He particularly remembers introducing himself to residents of Ensley, a historically segregated neighborhood that suffered from the decline of the city’s steel industry. “They wanted better,” Woodfin recalls, “And after listening to residents I knew they deserved better.”
Soon into Woodfin’s mayoral term, his administration turned its focus on Ensley’s historic business district — the former heart of the neighborhood that the city has ignored for decades. In early 2019, city officials called for proposals for redevelopment of its buildings and properties. By October of 2020, Woodfin’s administration launched redevelopment of a well-known Ensley landmark, the long-dilapidated Ramsay-McCormack Building, into a community-centered startup hub.