By Alaina Bookman | abookman@al.com
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute announced that it will be closed temporarily until further notice effective Friday, May 22, due to maintenance issues.
The institute said in a statement that the closure is because of ongoing HVAC system failure impacting the facility. The institute’s President and CEO Deborah Bowie said the HVAC system is only one of multiple “complex, longstanding” issues that could cost millions to fix.
“We now have a situation where we have a building that’s 80 degrees with rising humidity,” Bowie told AL.com. “We can’t be open, so we are working furiously right now to expedite with the city…This is no longer an issue that can be kicked down the road.”
Since opening its doors in 1992, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute has garnered global attention for its educational programming and research.
The city of Birmingham owns the institute and is responsible for its infrastructure maintenance and improvements.
“The city is aware of it. We’ve had candid conversations. They understand that we are now at a place where some serious conversations need to be had about the repairs, maintenance and overall infrastructure at the institute,” Bowie said.
The building has two chillers and two boilers. If one chiller goes down, the other is supposed to kick in. Bowie said one chiller has been inoperable for five years.
This is not the first time the institute has closed its doors. In 2015, the facility closed for three weeks for water infiltration and remediation work.
“There is significant multi-million dollars worth of deferred maintenance, HVAC being one of the biggest ones,” Bowie told AL.com.
“These are not easy issues to address. There have also been issues that have accumulated over time.”
She said she believes the instability of leadership at the institute has exacerbated the issue. She added that the city may not have the “capacity to address the larger scale infrastructure issues.”
“If you don’t have someone at the top that can really make sure that people are being held accountable, both the city and the institute, then these issues get kicked down the road,” Bowie said.
She said the institute has provided a list of maintenance issues to the city which they continue to add to.
In March, the city of Birmingham gave the institute $500,000 from the budget surplus fund to address infrastructure issues.
“They know that’s not going to address the full list of deferred maintenance, but I do think it demonstrates a commitment on their end,” Bowie said.
Mayor Randall Woodfin has included $1 million in his proposed budget to support the institute, according to city spokesperson Rick Journey.
Updates regarding the institute’s reopening will be shared through BCRI’s website and official social media channels as additional information becomes available.
“This is an important building. We can’t afford to be closed,” Bowie said. “It’s a terrible predicament to be in.”
Despite uncertainty, Bowie said she hoped the institute would reopen sooner rather than later. “This may be a week of a closure, but I’m hoping not,” she said.
