Tuscaloosa's Gateway Learning Center in Alberta to Remain Open

A proposal to close the Gateway Innovation and Discovery Center in Tuscaloosa’s Alberta City neighborhood is off the table after feedback from citizens showed the asset is more beloved than its usage statistics might suggest.

As the Thread first reported, Mayor Walt Maddox made his capital projects proposals last month, which included a pitch to shut down the Gateway and convert it into a public safety hub for mental health professionals working for the police and fire departments.

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The Gateway Innovation & Discovery Center opened on University Boulevard in June 2016 as a technology resource in the heart of a historically underserved community that was still very much recovering from the devastation of the EF-4 tornado on April 27, 2011.

Its chief aim was to provide broadband to those who needed it at a time when widespread internet access was less common — so everyone could get online to study or apply for jobs.

But metrics show it’s not being widely used, and the city continues to pay annual operating costs to keep the space open, clean, safe and staffed.

"The Gateway has never been able to meet the expectations we were hoping for, although it has certainly served our community very well. And it was built with federal funds post-tornado, so that was an opportunity for us to do something and see if it could be successful," Maddox told the Thread in April. "It has been, in the sense that it's a great meeting place for Alberta and the home of great events like Tech-or-Treat that have thousands of attendees, but when you're looking to maximize a space or any city asset, you have to ask if there's something we can do to better accomplish that."

His proposal was to close the learning center and use the space to house police officers and firefighters who specialize in responding to mental health crises.

That plan drew criticism from citizens who don’t want to give up on the Gateway so soon. In a follow-up this week, City Council President Kip Tyner, who represents the Alberta area, said he’s heard from constituents — and the Gateway will remain open.

"I listened to my constituents, and after meeting with Mayor Maddox, he removed his recommendation — which I'm extremely grateful for!" Tyner said in a statement to the Thread. "Now we'll work hard to find something exceptional to make the Gateway their new home. Numbers have been very low in recent years, and my Alberta family deserves something great! Whatever direction we go, the hugely popular Tech or Treat at Halloween and the singing Christmas tree will continue!"

For more coverage of proposals, votes and other news from City Hall, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.