1 of 3
Photo by Erin Nelson.
Patrons attend the West Homewood Farmers Market on opening day June 7. The market is held each Tuesday from 5 to 8 p.m. in the parking lot of Shades Valley Community Church in West Homewood.
2 of 3
Photos by Erin Nelson.
People cross West Oxmoor Road in West Homewood as they attend the West Homewood Farmers Market on June 7.
3 of 3
Photos by Erin Nelson.
Patrons dine at Pizzeria GM.
Eclectic, international, family-friendly.
These are the ways West Homewood residents and business owners describe their community.
Once viewed as the “other” part of Homewood often not mentioned by city residents, the neighborhood has seen exponential growth in the last decade or so and is now thriving, residents and community leaders said.
West Homewood is an attractive place to live, work and play, said Erik Henninger, a member of the West Homewood Neighborhood Association.
It’s a suburb that is historically diverse and “has an international flavor that you won’t find anywhere else in Alabama,” Henninger said. It has a historically affordable housing market, even though it's becoming less so, he said.
“It has a great community feel, with Hall-Kent Elementary being the heart of it,” Henninger said. “It’s a great elementary school. I think it attracts a lot of families.”
There is also more walkability in front of businesses along West Oxmoor Road, he said.
The city has invested a fair amount of money into the area, with the additions to Patriot Park and the streetscapes around it being an example, he said.
“I think the city is giving it [West Homewood] a fair amount of attention lately because there was a lot of low-hanging fruit, like the pool,” Henninger said.
‘Pouring gasoline’
Building a strong community often means finding “where there’s a spark and pour[ing] gasoline,” Homewood Chamber of Commerce Director Meredith Drennen said.
In West Homewood, that spark was Patriot Park.
Formerly a golf course, Patriot Park held a ribbon cutting in 2012, highlighting the renovations made at that time, which included adding a ¼-mile walking trail, new lighting, bathrooms and a playground. Upgrades were added over the years, with the addition of a pool in 2019.
West Homewood has “grown up around” the park, Drennen said.
Businesses will go where they see investment, Drennen said.
“There’s power in numbers in that sense,” she said. “They know it’ll be looked after.”
One of Homewood’s strengths as a city is not having “all of our eggs in one basket” from a business standpoint, Drennen said. There is a diversity of businesses across the city, including West Homewood.
From industrial complexes including Buffalo Rock and the new Milo’s Tea Co., to neighborhood favorites like The Little London, Seeds Coffee, Ash and Pizzeria GM, the stretch of businesses in Wildwood along Lakeshore, to the international cuisine found along Green Springs Highway and Valley Avenue, there’s something for everyone to enjoy in the region.
Not only do new businesses continue to locate in the area; businesses like Taco Bell and Chick-fil-A in Wildwood have rebuilt and remodeled their restaurants, bringing in more tax dollars and customers to the area, Drennen said.
Seeds Coffee was one of the first businesses to locate in West Homewood around the same time as the park renovations.
Jeff Huey, one of the partners at the nonprofit, said when they first moved in, they “never thought” about building community life in West Homewood.
Over the years, Seeds leaders have learned a lot about how they helped set the tone for life in the area.
“We’ve built a following in West Homewood,” Huey said.
The area was “desolate” when Seeds first moved in, Huey said. But over the years, as businesses like Nexus Fitness, Pizzeria GM and Little London came to town, things changed, he said.
“The neighborhood just kind of popped up around us,” Huey said. “When people have a place to call their own … it helps with what the city’s trying to do.”
Seeds is a place where people can connect, have meetings and be part of a community, Huey said.
Positive changes
Former City Councilor Joe Falconer recalled a time where there was only one restaurant in West Homewood, a time where Patriot Park was nothing but a golf course.
The times have changed, to say the least.
“We’ve come a long way,” Falconer said. “It’s the hot side of Homewood.”
Bill Hickman, who works for Barber Companies, helps lease office space to businesses in West Homewood and said there’s no shortage of diversity. From multinational companies to state agencies, accounting firms, janitorial companies and more, the area has seen major investment, something that wasn’t always the case.
“It’s changed dramatically,” Hickman said.
One of the major aids in that growth was the purchase, development and sale of the property now occupied by Pizzeria GM. The city of Homewood purchased the property and sold it to its current owners, a move uncommon for municipalities, but one that has greatly benefited the area, Hickman said.
Not having an occupational tax is also a boon to the city of Homewood in general, Hickman said. It saves employees 1% of their income, incentivizing them to not only live in Homewood, but to work there as well.
While Hickman said he doesn’t feel the area gets as much attention as its neighbors, he feels city leadership has done a good job serving the community.
Falconer agreed with Drennen that Patriot Park served as the “catalyst” for the area, bringing in popular restaurants, among other options.
“People will drive a distance if the food is good,” Falconer said.
