Escambia County

Terry Waters, ladies and gentlemen.

He is the Republican nominee in the State Senate District 22, which is Escambia, Baldwin, I think parts of Washington, maybe Clark.

251-343-0106.

We'll be right back.

And I, you know, like that there's maybe in part sort of the politics, the political situation we live in.

But, you know, there's no political fallout here for this plus up on this Escambia County facility.

Well, I will tell you something.

I'll give you a bit of good news.

The project is expected to break ground in mid-2027 and wrap by May of 2028.

Moving on to legislation and funding, the Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority approved borrowing up to $195 million for a new 4,000-bed men's prison in Escambia County, raising the project budget from $700 million to $900 million.

Construction near Atmore could begin in October and take approximately 30 months.

The first phase will include more than 2,000 beds across 26 buildings on 195 acres adjacent to Fountain Correctional Facility which will eventually be demolished.

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Escambia County hasn't ballooned in cost quite like Ivy Correctional has.

Now, that's partly because of those design changes at the K.

Here we call it the K.

Another difference at that prison was that the legislature approved an exception to a bid law to allow direct negotiations with contractors.

Now, it's a little different story for the Escambia County facility, but it's not exactly coming cheap.

AL.com's Mike Kaysen reports that the Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority approved a bond issue for $195 million for that Escambia County prison.

Now, add that to the $690 million the legislature has already set aside for that prison, and it puts the total just under $900 million.