By Anne Ruisi
A retired landscape architect well-known for leading major improvement projects in Mountain Brook over the past 30 years will be honored Jan. 31 by the city’s Chamber of Commerce with the Jemison Visionary Award.
“The award is just a great honor,” said Nimrod E.W. Long III, (right) who over decades has led efforts on a variety of projects, such as designing a sidewalk master plan and village renovations and leading the fundraising effort for Jemison Park.
“He did a magnificent job on them,” said Mountain Brook City Manager Sam Gaston. “He’s most deserving of the Jemison Visionary Award.”
The annual award is presented to a servant leader for their commitment and contributions to the Mountain Brook community. It will be presented during the chamber’s annual luncheon at The Country Club of Birmingham.
Long, 72, is a Mountain Brook native who grew up in Crestline. After high school, he left to earn a bachelor’s degree at Washington and Lee University in Virginia, then went on to earn a master’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Georgia.
After working for a firm in New York City, he moved back to Mountain Brook in 1977 when Hall Thompson, developer of the Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club, hired him to be the club’s landscape architect.
Long’s first volunteer community-related project, the Crestline Tot Lot, was started that same year. He and his wife, Nancy, who is also a landscape architect, designed it.
By the early 1990s, Long was steadily building a stellar reputation as a landscape architect. While that was happening, some community leaders, led by the Friends of Jemison Park, recognized a need for more sidewalks in Mountain Brook.
One day at lunch with the late Philip Morris, a Mountain Brook resident and a founding editor of Southern Living magazine, Morris mentioned to Long that the federal government was going to offer grants to fund sidewalk construction throughout the country.
Long then helped prepare an application for the city, and Mountain Brook won a $15 million grant for the six-phase project. The city’s contribution for the project was $3 million. The city since then has built almost 50 miles of sidewalks as outlined in a sidewalk master plan.
Another major project Long worked on in the 1990s was renovation of Mountain Brook’s three commercial villages. The idea was to improve pedestrian access to shops in Crestline, English and Mountain Brook villages, and improve lighting, better drainage and add parking.
The community again had some great ideas; for instance, George Jones of Snoozy’s Kids suggested a clock tower to add more character to Crestline Village.
Jemison Trail Project
Long’s most recent project is one that has captured the attention of Over the Mountain residents who enjoy the Jemison Trail, a popular greenway that winds along a section of Shades Creek along Mountain Brook Parkway in Jemison Park. The design was led by landscape architects Joel Eliason and Dave Giddens.
He said that, as a retired landscape architect, he appreciates the great park design done by Eliason and Giddens.
The improvements include replacing the concrete walkways with asphalt – which is much more comfortable for walkers and joggers – widening those paths and rerouting sections of the walkway to make the park more attractive.
The walkway itself, which was closer to Mountain Brook Parkway, has been set back so that it’s closer to Shades Creek. This means people on the trail are more immersed in their immediate natural surroundings and can enjoy a better view of the creek, sometimes even hearing the water flow.
Other improvements include refreshing existing 30-year-old park benches and trashcans by painting them.
“They’ll look brand new,” Long said.
The $3.4 million public-private effort by the city and the Friends of Jemison Park, which began construction early last year, is nearing completion. The Friends raised $1.7 million for its share of the plan. Long, who is on the group’s board, spearheaded fundraising.
“He’s a great fundraiser,” said Sally Worthen, president of the Friends of Jemison Park.
Long said a lot of people deserve the credit for raising the money and said everyone on the Friends’ board participated.
“We made a list and called on different people. We probably have 400 people who have given money, maybe 500 now,” he said. “The community responded wonderfully.”
Sharing the credit and stressing the collective community effort to realize the success of the projects is important to Long. Regarding the Jemison Trail, he notes the participation and quality of work done by those involved, including Mountain Brook officials such as Parks and Recreation Superintendent Shanda Williams and the Jemison Trail contractor, Craig Beatty, and his company, CS Beatty Construction. A Grand Opening is planned for Tues., Feb. 6 from 7 – 9:30 a.m.
All-in
When he’s involved with a project, Long goes all-in, Worthen noted.
“The fact that he’s retired is very beneficial,” she said. “He’s out there every day … That benefits all of us.”
Long noted that Giddens is out there with him.
A point of pride for Long is that, while the Mountain Brook projects have improved the community, the results complement their surroundings and don’t look out of place.
“A good design looks like it’s always been here,” he said.
While some work remains to be finished on the Jemison Trail, people are already enjoying the improvements. Couples walking hand-in-hand, mothers pushing little ones in strollers and joggers such as Mountain Brook resident Bill Bowman, 80, enjoyed the trail in the early January afternoon sunshine.
“This is delightful,” Bowman said. “They did this right.”
For more information or to make a reservation to attend the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce Annual Luncheon, visit business.mtnbrookchamber.org/events.