State approves bond issuance to fund new south Alabama prison
Construction is expected to begin October 1, as another prison in Elmore County nears completion
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - In a meeting that lasted about 10 minutes, the Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority approved the issuance of a bond that is expected to complete the necessary funding for the construction of the Escambia Men’s Prison Facility in Atmore.
According to State Sen. Greg Albritton, the 20-year bond has a maximum amount of around $195 million.
The next step, Albritton says, is to sell the bonds starting as soon as this week before construction is estimated to begin October 1.
As for the interest rate on that bond, Albritton admits he doesn’t know yet, but it may be “a little flexible.”
He adds that the state has $690 million in cash on hand for the project, and that money plus the bond funding is expected to be enough to complete the prison.
That would mean construction is expected to cost around $885 million, about 30% cheaper than the $1.25 billion prison being built already in Elmore County.
“Number one, we know what we’re doing now, we’ve gone through, we’ve done it before,” Albritton explained when asked why this facility will be cheaper. “Number 2 is, unlike Elmore, we will not have a school facility in Atmore. That was one of the things we had in original plans. We had a 5,000 square foot for the campus, a square foot building for the campus. It’s now more like 45,000. So that was one of the big changes that’s there, we will not have that,” he continued. “The other is in Elmore; we have a full hospital there. A fully staffed, fully functional hospital. We will not have that in Atmore. So, all we’re doing here is we’re building cells.”
Albritton added the Escambia County facility is still planned to have 4,000 beds and is expected to be complete two-and-a-half years after construction begins in October. Bids for the project have already been requested.
As for the Elmore County prison, when asked if it’s still ready to open on October 15, Albritton replied “Better be. If it isn’t, that cost and that problem and those issues will be dealt with by contractual means.”
He added if the state’s takeover is delayed, “We’re not paying another dime. We’ve already paid them all we’re paying. Now they’ve got to get it delivered. If it’s not delivered on time, there’s also repercussions from there.”
Not reading this story on the WSFA News App? Get news alerts FASTER and FREE in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store!
Copyright 2026 WSFA. All rights reserved.
