The Mobile Airport Authority has been awarded $2 million in state grant funds to be used toward the purchase of 272 acres adjacent to the Mobile International Airport site at Brookley for light industrial development.
The property is now owned by the Mobile Housing Authority.
”This $2 million grant is a testament to the MAA’s vision that is the Mobile International Airport. Our International Airport, with continuing help from the state of Alabama, will be transformative for our city, region and all of our citizens,” said Mobile Airport Authority Chairman Elliot Maisel.
The grant is part of a $30 million program called the Site Evaluation and Economic Development Strategy Act or SEEDS, announced Tuesday by Gov. Kay Ivey.
Airport Authority President Chris Curry added, “We are grateful for the support provided through SEEDS, which gives us the chance to grow the Brookley Aeroplex and attract new opportunities to our community,” said Airport Authority President Chris Curry. “As we move forward with the Brookley Expansion Project, we’re dedicated to making the most of this grant to benefit Mobile.”
As Mobile prepares to move commercial air travel from the Mobile Regional Airport to the Mobile International Airport — closer to downtown and adjacent to the deep-water port — it has already purchased 100 acres on the east side of the Brookley property, which Curry said was crucial if key tenant Airbus expands again. But the airport wanted another 300 acres to attract commercial and industrial development. This grant helps meet that goa.
Projects for SEEDS grants were chosen with the assistance of South Carolina consulting firm Global Location Services, and the grants will be administered by the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama. The funds were designated for development of industry-ready sites across the state and represent also $38.4 million in local matching funds.
