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Mobile among 12 U.S. cities, 14 globally tapped for Bloomberg 'innovation team' grants

By Kelli Dugan | kdugan@al.com

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on December 15, 2014 at 5:14 PM

MOBILE, Alabama - Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson confirmed Monday afternoon from a vacant lot in the Texas Hill community that the Port City is one of only 12 nationwide and 14 globally tapped by Bloomberg Philanthropies to participate in its latest Innovation Team program.

"When we cast the vision to make Mobile the safest, most business and family-friendly city in America by 2020, we knew that we would need help to achieve our goal. We could not predict where all of the support would come from," Stimpson told a small crowd gathered near the intersection of Texas and Chatham streets.

Specifically, the program aims to expand the capacity of the Stimpson administration to find creative solutions to the challenges of neighborhood revitalization and economic development with the Port City receiving as much as $1.65 million over the course of three years to create its own i-team to focus on improving the quality of life for citizens.

"This award by Bloomberg Philanthropies will provide critical resources to help us move forward on our journey. But it's about much more than just money. It's a validation of our efforts to transform Mobile," Stimpson said.

The i-team grants are a product of Bloomberg Philanthropies, the foundation created by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and the 12 U.S. cities tapped for the program's expansion are slated to split $45 million in funding.

The newly formed i-team, to include three new full-time staff members plus additional support, is expected to "hit the ground running" by spring 2015, Stimpson said, declining to speculate on specifically what the first order of business will be once Bloomberg's on-loan staff arrive to assess the city's priorities.

"They will come in and explain it to us. They will tell us how the money will be spent," he said, adding that Mobile was selected for the elite program based on its demonstrated eagerness to innovate. He said he welcomes the application of Bloomberg's proven methods to "solve complex problems" through creativity and harnessed brainpower.

Specifically, the new Mobile i-team will target neighborhoods that suffer from blight, poverty and high residential vacancy rates.

"Mobile needs neighborhoods that attract and embrace residents - where citizens can live, work and play. The support of Bloomberg Philanthropies adds tremendous momentum to our effort to achieve One Mobile," Stimpson said.

Assistant City Attorney Keri Coumanis said the neighborhoods already being targeted for revitalization by the city are Texas Hills and The Bottom, located north of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. and a half mile from downtown Mobile. The Bloomberg funding should serve as a catalyst to elicit the needed private investment to transform long-neglected properties into pride-inspiring dwellings for area residents, she said.

Other related projects already in the works, Coumanis said, include the splitting of a two-dwelling home on the corner of Texas and Chatham streets into two separate homes, one of which will be relocated to a nearby vacant lot and both of which will be rehabilitated from the ground up. "That one's out for bid now," Coumanis said.