Birmingham Faces Critical Housing and Regeneration Decisions This Year

Construction on the $340 million Star Uptown mixed-use development, replacing the former Carraway Hospital, is set to begin in Spring 2026 with 64 new cottages and townhomes expected to be ready by early 2027.

These projects arrive as Birmingham addresses housing needs through multiple approved efforts, including regeneration schemes for neighborhoods that have seen limited prior investment.

Star Uptown Construction Timeline

Work at the Star Uptown site is scheduled to start in Spring 2026. The plan calls for 64 cottages and townhomes to open by early 2027. Local planning teams must now finalize site preparation and permitting steps before that date.

HUD Grant and Apartment Construction in Smithfield-College Hills-Graymont

Birmingham received a $50 million HUD Choice Neighborhoods grant for the Smithfield-College Hills-Graymont area. This funding is expected to leverage over $283 million in neighborhood investments to build 920 mixed-income apartments from 2024-2030. Project managers face decisions on sequencing the apartment phases and aligning private contributions with the grant schedule.

Additional Neighborhood Initiatives

Major regeneration schemes were approved in 2025 for forgotten neighborhoods including Druids Heath, along with plans to demolish the Bull Ring Indoor Market for housing. The city of Hueytown in the Birmingham metro will open a 400+ acre nature preserve in the first quarter of 2026. Shadowbrook, a new community of more than 50 single-family homes, recently opened in the Pratt City neighborhood to expand homeownership in areas facing disinvestment. City staff will next determine how to link these efforts with ongoing housing production and preserve access.

The verified figures show specific scales of investment and unit counts that will guide allocation of resources. Decisions on phasing, contractor selection and coordination between the grant-funded apartments and the smaller home developments remain ahead.