Grove Park, Homewood: homes, schools, parks and commute

Last checked Oct. 17, 2026. Sources: the City of Homewood’s history page and Sims Garden page, the city’s comprehensive plan update, the city’s address and school zone map layers, the state’s report card, Homewood Parks, Zillow Research and OpenStreetMap.

Grove Park is one of the three villages, with Rosedale and Edgewood, that voted in September 1926 to incorporate under the name Homewood, the city’s history page says. It lies between downtown and Edgewood, on the streets around Central Park, Homewood Middle School and Valley Avenue. The Homewood Community Center, the Central Pool and Sims Garden are all here.

What this means for you

• Zoned high school: Homewood High, for every Homewood address. Elementary is split; check the school locator map.
• Home value: $536,460 in ZIP 35209 in September 2026, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.
• Nearest I-65 exits: 256 (Oxmoor Road) and 258 (Green Springs Avenue), to the west.

Part of our Homewood neighborhoods guide.

Where it is

The draft growth and conservation map in the city’s July 22, 2026, comprehensive plan workshop (PDF) names Grove Park among the established residential areas in its “Areas to Protect,” meant “to protect and maintain the existing character of established residential areas.” OpenStreetMap marks Grove Park as a named place near Central Park. The plan is still a draft.

On this page the area is the west part of the city’s Ward 1 in its five-ward map layer, the ward the Historic Preservation Commission’s tour calls Rosedale, west of about Central Avenue. The streets with the most address points are Clermont Drive, Irving Road, Ashwood Lane, Valley Avenue, Mecca Avenue, Oxmoor Road, Edgeview Avenue, Beckham Drive and Manhattan Street. Every address is in ZIP code 35209 and inside city limits. The Edgewood business district and the Dawson Baptist Church parking deck are on its southwest edge.

Schools

This is how the 803 address points split in the city’s school zone layer on Oct. 17. Grades are from the state’s 2024-25 report card.

Homewood Middle, at 395 Mecca Ave., is inside the area; Homewood Parks lists tennis courts there. Check one address with the district’s school locator map, which the district says is not legally binding, and confirm with residency and enrollment at 205-870-2011. More in our schools guide.

Home values

The typical home value in ZIP 35209 was $536,460 in September 2026, up 6.70% from $502,785 in September 2025, according to the Zillow Home Value Index. The index is a modeled typical value for the middle third of homes, not a sale price. It covers the whole ZIP code, which takes in most of Homewood, so it does not separate Grove Park from the rest of the city. The citywide Homewood figure was $568,543, up 6.59%. More in our home prices guide.

Parks and trails

• Central Park, 1632 Oxmoor Road, open 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.: the Central Pool, a large playground renovated in 2024, an amphitheater, two tennis courts, six pavilions and walking paths, according to Homewood Parks.
• Homewood Community Center, 1632 Oxmoor Road, 205-332-6700: 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday.
• Sims Garden, five lots between 908 Highland Road and 913 Irving Road, left to the city by Catherine Anville Sims to be kept as a botanical park. It is open daily for self-guided tours, with free-to-pick vegetable beds, the city’s Sims Garden page says. Its fall pumpkin patch runs 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through Saturday, Oct. 31.

More in our parks and trails guide.

Getting around

• Interstate 65: exits 256 (Oxmoor Road) and 258 (Green Springs Avenue) are the closest, by the exit numbers in OpenStreetMap.
• City Hall: about 1.1 miles from the middle of the area by road.
• Airport: about 8 miles to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. Both are road distances measured on the OpenStreetMap network with the OSRM routing engine, not drive times.
• MAX On-Demand: rides anywhere in the city limits for $1.50 a trip, in the MAX Connect app.
• Parking near Edgewood: floors 2, 3 and 4 of the Dawson deck are public 7 a.m. to midnight, Monday through Saturday, the city says.

More in our getting around guide.

Groceries and everyday stores

OpenStreetMap shows no supermarket inside the area. The nearest are on Green Springs Highway to the southwest and U.S. 31 to the east:

• Publix, with a pharmacy, 411 Green Springs Highway
• ALDI, 428 Green Springs Highway
• CVS Pharmacy, 3030 Independence Drive

How we drew this area

Grove Park is named by the city’s history page, the draft comprehensive plan map and OpenStreetMap. Its edges here are ours: the part of Ward 1 in the city’s five-ward map layer west of about Central Avenue, with Rosedale and downtown to the east. School shares are from every city address point inside those edges, checked Oct. 17, 2026. Store locations are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Grove Park in Homewood?

Between downtown and Edgewood, around Central Park, Homewood Middle School and Valley Avenue. It was one of the three villages, with Rosedale and Edgewood, that voted in 1926 to incorporate as Homewood.

What elementary school is Grove Park in Homewood zoned for?

It is split. Of the city’s address points in Grove Park as we drew it, 57% are zoned for Edgewood Elementary and 43% for Shades Cahaba Elementary. All go to Homewood Middle, which is in the area, and Homewood High.

Is Grove Park in Homewood a good place to live?

Here are the facts. Grove Park is a residential area in ZIP 35209 with Central Park, the Homewood Community Center and Sims Garden, zoned for Homewood Middle and Homewood High, which earned an A (94) on the state’s 2024-25 report card. Zillow put the typical home value in 35209 at $536,460 in September 2026.

When is Sims Garden open?

Daily for self-guided tours, the city says. The garden covers five lots between 908 Highland Road and 913 Irving Road; call 205-332-0949 to schedule a tour.