased at market rate, as well as offices, retail, a senior community, green space and possibly a hotel. The partnership for the project, Southside Development Company, consists of Bayer Properties, Brasfield & Gorrie, the Benoit Group, A.G. Gaston Construction, SPM Property Management, Corporate Realty and BREC Development. 

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Irene Johnson, Raymond Fuller Sr., Catherine Headen, Linda Green and Rose Crowder, though notes from Friday's press release said more plaintiffs could be added later. The defendants are the Housing Authority of Birmingham District, the City of Birmingham and the Southside Development Group.

Rice said the defendants have a duty to be "good stewards of these resources." The Southtown public housing project sits on about 26 acres and has more than 400 families.

At the press conference, Rice and Johnson were joined by mayoral candidate Randall Woodfin, former mayoral candidate Fernandez Sims, Richard Dickerson of RAD Communications and Majadi Baruti of the Dynamite Hill-Smithfield Community Land Trust.

Rice said the goal of the lawsuit is an immediate injunction to stop work on the Southtown Development and restart the planning process, including an impact analysis and more opportunities for residents to weigh in. His goal is to minimize displacement, so most residents can return to live in Southtown after the development is complete, and reduce housing segregation.

Irene Johnson, a Southtown resident and neighborhood president, said that though she sat in on meetings of developers when the project was under consideration, she felt none of her opinions were listened to.

"I really didn't have a seat at the table. I had a place for a black person to sit," Johnson said, adding that she felt the process of approving the development was a "betrayal" to the residents.

"I'm not worried about myself ... but I can't sell out the people that live here," Johnson said.

Johnson and 15-year resident Rose Crowder said their primary concern is that Southtown residents don't know the plan for where they might move, qualifications to move into the new Southtown public housing units or whether they'll be able to afford rent.

For residents who are seniors or have disabilities and are living on a fixed income, Crowder said, the financial aspect is particularly concerning. Having to leave Southtown would mean disruption of daily life including doctor's visits, schools and more.

"They did not include us, ... we have no voice," Crowder said. "We don't stand a chance to get back in."

The voice of the residents is a core theme for the lawsuit, as Rice said he wants to "make sure residents are placed front and center." Sims said this is an issue of "seeking justice."

"Is it right to displace people from their homes without their getting a say-so?" Sims said, prompting applause from the audience in the Southtown gym.

Baruti used even stronger terms, calling the development – and gentrification as a whole – a "violent process" against Southtown.

"There is no sharing in the process, only taking," Baruti said. "Human bodies are being pushed out of their homes."

Woodfin, who is prepping for a run-off in October against incumbent Mayor William Bell, said he has had multiple family members live in Southtown and supported the lawsuit to restart the development planning process.

"Southtown is not just bucks, Southtown is people," Woodfin said. "I'm glad this suit is being filed because I do feel there is a breach of duty."

Rice said he hopes to have a motion on the suit in early October. The suit is being supported by the Grassroots Coalition and Black Lives Matter Birmingham, as well.