Invictus Development has purchased two historic downtown buildings in Selma, Alabama. Selma, most notably known for the Edmund Pettus Bridge and the Voting Rights March, has a rich history going back to the explorer Lafayette, the cotton boom of the 1800’s, the civil war battles, and so much more.
Selma has a thriving art community and is used by a myriad of politicians as a backdrop for their campaigns. This proverbial “all talk and no action” response has left Selma a poor and underserved city on the Alabama River.
In 2019, Invictus built 56 affordable housing units in northern Selma. Having come to Selma for a number of years, Paula and Rick saw so much potential and historical significance in downtown Selma literally wasting away.
In August 2021, Invictus purchased the Adler Furniture Building built in 1860 and in January 2022 The Harmony Club built in 1908 with the intention of renovating both buildings back to their historical significance while modernizing them with the goal of bringing retail and residential to the downtown Water Avenue district.
At the same time, Invictus is working with the local community along with Arts Revive of Selma, to bring an African Art collection to Selma. A group of local and regional artists and community leaders are forming a non-profit, MACAS (Museum of African and Contemporary Art Selma) to begin fundraising to purchase the collection. Invictus kicked off the fundraising efforts with a $25,000 donation.
The goal of these initiatives is to make Selma a destination, not just for the Bridge, but for the many stories that Selma holds, and its historic architecture and growing arts community . Selma deserves investment; it is representative of the struggles and perseverance that can inspire change, a message that resonates around the world.
Join us in investing in Selma and MACAS. Here are two websites to preview the opportunities.
Below is are links to a couple of local Selma artists.
https://www.facebook.com/TinManSelma/
Charlie Lucas is a local Selma artist and member of the MACAS board. The link below is to an article written recently in the Washington Post magazine. Charlie represents one of the local contemporary artists that will be featured in the MACAS museum.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2021/11/30/artist-charlie-lucas-selma/
