By Eric Thomas
What if you could land at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, step outside, and hop on a tram that carried you straight into the heart of the city — through Uptown, the Civil Rights District, the Parkside, UAB, Five Points, Lakeview, and back again?
No rideshare surge pricing. No parking deck. No white-knuckling it through construction on I-20. Just Birmingham, unfolding outside your window, stop by stop.
It sounds like something you’d experience in Portland, Denver, or Atlanta. But this isn’t a fantasy borrowed from another city. This is the Magic City Loop — a 13.2-mile light rail loop that could become Birmingham’s most transformative investment since Railroad Park opened its gates in 2010.
Remember what people said about that park? Twenty-five million dollars for a green space downtown? And yet, according to Bham Wiki, that “gamble” catalyzed more than $2.5 billion in surrounding investment, turning a neglected rail yard into Birmingham’s front lawn and proving, once and for all, that bold civic vision pays off.
The Magic City Loop Is the Next Bold Vision
Think about what Birmingham has quietly built and updated over the last two decades. Uptown. The Parkside District. BJCC, Railroad Park. Rotary Trail, Coca Cola Amphitheatre, Regions Field. The Civil Rights District. Lakeview. Five Points South. UAB’s expanding medical corridor. Pepper Place.
These aren’t isolated pockets of activity anymore — they are a constellation of thriving districts, each one an engine of tourism, commerce, culture, and residential growth. What they lack is a thread connecting them. A living, moving spine that ties the city together and invites people — residents, visitors, students, conventioneers — to experience all of it, effortlessly.
That thread is the Magic City Loop.
To understand what it could mean for Birmingham, take the ride with me.
Use your imagination with me for a moment. As the journey begins, we will see the vision a little more clearly in what can be a business/growth accelerator for the region for the next 50 years.
Exiting the airport and making a beeline straight to the MCL; we examine some of the major stops. This is all preliminary and fluid, exact stops to be determined if/when the project moves forward.
First stop: the corner of 40th St and 10th Ave. N. (2.5 miles from first getting on the tram) Birmingham Coca Cola’s New Corporate Office and Museum– tours and museum showing the long history and humble beginning of Coca Cola in Birmingham.
Second stop: the corner of 24th St. N. Uptown/BJCC District: Here we find Protective Stadium, Legacy Arena, Coca Cola Amphitheater, TopGolf, CityWalk, hotels, shopping and restaurants.
Third stop: Boutwell Auditorium (5.06 miles traveled): The municipal district which includes The Birmingham Museum of Art, Boutwell Auditorium, Jefferson County Jail, City Hall, Jefferson County Commission, Linn Park, the Downtown Public Library and other businesses.
Fourth stop: The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute– The historic 16th St. Baptist Church, the BCRI, Kelly Ingram Park and other attractions which make up the Civil Rights District (5.4 miles traveled).
Fifth stop: Parkside District (6.35 miles traveled). Here we have Railroad Park, Regions Field, Red Mountain Theatre, Midtown plus many more entertainment venues and living spaces nearby.
Sixth stop: Hospital/medical District– Located along 6th Ave S.: JCDPH, UAB- the hospital and campus, Cooper Green Mercy, Children’s Hospital, Bartow Arena, etc.
Seventh stop: 5 Points S. A continuation of the UAB medical area before heading into the 5 Points entertainment district, which includes numerous hotels, restaurants, shopping and retail.
Eighth stop: St. Vincent’s/Lakeview district. Here we find numerous bars for drinks and entertainment; Various residential, including a gorgeous new mid-rise condo that sits right across highway 280 from St. Vincent’s Hospital, fronting University Blvd (7.7 miles traveled).
Ninth stop: Clairmont district. 32nd St. S. and 6th Ave S. The Pepper Place Market is a short walk from here. Clairmont Ave and the Highland Golf course are close by with historic neighborhoods within walking distance. (8.3 miles traveled).
The circulator continues its loop (2 more stops) through Avondale entertainment district and Woodlawn, ending at the airport where it started: View this map
Think about that vision for a second
It almost became a reality. The year was 1998. Former Alabama Senator Richard Shelby had 87.5 million set aside for a 13.5-mile light rail line connecting downtown to the airport.
Birmingham needed to come up with 20% in matching funds to secure the grant. We wanted a more grandiose plan to pursue light rail back then. Due to the timing not being right, and the plan’s approach, I think we made the right choice in not pursuing.
What’s different now? There’s a realization of a better approach. Before the plan was about moving people throughout a metro area that is too spread out and too heavily dependent on the vehicle.
Now the approach is better suited for a circulator that targets all our amazing districts: business, entertainment, living, and tourist that have grown organically and cohesively over the last 15-20 years.
With the Star at Uptown and the new SouthTown developments coming on-line soon there will be even more people in the city center. The people are here. Let’s continue to give them a great reason to stay and move downtown.
Propelling growth along the proposed transit corridor and increasing urban density in a smart way is good for Birmingham. It would also spur Birmingham’s continued tourism and business growth in the region for decades to come.
Now we need our elected officials from the city, county, state and federal level to support us and to make this happen. The Birmingham region has been working together for a while now. It’s something that was held against us in the past but should no longer be the case.
Please elected officials, we beg you to put a plan together and show that you want to see Birmingham win, the way Senator Shelby did. When Birmingham wins, the state wins.
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Eric Thomas is a native of Birmingham and a product of the Birmingham public school system. He is married with 2 kids and lives in Adamsville. He works in telecommunications and is a certified run coach who enjoys traveling to races in his spare time.
David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown. He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).
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Invite David to speak for free to your group about how we can have a more prosperous metro Birmingham. [email protected]
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