MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) -The future of the Mobile Civic Center is getting a little clearer.
On Tuesday, city leaders discussed two options for the worn-out building.
One option would keep the expo hall and take the theater out of the civic center.
While the other option would take out the expo hall and keep the theater.
Whatever city leaders decide, one thing’s for certain, most people agree that something has to be done.
One Mobile native, Reggie Hall, who attended the meeting Tuesday said the plans are long overdue.
“The civic center has been a part of this community and my life since I was very little,” Hall said. “We know that this place has needed an uplift for quite some time and this is the steps towards it.”
Back in 2019, city leaders debated whether or not to demolish the civic center and repurpose the property into a new structure.
Now, a new master plan is in the works.
“The reception of a concept plan from Populus that gave us two options on what the civic center could actually be. One was a shift and one was an embrace,” District 2 City Councilman William Carroll said.
The two redevelopment options presented by Populus Architects showed drawings that would affect the expo hall, the arena, and the theater.
“It gives us an opportunity to rearrange the seating, rearrange the interior, add private spaces to it, correct ADA issues, add bathrooms, correct issues with the mechanical work and air conditioning and all those things,” Carroll said. “It’s a good concept so far, but we, they still have some more work to do as they said.”
Some people who grew up in the city of Mobile, want to see the civic center being used to its full potential.
“It would be best for us to renovate this because of the economic development opportunities as well as just a historic heirloom that this place is,” Hall said. “I believe that with the proper renovations it could help with so many issues that we’re having here in the community. We need additional revenue to meet some of the needs in our area.”
There is no time frame on when the decision will be made.
With the design, the process could go through 2024.
The planning commission will be shown layouts of how the overall project could further develop based on re-zoning the site.
That will be presented on Thursday.
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