The area hasn’t always had a positive reputation, at times being seen as the “red-headed stepchild” of Homewood, he said.
“People would shy away from it because it’s on ‘that side’ of the interstate,” Falconer said.
“That side” of the interstate has typically had more crime than other parts of the city, said Sgt. John Carr with the Homewood Police Department. That’s due in part to it being closer to the interstate, having more businesses and more commuters, he said.
Still, compared to the crime statistics from more than a decade ago, West Homewood has become much safer and is “nowhere near” where it was in the mid-2000s, Carr said.
Having police headquarters move there in 2020 has helped, he said. The Police Department also has a good working relationship with residents and business owners in the area, Carr said.
The success of Patriot Park and the stellar reputation of Hall-Kent Elementary has helped bring the average age down in the neighborhood, along with the rest of the city, Falconer said.
“People want Hall-Kent,” Falconer said.
With that growth has come a major increase not only in the number of residents, but in the price of homes, Falconer said. A realtor for RealtySouth, he said he would “never have dreamed” of homes in the area being in the $400,000 range back in the day. Despite the high prices, they don’t last long.
“When I list something, it’s usually gone very quickly,” Falconer said.
In addition to renovating Patriot Park, the city of Homewood is currently working to revitalize Green Springs, adding a median and beautification efforts, along with road improvements.
Landscaping items were slated to be finished near or shortly after the end of June, and new pavement has been put in. New traffic signals and pedestrian walk signals have been added as well. BIke lanes are also being added. The project was expected to be completed by the end of July, said Clark Bailey with Kimley-Horn, who is overseeing the project.
City Council President Alex Wyatt said West Homewood has probably undergone the “most significant” of transformations in the last 10 years. There are families daily enjoying Patriot Park, eating at restaurants, and the atmosphere in the area is “exactly what you want out of a neighborhood,” Wyatt said.
Maintaining the senior center in West Homewood has also brought benefits as well, joining the renovations and additions to Patriot Park as a “catalyst” for the growth of the surrounding area, Wyatt said.
“It really has been a success story for the city moving forward,” Wyatt said.
Ward Two Councilor Carlos Aleman moved into West Homewood in 2016 and lives near the senior center. At that time, there was no Pizzeria GM and no pool at the park.
“It’s been an incredible transition,” he said. “People are recognizing the value of West Homewood.”
The “jewel” of West Homewood is Hall-Kent, Aleman said, highly regarded for its diversity. It has made Patriot Park a place where visitors can see “people from all over the world,” he said.
The area used to feel neglected, but the city has stepped up its support in the past five years, Aleman said.
Green Springs, Aleman said, highlights the area’s ethnic cuisine, along with options on Valley Road.
“West Homewood is a little more eclectic, a different vibe,” Aleman said. “We want to see that protected.”
Moving forward
The future of West Homewood is hopefully more of the same, Wyatt said. The city wants to see commercial growth toward Oxmoor Road and the “turkey foot” intersection of that road and Oxmoor Boulevard, Wyatt said.
“As more businesses come in and are successful, that leads to more businesses that want to come in and be successful,” Wyatt said.
Henninger said while West Homewood has a lot of strengths, it also has its weaknesses, including the state of businesses off of the I-65 exit onto Oxmoor. Businesses off that exit haven’t been redeveloped like other businesses along West Oxmoor Road, he said.
“I would definitely love to see more attention, work and thought into what we can do to improve off-the-interstate businesses,” Henninger said. “There has been some discussion, but very little action. There was some planning around the abandoned hotel before the Holiday Inn, but very little action.”
“I think West Homewood has become a much more desirable neighborhood since I moved in 2005, but, that said, there’s definitely a shadow over all that with the hotel and the crime that goes on near the interstate,” Henninger said. “The gateway to Homewood is the Oxmoor exit. Homewood, along with the state and ALDOT, have an opportunity to make that a much more attractive landscape and do some economic development around that area to make the entrance to West Homewood and that transition from Edgewood to West Homewood much more attractive and inviting and less of a problem from a crime standpoint.”
Aleman agreed the city needs an “identity” on Oxmoor Road and a plan on how to develop the largely industrial area. Keeping the area safe is also a priority, he said.
Other projects like the forthcoming I-65 diamond interchange on Lakeshore will be greatly beneficial and will help attract more businesses, Aleman said.
Having the Shades Creek Greenway will allow residents to walk across Lakeshore, connecting West Homewood to the Samford area and existing sidewalks in Edgewood.
More sidewalks, including in the Forest Brook neighborhood, are needed, Aleman said.
Still, the area has changed from the time when it was known as the “other side” of Homewood, and it doesn’t look like West Homewood is looking back, Aleman said. “I think we’ll continue to be a driving force for all of Homewood.”
– Community reporter Eric Taunton contributed to this story.
