Where Red Lines Once Kept Capital Out, We're Drawing Green Ones

For decades, the vacant lots at the heart of this Birmingham neighborhood sat as physical evidence of redlining — the discriminatory lending practice that cut communities like this one off from the capital needed to build, invest, and grow. Greenlining Realty USA® was built to reverse exactly that history, and this project is that mission put into the ground: a two-phase development bringing 50 new homes to land the market had written off for generations.

This is the Greenlining difference in its most literal form. Where a red line once meant "no investment here," Greenlining is drawing a new one — in green.

The Project

The development will unfold in two phases. Phase 1 will bring 32 new townhomes to the site, with construction projected to begin in April 2027 and reach completion in September 2028. Phase 2 will follow with 18 single-family homes, expanding the footprint of homeownership across land that has stood vacant for years.

Phase 1 represents a $14 million investment, funded through a partnership between the City of Birmingham, private bank financing, and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds — public and private capital working together in a neighborhood that has gone without either for far too long.

Expanding the Path to Homeownership

Of Phase 1's 32 townhomes, half — 16 units — will be reserved as affordable housing, with the remaining offered at market rate. Projected sale prices range from $250,000 to $350,000. Across both phases, the completed development is projected to house roughly 236 residents at full occupancy — 32 families in Phase 1's townhomes and the households that will follow in Phase 2's 18 single-family homes.

Consistent with Greenlining's mission of reversing the effects of redlining and building real pathways to capital, Phase 1 alone is expected to create an estimated 24 first-time homeowners — including all 16 affordable-unit buyers and roughly half of market-rate purchasers. For a neighborhood shaped by decades of disinvestment, that's two dozen families building equity where none was possible before, with more to come as Phase 2 breaks ground.

Investing in the Local Economy

Greenlining Realty USA® is committing a minimum of 35% of project spending — up to $10 million — to local and minority-owned businesses, ensuring the dollars behind this transformation stay in the community it's rebuilding.

Community Partnership

As with Greenlining's projects in Chicago, this development will grow alongside a network of community partners committed to the neighborhood's long-term success. Partner organizations will be announced as the project moves toward groundbreaking.