The EF-4 tornado that tore through Tuscaloosa April 27, 2011, cost the city an estimated $2.2 billion. In response to the destruction caused that day, Tuscaloosa has been awarded $43.9 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Residents who want to see how the funds will be used to combat the damages can start keeping an eye on eight projects approved by HUD Nov. 5 for the first wave of 2013 Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery-funded efforts.
The projects range from road realignment and sewer refurbishment, to Habitat for Humanity funding and housing assistance, to a forward-looking melding of, among other things, asphalt and fiber optics.
Savannah Howell, Tuscaloosa’s community development program manager, said these projects were selected so both tornado-impacted areas and the entire city would benefit.
“In the days and months following the April 27 tornadoes, the city created a plan with citizen input called the Tuscaloosa Forward plan,” she said. “Many of the projects selected for funding were pulled from the Tuscaloosa Forward master plan.”
A $16.6 million allocation received through a 2012 CDBG-Disaster Recovery action plan funded 12 projects, all developed from ideas in the Tuscaloosa Forward plan. The Tuscaloosa Generational Plan, intended to create a framework for long-term infrastructure investments in areas impacted by the tornado, includes projects deemed as high priority for rebuilding.
“The community vision and ‘Big Ideas’ have directly shaped work on the various infrastructure projects included in this document,” the Generational Plan reads.
“Big Ideas,” which emerged from the Tuscaloosa Forward plan, include revitalized corridors and connected neighborhoods. The City Walk, which connects tornado-impact areas, developed from the “Big Idea” of a greenway “Path of Remembrance and Revitalization.”
Like the projects funded in 2012, this year’s projects include public benefit programs, infrastructure improvements and continued work on the City Walk. Howell said the projects are designed to result in a better Tuscaloosa.
“Although the recovery of the city has been a steady and calculated process, the benefits are already being seen, especially in the economic development area,” she said.
One project – listed as “University Place and Forest Lake Revitalization Infrastructure Project” – will receive more than $3 million toward the extension of the City Walk into a neighborhood that houses students.
In 2012, a similar project dedicated $2.37 million to expand, light and landscape sidewalks to the neighborhood’s elementary school and church. The 2013 action plan describes a 10-foot wide sidewalk with benches, trash cans and Wi-Fi as well as an array of technologies designed to increase safety, accessibility and usability.
“[The] City will bring technology infrastructure attributes such as 1 GB wireless access points, fiber optics, cameras, LED lighting, digital signs and GIS components to the City Walk,” the project proposal reads. “Security cameras will be placed along the City Walk to detect any suspicious activity, as well as LED lighting which can be brightened after a phone call from emergency phones or a personal phone to offer a heightened sense of safety.”
Megan Brantley, the city’s public outreach coordinator, said this tech-savvy twist on traditional infrastructure is part of Tuscaloosa’s high standard for incorporating current technology.
“This is a commitment from the city, university and other community leaders to make technology a priority in future development. This will ensure economic and social vitality in Tuscaloosa,” Brantley said. “This is a ‘Big Idea’ initiative and goes beyond the city’s recovery efforts.”
In fact, this year’s grant dedicates $2.8 million for a “bookless library” in Alberta City, another storm-devastated neighborhood that will also receive a $4.25 million stretch of the City Walk through the 2012 grant. The Alberta Technology Public Library is envisioned as a resource for local residents and UA students and will allow users to check out e-readers with downloaded books, a first for the state of Alabama.
“Since the bookless library will not require a large amount of space, less overhead is expected,” Howell said. “A focus on cutting-edge technology will allow the city to provide opportunities for individuals that they may not otherwise encounter.”
Tuscaloosa’s recovery has been guided by the motto “Build Back. Stronger. Safer. Smarter.”
“Two main components in achieving this goal include technology and connectivity,” Brantley said.
Once the mayor and the Birmingham office of the HUD sign off on the grant agreement, funds will be available for release to the city, which will have two years to complete the projects. Howell said the timeline for project completion means the remaining federal funds will be allocated to projects and submitted as amendments over time.
When the 2013 grant’s first eight projects – collectively obligating $12.8 million of the overall grant, are completed – Tuscaloosa will have cleaner lakes, drainage improvements and environmentally sustainable construction where there once was devastation and disaster – an origin story still echoed in the proposal for the Alberta Technology Public Library.
“The technology library will also offer computer access and meeting space for the public; it is the city’s vision that the space will be utilized by low-to-moderate-income individuals in the area as well as students from nearby colleges such as The University of Alabama,” the project proposal reads. “In addition to offering technology resources, the library will serve as a public shelter during inclement weather.”
