“As ONB’s board went through a strategic planning for the future, we realized Main Street Birmingham has some programs we need to develop in the City Center and we have some expertise that can be helpful in the neighborhood commercial districts,” said Fleming, who was the founding Executive Director of Main Street Birmingham before accepting his position with Operation New Birmingham in 2011.

“We plan to build on our solid track record in catalytic development, district marketing and small business support in the City Center and in the neighborhoods,” said Barbaree-Tasker. “In our planning in the coming months, we’ll identify the improvements and enhancements to our programs that will pick up the pace of revitalization in Birmingham.”

Operation New Birmingham (www.YourCityCenter.com) is a non-profit, public private partnership between the City of Birmingham and the private business community. Its primary mission is economic development in the Birmingham City Center. ONB’s overriding goal is to make the Birmingham City Center the #1 choice for business, living, healthcare, education and the arts & entertainment.

Main Street Birmingham, Inc. (www.MainStreetBham.org) is a nonprofit agency working to foster neighborhood commercial district revitalization. In partnership with the City of Birmingham, the program targets nine urban commercial districts to spur economic and job development.

We’ve had constant requests from area businesses, media outlets and interested neighbors to spill the beans. We haven’t even announced our finalists. But that hasn’t stopped reporters from sniffing around. Here’s a preview article from The Birmingham News’s Martin Swant. ABC 33/40 also used the opportunity to take a larger look at what’s going on in Avondale. And then, there’s this great article from a regional real estate blog on our little marketing ‘experiment.’

Communicating Vessels’s owner, Jeffrey Cain, says the 55th Place Arts location will be the site of the label’s general operations, serving as a hub for the company’s record promotion, radio promotion and planning with artists. “It’s a place where people can come together and collaborate, commiserate or strategize the next move.”

“Communicating Vessels is exactly the kind of business we had in mind when we conceived of 55th Place Arts,” said Main Street Birmingham Interim Executive Director Elizabeth Barbaree-Tasker. “We think businesses that encourage young creatives to see Woodlawn as a home will soon drive demand for more development in the area.”

Main Street Birmingham, Inc. (www.MainStreetBham.org) is a nonprofit agency working to foster neighborhood commercial district revitalization. In partnership with the City of Birmingham, the program targets nine urban commercial districts to spur economic and job development.

At Main Street Birmingham, she will be dedicated to its Urban Food Project, working to create and support foot-related businesses that address a lack of access to healthy foods in Birmingham’s urban “food deserts.”

“Since we’ve worked so closely with Taylor, we know she is the perfect addition to the Urban Food Project. She brings a knowledge of the local food economy, the players and the challenges. And she knows what the solutions need to be and how to achieve them,” said Main Street Birmingham Interim Executive Director Elizabeth Barbaree-Tasker.

“As an avid gardener, I am passionate about celebrating locally sourced food. I couldn’t be more pleased to contribute to Main Street Birmingham’s efforts,” said Huff.

Huff begins working at Main Street Birmingham on February 9.

Main Street Birmingham, Inc. (www.MainStreetBham.org) is a nonprofit agency working to foster neighborhood commercial district revitalization. In partnership with the City of Birmingham, the program targets nine urban commercial districts to spur economic and job development.

Local, national, and international experts in green design and transportation, intelligent technologies, environmental sustainability, health and livability, economic development, and government and public policy will join forces on Thursday, February 16, at the inaugural UAB Sustainable Smart Cities Symposium to share their ideas for making Birmingham a model of smart growth, healthy living, and sustainability.

Birmingham Mayor William Bell will present opening remarks and discuss the City’s successes and future plans for developing a smarter Birmingham. UAB President Carol Garrison will also speak. UAB Provost Linda Lucas, Ph.D., and UAB School of Business Dean David Klock, Ph.D., will moderate a panel discussion that will include keynote speakers:

Cathy Crenshaw, President and CEO of Sloss Real Estate

Oscar E. Diaz, Co-founder and President of Global Solutions Dynamic Plus (GSDPlus)

Frank Franklin, MD, PhD, Professor Emeritus of the UAB School of Public Health

Manuel Olivera, Regional Director of the C40 Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI)

Enrique Peñalosa, Former Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia

Carlo Ratti, Director of MIT SENSEable Labs, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The daylong symposium, which will take place at UAB Alumni House at 1301 10th Ave. South, is hosted jointly by the UAB School of Engineering, the UAB School of Business, and the UAB Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center. Co-sponsors include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, GSDPlus, and the National Institutes of Health. The event is free and open to the public. Online registration is available at www.UABSSC.org through Monday, February 13.

And then there’s the “mainstream media.” FOX6′s Good Day Alabama welcomed ABC’s Coby Lake and Main Street Birmingham’s Elizabeth Barberee-Tasked last week to talk “Occupy,” and a reporter from ABC 3340 popped by the brewery for a quick interview too. We have three and a half weeks left in the contest. Can’t wait to see what happens next!

Judges will give preference to businesses that incorporate food, the arts, retail or that drive foot traffic to the area in some way. “We are looking for a business that will compliment the brewery, a business we can share customers with,” said Coby Lake, one of the owners of Avondale Brewing Company.”

“This is a great example of the kind of innovation that is happening in Avondale and surrounding neighborhoods. Main Street Birmingham is proud to be partnering with merchants and residents who are investing in making their communities better,” said Main Street Birmingham Interim Executive Director Elizabeth Barbaree-Tasker.

Interested applicants can enter the contest online at MainStreetBham.org or at AvondaleBrewingCompany.com.

Main Street Birmingham, Inc. (www.MainStreetBham.org) is a nonprofit agency working to foster neighborhood commercial district revitalization. In partnership with the City of Birmingham, the program targets nine urban commercial districts to spur economic and job development.