Mason Music project another step in Woodlawn revitalization

Woodlawn, like many inner-city neighborhoods in America, was decimated by the middle-class flight to the suburbs of the 1970s and 1980s.

But there have been signs the past decade the historic Birmingham community is coming back, such as new housing, retail and eateries.

Woodlawn has kept its own special character, said Jeanette Hightower, executive director of the nonprofit Mason Music Foundation, which offers private music lessons to low-income children in Birmingham and has been involved in the neighborhood since it was founded in 2016.

Woodlawn has maintained an “eclectic, soulful atmosphere encouraging the neighborhood to be proud of its artistic roots,” Hightower told Iron City Ink.

The area is full of “entrepreneurs, educators, philanthropists, musicians and artists, all combining efforts to promote Woodlawn’s public image and return to the flourishing neighborhood it once was,” she said.

In November, Will Mason — owner and CEO of the for-profit Mason Music — announced a project that has the potential to take the revitalization of Woodlawn to the next level.

Mason announced that he’s bought and plans to renovate a commercial space measuring 6,000 square feet at 5503 First Ave. N. in the heart of the Woodlawn business district for two tenants.

One will be Mason Music Woodlawn, part of the Mason Music Foundation.

“We are thrilled to be putting down Mason Music Foundation’s roots in Woodlawn and are excited for the opportunity to serve more families in the surrounding East Birmingham neighborhoods,” Mason said in a news release.

The other tenant will be the Woodlawn Theatre, a 250-seat live music venue that is expected to open in 2020 and will host concerts by touring musical acts, as well as weddings, corporate functions and such community events as neighborhood movie nights and local musician showcases.

The building was the site of the Woodlawn Theatre movie house from 1929-57.

“We’re honoring the building’s history through the renovation, while at the same time re-imagining what it could have been like in the ’40s and ’50s if everyone had been welcome,” Mason said in the release, alluding to the city’s history of racial segregation in the era before the Civil Rights Movement.

Mason said he wants the project to be “positive for the neighborhood, both from a music education and child development standpoint and from an economic impact perspective.”

”We hope to capture some of the 1930s American Art Deco vibe in the music venue to harken back to when this building was a movie theatre,“ he told Iron City Ink.

Mason Music has its own history in Woodlawn. In late 2015, the company was invited by Cornerstone Elementary to provide music lessons for an entire semester for its students in grades one through five, Hightower said. Mason Music has since continued to teach in the Woodlawn area.

The new project should work well in Woodlawn, said Hightower, who noted that in 2015 AL.com called the neighborhood Birmingham’s “Music Row” due to the recording studios and musicians located there.

“It seemed like a natural fit to build on this existing momentum and add to the scene by developing musical skills of the next generation,” Hightower said.

The majority of the students at Mason Music Woodlawn will be on scholarship, Hightower said, and funding is made possible by grants, corporate donors and private individuals.

The cost of the entire project — including the purchase of the property and the cost of the renovation — is estimated at $500,000, Mason said.

“We are still working on contractor pricing and finalizing financing with the bank for renovations, so that could change,” Mason said.

The project is being financed in part through Opportunity Zone investments, an effort supported by REV Birmingham and Opportunity Alabama. The project in Woodlawn is one of the first Opportunity Zone deals to occur in a historic neighborhood commercial district in Alabama.

The federal program was designed to allow investors to offset taxes owed on capital gains by making targeted investments in underserved areas that have been overlooked for typical market-driven investments.

“For my investor group, this deal is primarily a social impact investment,” Mason said.

However, the addition of the Opportunity Zone tax break “sweetened the pot and helped to get people’s attention during initial conversations,” he said.

REV Birmingham and Opportunity Alabama worked with Mason Music to develop its business model for the space and to structure its financial model and legal and financial entities in order to take advantage of Opportunity Zone funding.

“This project promises a community-oriented approach to music, which fits neatly with Woodlawn’s music assets and tightly knit neighborhood,” said David Fleming, REV Birmingham president and CEO, in the news release.

A successful revitalization of Woodlawn “requires a cohesive neighborhood association, a protective public sector and an intentional private sector,” Hightower said.

“Mason Music Foundation will further these efforts by having a presence in the downtown area and offering a place where people can come together and direct their future,” she said.

“This project really is exciting for me because it lands square in the intersection of a host of things that I’m passionate about,” said Mason, who cited factors such as music, business, education, nonprofits, commercial revitalization, learning, community engagement and racial reconciliation.

“An art and music scene is one of the signifiers of a healthy and vibrant city. In a world where society has become increasingly polarized, we are offering a way for kids to connect through an avenue which everyone loves: music,” Hightower said.

Formed in 2012, Mason Music LLC sells musical instruments and provides lessons from professional instructors. For more information, go to masonmusicstudios.com.

For more about the foundation, go to masonmusicfoundation.org.

For more about the new venue or to book an event, go woodlawntheatrebham.org.