Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin closed out his “State of the City” address on Tuesday with a direct appeal to business leaders in downtown not to abandon offices to focus on “work from home” strategies.

Woodfin, speaking to the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham, suggested working from home hinders the bustle of downtown commerce.

“What I need this business community to know is ‘Don’t shut down shop,’” Woodfin said.

“There are too many buildings in our central business district where we understand the hybrid option (is being used),” he said. “We support the hybrid option, but we also need you to make sure that business is flowing in our community, and that our business center is bustling.”

That helps downtown merchants such as restaurants stay buzzing, he suggested. “At lunch time, we want to see people walking (around downtown),” he said. “We want to make sure our central business district is thriving with businesses and opportunity.”

Meeting with media after the address to the Kiwanis Club, Woodfin elaborated on the effects of COVID-19 changing work habits.

“We know a couple things happened during COVID,” he said. “One is, including the City of Birmingham, if you were not public safety, you started working from home.”

That emptied out the downtowns of many cities, Woodfin said.

“So, in our central business district, like many central business districts not only across this nation but the entire world, people were working from home,” he said. “What happened when our cities and communities opened back up, a lot of people continued to allow people to work from home, or created a hybrid.”

That’s not of itself a bad thing, but working in person is better, he said.

“Yes, we support the hybrid,” Woodfin said. “We want to make sure people know, we want our downtown to be vibrant. So, in that case, we want to encourage folks, to know that, one, if you’re already here, continue to encourage your employees to work in person. Two, for those who are looking to expand their business, downtown Birmingham is open for business, and we welcome you.”

That does not mean Woodfin thinks downtown seems emptier than before the pandemic. “No, it does not, but I always want to see more,” he said.

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