Mobile city, county and business officials broke ground Wednesday for the first phase of a 1,300-acre master-planned industrial and logistics park in south Mobile County.
Developer Philip Burton, president of Burton Property Group, says interest in the South Alabama Logistics Park has been strong since the project was announced in April.
“The interest we’ve seen in this new development certainly proves the need. We’re working 15 active projects, and if we are fortunate enough to land them all we would completely lease out Phase 1 of the South Alabama Logistics Park,” Burton said.
The park is designed to provide 12 million square feet of warehouse and distribution space — which would be the largest in the state and in the Southeast, project officials say — with easy access to both the Port of Mobile and the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley.
Bill Sisson, president and CEO of the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, said the region is well served by such a project. “Having available sites is an important box to check on a list of key factors for site selectors and is critical to our success to add jobs and investment. We’re excited to have this transformational park for our economic development efforts.”
The project is a collaboration between the property developer and various government and business groups, including both the city and county, the port and the chamber, which is the region’s economic development entity.
The city and county each earmarked $3 million for infrastructure needs at the site, near the Theodore Dawes exit from Interstate 10.
Among those offering kudos for the project, Alabama State Port Authority Director and CEO John Driscoll said, “Our port is experiencing unprecedented growth in our containerized cargo terminals. This growth is attracting light manufacturing and distribution interests that rely on modern, deep-water seaport terminals for their import/export activities. This park will help support these investments and the region’s growth opportunities.”
