While Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin gave a speech in front of Zamir Davis’ new home on Monday morning, the 7-year-old was tossing a football in the background.

“Did y’all see Zamir playing in that front yard with his football?” Woodin said. “For all the work we do in the city related to neighborhood revitalization, there’s a picture to describe what revitalization looks like. It is Zamir playing football in his front yard. Safe, family, happiness, peace, content homeownership. That’s what it looks like, that’s what it feels like.”

The City of Birmingham, Birmingham Land Bank and Habitat for Humanity welcomed families to six new affordable homes in the Wahouma neighborhood near East Lake with a ribbon-cutting on Monday, the first of 11 new Habitat homes being built in the neighborhood.

“It’s going to be wonderful because the kids have their own space,” said Zamir’s mother, Rauslyn Adams, who also has a daughter, Zuri, 4, who was playing in the yard.

The homes were available for purchase for under $160,000 through Habitat’s housing program. “That makes this the most affordable housing development that we have done,” said Corey Stallworth, senior director of community development for the City of Birmingham.

The city spent $1.2 million to help remove blight, acquire lots and help fund materials for the building of homes in the neighborhood, in partnership with the Birmingham Land Bank and Habitat for Humanity, whose volunteers help build the homes.

“I feel grateful and thankful to have a home for my babies to spend Thanksgiving in,” said Phylisha Thomas, one of the new homeowners.