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Facility Two to be located near Bell Fork Road area

Gov. Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) Feb. 1 signed lease agreements for the construction of two megaprisons, one of which will be located in Escambia County.

CoreCivic’s Developer Team, Caddell Construction; DLR Group; and R&N Systems Design are handling the construction of the two men’s prisons.

According to Ivey’s office, the state signed one lease agreement with Government Real Estate Solutions of Central Alabama LLC, a CoreCivic entity, for Facility Two in Elmore County, which will be constructed on Rile Range Road in Tallassee. The prison will specialize in the inmate population’s medical and mental health needs.

The second lease agreement for Escamabia County was signed with Government Real Estate Solutions of South Alabama LLC, another CoreCivic entity. Facility Three in Escambia County will be constructed on Bell Fork Road, near Atmore.

The term of each lease agreement is 30 years, and are not subject to annual renegotiation. However, options to negotiate occupancy extensions beyond the 30-year lease term are available to the state, according to Ivey’s office.

Trade secrets and security-related inofmration will not be disclosed, according to a release.

The lease costs, which are subject to the project’s affordability limit of $88.6 million in fiscal year 2022 dollars, will become available once financial close is achieved with CoreCivic.

“I am pleased that we have reached this important milestone in the Alabama Prison Program, the cornerstone of a multifaceted strategy to address the ADOC’s longstanding challenges and failing prison infrastructure,” Ivey said in a release. “Leasing and operating new, modern correctional facilities without raising taxes or incurring debt is without question the most fiscally responsible decision for our state, and the driving force behind our Alabama solution to an Alabama problem.”

The lease agreements were signed after confidential negotiations were held with CoreCivic.

The negotiations were held with Alabama Prison Transformation Partners, including Star America, BL Harbert International, Butler-Cohen Arrington Watkins Architects; and Johnson Controls Inc.

ADOC officials said in a release that construction for both facilities will begin in 2021.

The two facilities will house approximately 7,000 beds and are expected to be ready for occupancy by fiscal year 2025, when construction is completed.