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Gov. Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Commerce presented a SEEDS Act grand award to the city of Atmore Nov. 27.

The presentation was held at Atmore City Hall in council chambers, and local and state delegates attended.

The SEEDS Act, passed by the Alabama Legislature in 2023 and signed into law by Ivey, provides funds to cities, counties and other local government entities to assist in the development of industrial property and the acquisition of new lands for business and industrial use, according to officials. The program assists governments who either lacked the funds necessary to make sites ready for development, or were faced with projects so large that it would prove difficult to fund completely on their own.

The city of Atmore received an award for $703,246.78 for the purchase of land, primarily from Swift Lumber Co., that was either inside or adjacent to the existing Atmore Industrial Park.

The Atmore City Council approved the purchase with the funds, and will market a total of 120 acres to industries, especially those seeking rail-served sites.

Additionally, through the application of SEES Act funding, the city was also able to conduct preliminary environmental, geotechnical and ecological reviews on the industrial park, providing further site readiness.

Centerfire Economic CEO Jess Nicholas said a lot of people helped in securing the grant awarding, including Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore), Rep. Alan Baker (R-Brewton), Mayor Jim Staff, West Escambia Utilities Manager Kenny Smith, District 4 Councilmember and Mayor Pro-Tem Shawn Lassiter, City Clerk Becca Smith and City Attorney Larry Wettermark.

“This was a lot of work done in a very short amount of time to get this in under the wire,” Nicholas said. “There was a lot more paper work and a lot more studies and a lot more engineering we were expecting. We got it under the deadline.”

Nicholas added thanks to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Alabama Department of Commerce (DOC), Ivey, Greg Blalock and Sean Lyte. Additionally, Brenda Tuck, rural development manager for the DOC was instrumental in this effort, he said.

Nicholas said they identified property around the Atmore Industrial Park, and didn’t have contiguous properties out there.

“We had to make that one thing we could market,” he said.

Nicholas said the state legislature earmarked $20 million for the effort statewide for rural communities, and the more than $706,000 for Atmore represents two-thirds of the bill. The city pays the other third.

He added that since the industrial park is railroad served, it gives the city a marketing option a lot of other communities don’t have.

Nicholas said city of Atmore officials have a clear vision, adding that the industrial park is the best prepared compared to other sites.