Alabama to borrow $200 million to build new Escambia prison

A state board Thursday agreed to borrow almost $200 million to build a new 4,000 bed prison in Escambia County.

The decision by the Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority increases the budget for the Escambia construction project from $700 million to $900 million, on top of more than $1.25 billion spent to build another 4,000 bed prison in Elmore County.

Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, a member of the authority and the outgoing chair of the Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee, said the borrowing for the prison in Atmore was “a long time in coming, but we got it done.”

“The principal thing we are doing is we are starting the Atmore facility,” he said. “This allows us to actually move forward with the Escambia facility.”

The Alabama Legislature in 2021 approved a total of $1.3 billion to build the two prisons, which supporters said would be safer for inmates and correctional officers and allow the Alabama Department of Corrections to shut down older facilities, saving the department money.

However, the process has been rocky. The Elmore County prison, named the Gov. Kay Ivey Correctional Complex, has consumed nearly all of the money originally appropriated for the project, and lawmakers have not committed to shutting down any existing prison.

Corrections declined comment on Thursday. ACIFA also approved a resolution regarding the design, construction management and other services, as well as to advertise bids for the construction of the Escambia prison.

A third resolution approved the transfer of the Ivey complex from ADOC to ACIFA. The prison is scheduled to be completed in October.

“There is a small portion of land on which we have facilities where there is a question as to ownership or rights, so we are correcting that,” Albritton said.

The resolution allows investors to place a bid on bonds for a maximum total of $195 million. Investors will bid on the amount they want to invest and the interest rate they expect to earn to provide the money needed for the construction project.

Albritton said the first step is securing investors for the bonds and receiving bids from contractors for construction. He anticipates the project will take 30 months to complete once construction begins on the site anticipated for October.

Albritton expects the Escambia prison to cost less than roughly $1.3 billion to build the Elmore facility.

“The Alabama Legislature, working with the Governor’s Office and ADOC and others, were able to search the sofa cushions to pull forth from areas that we needed to for a number of years,” he said. “There was some intentional penny-pinching along the way, and that is why we are where we are.”

The new prison construction will replace beds and not add capacity, according to the handout provided by ADOC. The Escambia prison is planned to be built in two parts. The first part of the project will be 195 acres on property located next to Fountain Correctional Facility near Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. It will comprise more than 2,000 beds and 26 buildings.

“Ultimately Fountain will be demolished and removed from service in connection with the construction and opening of the new Escambia County facility,” according to a media sheet provided by ADOC at the meeting.