Expansion sought for The Community House

By Grace Lovins

The Community House, located at 380 S. Bates in Birmingham, has submitted plans for a large expansion of its current 100-year-old facility, which was reviewed by the city’s planning board as a pre-application discussion on Wednesday, March 22, sparking worry from the board about the design’s possible infringement on neighboring townhomes.

Board members will see the application and designs again on Wednesday, April 26, but wanted feedback on the plans before preliminary review. The expansion and new facilities will support The Community House’s expanded mission, explained architect Victor Saroki, which was recently changed to encompass life, health and wellness.

Bill Seklar, president and CEO of The Community House, stated that the organization has conducted surveys asking what residents want The Community House to be. From those surveys, Seklar said the organization identified critical needs of the community they hope to address, such as helping senior citizens and making the organization more relevant to those aged 20-40 years old. The Community House is proposing to expand services and collaborations with other organizations in the area, and an expanded campus is needed to meet the mission, said Seklar.

proposed drop-off area on Maple, noting the traffic on the street wouldn’t make this concept a good idea.

Stevens explained that the dropoff was partly intended to help ease the flow of deliveries from freelance drivers like Grubhub and Uber. He says it may also help with bigger delivery companies like Amazon or FedEx, given the size of the public alley way in the rear of the building.

Planning board members voted 70 to postpone a decision both for accepting the community impact study as well as approving the preliminary site plan and design because of the concerns with traffic and vehicle access. The applicant will be returning with the necessary information at the meeting on Wednesday, May 10.

Part of the proposal includes having a piece of their campus rezoned from R7, single family residential, to C, for community use, which according to Saroki, would be consistent with The Community House’s uses. The expansion includes a new wellness center on the second floor. where there would also be a teaching facility for a partnering healthcare institution to hold classes.

They will also be redoing the kitchen, said Saroki, and there will be a demonstration kitchen constructed. An outdoor garden will be found on its rooftop, also intended for educational purposes to teach individuals how to grow their own food. The rooftop area will also have a glass observatory. The fourth level will largely be a terrace with a conservatory, said Saroki.

Multiple board members were confused about the use of The Community House. Given the number of uses being proposed in the extension, they said they don’t really understand the mission of the organization.