Alabama officials have approved up to $195 million in new bonds to move construction of the 4,000-bed Escambia County prison forward, with work expected to begin as soon as October.
The Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority approved the Series 2026 bond issuance Thursday along with measures allowing the state to move ahead with construction procurement for the new men’s facility near Atmore.
State Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore), chairman of the Senate General Fund budget committee and a member of the authority, said the bonds will have a maximum value of approximately $195 million.
The state already has another $690 million in cash set aside for the project, bringing expected available funding to roughly $885 million. Albritton said officials expect that amount to be sufficient to complete the facility.
“The principal thing we’re doing is we’re starting the Atmore facility,” Albritton said. “This allows us to move forward with the actual construction of the Escambia facility now.”
The next step will be selling the bonds, which could begin within days. Construction is currently targeted to begin Oct. 1 and is expected to take approximately 30 months.
The Escambia facility is part of the prison modernization plan Alabama lawmakers approved in 2021. The legislation authorized construction of new 4,000-bed men’s prisons in Escambia and Elmore counties to replace aging prison capacity rather than simply add beds to the state system.
The new Escambia prison will be built on state-owned property adjacent to G.K. Fountain Correctional Facility near Atmore. Plans call for housing ranging from restricted and close custody to minimum-security classifications, along with educational, vocational, medical and other support facilities.
The state is also nearing completion of the 4,000-bed Governor Kay Ivey Correctional Complex in Elmore County, which has grown to approximately $1.25 billion in cost.
Albritton said the Escambia project is expected to cost less in part because it will not include some of the expanded medical and educational facilities built into the Elmore complex.
Sawyer Knowles is a state and political reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].
