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Proposed public safety municipal complex in Ensley. (City of Birmingham)

Ramsay McCormack Building located at 508 19th Street in Ensley (Erin Edgemon/eedgemon@al.com)

Birmingham Mayor William Bell on Wednesday announced a proposed plan to invest $40 million in downtown Ensley for a public safety municipal complex.

The project will include the rehabilitation of the 10-story, 50,000-square-foot Ramsay McCormack Building located at 508 19th Street in Ensley for municipal court. New buildings will be constructed for Birmingham police and Fire and Rescue headquarters.

The complex will move municipal court, police and fire headquarters from downtown Birmingham.

During his Wednesday afternoon announcement, Bell said the development would help revitalize Ensley and spur residential and retail growth there. It would also solve the problem of trying to find a new location for the police headquarters in booming downtown Birmingham, he said.

Bell said he expects the public safety complex to have the same kind of impact on Ensley that building Regions Field did for downtown Birmingham.

The mayor's plan will require approval from the Birmingham City Council.

Bell said he doesn't expect resistance from the community for potentially moving the police headquarters out of downtown.

"There is no rule to say that a police department has to be located in a downtown area," he said.

Before the announcement on Wednesday, City Council President Johnathan Austin said the mayor's office hadn't notified the council about the proposed plan. He said he learned about the public safety complex on social media.

"This is just another example of not only failure to communicate with the council, but also (Bell's) unwillingness to communicate with the council," Austin said.

When asked why he didn't notify the council, Bell said he wanted to let the community know about the plan first.

He said he expects to have a proposal ready for the City Council in the next few weeks.

Bell said $40 million in municipal bonds has already been set aside for a new public safety building.

Bell said a downtown police precinct would remain, but the existing headquarters would be sold.

The city has already received offers to purchase the Birmingham Police Department headquarters on 1st Avenue North, he said.

The Bethel Ensley Action Task, Inc. (BEAT) also has plans to raise $24 million for an adjacent mixed-use development to include residential, retail and office space.

Green space and a parking deck are also proposed in the plan.

Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper said the move to Ensley will be a great thing for the police department and the community of Ensley.

He said police department has needed a new facility for some time.

"The current facility is outdated and antiquated," Roper said. "It is just not sufficient for us to continue to provide police services in a modern society. To have something that is built up, that is built and designed for a police headquarters, that is what we need. We are excited for the proposal."

He said the public safety complex will be "transformational" to Ensley.

Ensley neighborhood President George McCall said he grew up in Ensley, and he hopes Birmingham's investment will bring Ensley "back to what is used to be."

He said the community began to fail after the steel plant closed in the late 1970s.

Neighborhood Secretary Doris Smith said she is excited for the project and hopes it brings families back to Ensley.

If approved, the public safety complex will be built in phases with the first phase being municipal court, the second being police administration and the third being fire and rescue administration.

The city of Birmingham has owned the 87-year-old Ramsay McCormack Building since 1983. The building was completely vacated in 1986.

Andre Bittas, Birmingham's director of planning and engineering, said two to three years ago, the city hired a group to stabilize the building and put in a temporary roof.

"The building is very stable, he said. "We took out the asbestos. We are ready to start renovation of that building."

Bell previously proposed renting the old Social Security Building for $114 million for the police and fire headquarters, or building a new facility in Norwood at 27th Street and 11th Avenue, which would cost about $190 million over 30 years.