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Centennial Hill is one of Montgomery's few downtown neighborhoods, wedged inbetween the CBD and the interstate.

Summit aims to upgrade Centennial Hill

By David Irvin
Montgomery Advertiser

Community leaders, home owners and others interested in the revitalization of the Centennial Hill section of Montgomery will gather Saturday morning at Alabama State University to discuss ways to improve the area.

Donald Jenkins heads the Centennial Hill Gardening Project, a community organization that provides the area with educational and cultural opportunities. At Saturday's summit, sponsored by the Montgomery Improvement Association, he will talk about how he believes the community can be improved.

"The condition of (the area) is due to an extremely large number of absentee landlords," Jenkins said. "For the most part, most of our homeowners are very good homeowners, but a lot of the investors have a tendency not to do the same."

The decline of the community is unfortunate, he said, because of the historic role it played in the lives of black residents before integration.

The integration of the city contributed to the area's decline, officials with the MIA said Thursday. Following integration, the black elite living in Centennial Hill exercised their right to move to other parts of the city.

The construction of Inerstate 85 also contributed, they added, when entire blocks were condemned to allow for the interstate's construction.

But the issues of today are what Jenkins is interested in, he said. Those are the only ones that can be fixed.

"The proposed solution is to increase home ownership by offering incentives for those who want to invest in a home," Jenkins said, "to offer an opportunity for people to come to housing that they will be proud of, no matter where they come from."

Officials with the MIA hope the various sessions -- in business, education and housing -- will inform participants about investing in the area and to volunteer to develop strategic plans and research, among others.

Mary House, an educator who teaches GED classes at the Gardening Project headquarters, is hopeful about the summit.

"It is going to mean in the long run that their property is going to be more valuable, and it will mean a better place to live," she said.

Invitations were sent out for the event last month. For more information on attendance, call the MIA at (334) 265-6262.