December 2025 | Volume 16 | Issue 7
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Keeping the season bright Collins family fills their yard with lights, inflatables and joyful Christmas nostalgia By EMILY REED
A
t an early age, Brian Collins fell in love with the magic of Christmas — the lights, the color and the wonder
of it all. “When I was growing up as a kid in Birmingham in the 1960s, you would go downtown and look at all of the storefronts decorated for Christmas,” Collins said.
See CHRISTMAS | page 22
Brian and Suzy Collins describe their Mayfair Drive home as an “atomic blast of color and inflatables.” Photo courtesy of the Collins family.
After years of questions, Brookwood Village project shows first signs of life By SOLOMON CRENSHAW JR. For years, Homewood and Mountain Brook have shared more than a border — they’ve shared a shopping mall. Brookwood Village took its name from the two cities flanking it — Homewood to the west and Mountain Brook to the east. Since its completion in 1973, the mall served as a central spot for residents to shop, dine and gather for community events and holidays. But those scenes now live only in memory. A mix of shifting retail trends
and the COVID-19 pandemic ultimately shuttered Brookwood Village. For months, a common question has followed: What will happen to the former shopping center? A partial answer came in early November when the development team of Fairway Investments and Pope & Land Real Estate announced the sale of the former Belk department store at Brookwood Village to Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Center.
Motorists travel along Shades Creek Parkway toward U.S. 280 in Homewood past Brookwood Village. Staff photo.
See BROOKWOOD | page 23
INSIDE
Sponsors.................. 4 City............................ 6
Schoolhouse............8 Business..................10
Real Estate.............. 11 Events......................12
Sports......................16 Community.............19
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Merry and Bright
Heating Up
Homewood prepares for annual Christmas parade, star and tree lighting tradition.
Homewood teams embrace fresh starts, deep experience and big goals this season.
See page 14
See page 16
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