The Birmingham City Council this week approved $6 million for construction on the historic Ramsay-McCormack Building in Ensley in hope of finally bringing the long-delayed project to completion.

As far back as February 2019, city officials called for proposals to redevelop the building and properties in Ensley’s historic business district. In recent years, developers have faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain issues, increased construction costs and interest rate changes.

Despite the delays and some community opposition, city leaders said they remain committed to the project.

The $6 million comprises a $2 million initial cash payment, a $3 million forgivable loan contingent on project completion, and an optional $1 million loan repayable over 10 years at the Treasury rate. The overall project is estimated to cost about $20 million, with the developers required to contribute their own funding.

City Council President Darrell O’Quinn said the money is crucial to bringing the building online.

“This is part of the funding that is required to make the development happen. There are some additional funds that the developer will have to come up with to get to the almost $20 million price tag that is going to be required to actually get the project done. The city of Birmingham is just doing its part to make the project happen,” O’Quinn said.

Rick Journey, director of communications for the City of Birmingham, said, “We are fully committed to investing in the Ensley community. A key part of that investment involves the completion of the Ramsay-McCormack Building site. The resources approved today support that commitment for developers to go vertical on the property.”

The city also approved an amended redevelopment agreement on the property “to ensure the project’s successful completion and mitigate risk … structured to significantly protect the city’s investment, providing incentives tied to concrete milestones.”

The developer is expected to commence vertical construction within 120 days of the new amended and restated redevelopment agreement.

The city will lease approximately 6,000 square feet in the new building — five stories as opposed to 10 for the demolished edifice — for a police substation and city services related to economic and community development.

Not everyone was in favor. Ensley business owner Brian Rice said he strongly opposes the agreement.

“For the last three or four years, we have looked at a gravel lot where the basement was filled in, and there has been no explanation as to why they are not developing this property with the first $4 million,” which went toward demolishing the building in 2021, Rice said.

Some of the money could have been invested in the developers, business owners and merchants in the community, he said. “Ensley could be a thriving community if our city supported us. … We’ve seen all this money going to the Ramsay-McCormack and nothing going to us.”

Journey said, “The city’s commitment has never wavered concerning this project. Today’s investment supports efforts to get this development across the finish line.”

The building at Avenue E and 19th Street was named after investment partners Erskine Ramsay and Carr McCormack of the Ramsay-McCormack Development Co.

The building housed the Bank of Ensley on the ground floor, as well as the developers’ offices and local offices for U.S. Steel for several years. Despite a renovation in 1970, the closure of U.S. Steel’s Ensley Works left much of the tower vacant and the building’s doors were closed in 1979.

The city had owned the building since 1983, when U.S. Steel sold it for $1. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 but had been empty since 1986.