City Officials Hold Meeting to Address West Montgomery Revitalization
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Montgomery city officials have been working to revitalize West Montgomery for years and it seems like plans are finally coming to fruition.
Officials held a community information meeting tonight at Gateway Park to explain their vision for the area.
Oneita Sankey has lived in Mobile Heights, a neighborhood in West Montgomery, for most of her life. She says she’s seen her community deteriorate over the years and is relieved the city is taking notice.
“I’m very happy,” she says. “It’s a little late but better late than never. So I’m glad to see it. I’m willing to work to do anything that I can to bring our neighborhood back up to what it was.”
And Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange says it will take effort from the residents to revitalize the area. But he says government is also at work.
“You don’t even know about the negotiations that are going across the street with the private developers and the planning organization is working with them to bring not only fast food but also a service station and also perhaps a hotel. You don’t even know about what’s going up at the front side along Court street, where developers are putting in new facilities.”
Some roads in West Montgomery will soon be re-paved, Genetta Park should be finished in the next year and some dilapidated properties are scheduled to be torn down. And community organizations are also working to strengthen the area. Cornelious Jackson with House to House Ministries helps qualify families to get new homes
“For these families to qualify, go through the training and get real nice homes, it’s just so amazing what it does for them,” he says.
And others are working to bring more business to the area. Michael Ingersoll says he wants to open a neighborhood market by February. He says revitalizing West Montgomery is vital.
“It’s a high unemployment area, it’s a food desert and it’s one of the most visible areas in the city of Montgomery because it sits at the nexus of 85 and 65. 300 thousand cars pass by there everyday.”
The Mayor says revitalizing the area won’t happen overnight but he’s confident between the private sector and government help, it will happen.
This meeting was just the first of many city leaders hope to have with residents in West Montgomery.
