In 2019, Rebuild worked with the City of Fairhope, Alabama to develop a workshop for a contentious soon-to-be City-owned site in downtown Fairhope. Over 100 community members participated in the discussion regarding the future of the site. Ideas included cultural space, educational activities, environmental stewardship, and civic engagement. 

The Rebuild workshop marked the first time that residents were brought together to collaborate on a City-led project. Even more than the findings from the workshop, the experience that the residents had working together became a transformative moment for the City. When Rebuild returned later to work on another engagement, the residents remembered the workshop with pride, and spoke about the model it created. 

Check out WKRG’s story here.  

In 2020, Rebuild returned to Fairhope to work with GMC Network and the City of Fairhope to assess stakeholder concerns with regards to a redevelopment plan for the the City of Fairhope’s waterfront – often considered the “gem of the city.”  The focus was to understand the varied interests of community members, and to propose recommendations in response to the concerns of the community, the ecological vulnerabilities of the site, and the time frame allotted for the funding.  Rebuild interviewed community leaders, including political candidates, local advocates, business owners, and nonprofits, to build trust and begin to understand a path forward that would have strong support, while also meeting the City and the Restore Act’s stipulations. Rebuild produced a strategy for comprehensive community outreach that included nine recommendations to restart the engagement process, while gaining back the trust of the community. The goals consisted of a new approach to engagement that would enable the project to move forward in the time frame allotted by the funding.