The site of a shuttered Waffle House on Oxmoor Road in Homewood is being transformed into a new municipal parking lot, with the city building 64 paved and marked public spaces at 185 Oxmoor Road under a $579,378 construction contract. The project also brings sidewalks, an accessible ramp, privacy fencing, lighting, landscaping and underground stormwater detention to the site.
According to AL.com, the city awarded the construction contract to Southeastern Sealcoating, Inc., with the project scheduled to take 120 working days, per city engineer Wyatt Pugh. The $579,378 contract amount covers construction only and excludes costs outside the agreement, the outlet reports. Homewood received a building permit on September 21, according to records cited in that account, and the city issued a notice to proceed on July 21, with work set to begin no earlier than July 27.
The City Council's approval of the deal wasn't a surprise to anyone tracking the project through Homewood's public meetings. The council had already signaled its direction months earlier: by late April, the city was eyeing a new lot at 185 Oxmoor Road on the old Waffle House site featuring roughly 60 spaces and drainage work, according to City of Homewood meeting records, which also show the council set May 28 as the bid-opening date for the project.
A Bidding Process That Took a Turn
The contract didn't go to the apparent low bidder without complication. A.C. Jackson Construction was initially identified as the low bidder but was disqualified after failing to meet bid specifications, according to The Homewood Star, which reported that Southeastern Sealcoating was then determined to be the lowest responsible bidder. The same agenda coverage described the planned lot as including about 60 asphalt-paved parking spaces, landscaping, underground stormwater detention and a new sidewalk along Oxmoor — a figure that differs from the 64 paved and marked spaces AL.com's more recent reporting attributes to Pugh, with the discrepancy unexplained in available records.
The Homewood Star also reported that Southeastern Sealcoating would have 120 work days to complete the job, consistent with the timeline later cited by AL.com. Separately, city meeting records from July 13 indicated construction was expected to begin before the end of July and could take four to six months, though the work might be completed in about 90 days — slightly different framing from the 120-working-day figure tied to the signed contract.
Accessibility And Drainage Built Into The Design
Beyond added parking, the project plans call for three accessible parking spaces and accessible pedestrian connections to the surrounding area, per Pugh's account relayed by AL.com. The design also incorporates drainage improvements and underground stormwater detention alongside landscaping, irrigation, sidewalks, an accessible ramp, privacy fencing and lighting — a fuller slate of amenities than the earlier, more basic project description offered in the spring.
The project traces back further than this year's bidding fight. Homewood's finance committee had earlier approved a design-and-survey contract with EDT for the former Waffle House site, along with a $10,000 intra-department budget transfer to fund that engineering work, according to citizenportal.ai. That same outlet separately confirmed the City Council's unanimous approval of the $579,378 agreement for the parking-lot project at 185 Oxmoor Road.
City records also note that weather or other approved adjustments could extend the project timeline, per Pugh's account. With the notice to proceed already issued and a building permit in hand, the former fast-food lot along Oxmoor Road is now formally in the construction pipeline, though available city and news accounts do not indicate whether the work has wrapped up or the lot has opened to the public.
