Creating vibrant places since 2012
REV Birmingham is a place-based revitalization and economic development nonprofit with a mission of creating vibrant commercial districts and a history of impact. We have been known as REV since 2012.
Here are just a few of our past projects:
But, our story goes way back.
Picture it. Birmingham. 1962.
Operation New Birmingham (ONB) formed to promote commercial activity in the City Center. You may know some of the projects that you can still see decades later. ONB was behind all the 1970s landscaping on 20th Street as well the 1995 creation of the Business Improvement District (BID) that has since expanded and is now known as the Downtown BHM BID (patrolled by CAP ambassadors in bright blue!).
ONB is where lifelong building hugger and now REV President & CEO David Fleming got his start as an intern who loved his city’s history. (Stay with us, there are a lot of acronyms in this story.)
In 2004, David left to create Main Street Birmingham (MSB) to bring some attention to the nine sub-neighborhoods of downtown.
Across the country, Main Street organizations work together to make sure small towns, mid-size cities and urban communities all have access to thriving communities. They do this by using historic preservation and economic development to create strong downtowns.
With Main Street Birmingham, David saw an opportunity to focus on more of Birmingham’s neighborhoods that have the Main Street earmarks such historic buildings, walkability and store-front business potential.
He recruited future REV CFO Elizabeth Barbaree-Tasker in 2011 to join the noble cause. Then, plot twist, David left the organization that he founded to go back and run ONB.
Reader, there were tears.
But their separation wasn’t long-lived. He and then MSB CEO Elizabeth teamed back up to combine the two organizations through a strategic merger to form the ultimate economic development dream team—REV.
REV is the only all-caps word in this story that isn’t actually an acronym. We’re just REV.
Now, REV focuses its efforts in Downtown and Woodlawn. In Downtown, REV manages the Downtown BHM Business Improvement District (BID), which includes the City Center, The Switch and Five Points South, from the CAP Clean and Safe program to placemaking activations to capital projects. In Woodlawn, REV works on initiatives like façade refreshes, placemaking volunteer days, and special events that promote and drive foot traffic to the commercial district.
You can find REV at SocialVenture in Woodlawn or in an office on 3rd Avenue North in the City Center (just across the street from the Alabama Theatre and directly beside Cala Coffee).
Most of REV’s work can be broken down into three categories. First, there is strengthening places. An authentic place has to be clean and safe to attract people in the first place. Then, we focus on creating experiences. People need something to come to when they visit a neighborhood or district, that includes colorful art, dynamic programming and other attractions that keep the character of the area in mind. And, lastly, REV focuses on supporting business owners in the area, whether established or new to the place.
All of these factors add up to vibrancy—where authentic places and diverse people meet.
Want more? Dive into REV's annual reports!
