Foley City Council has approved the purchase of more than 2 acres on East Violet Avenue north of Heritage Park, a move city officials say will allow for expanded municipal services and new community facilities.

Known as the Gatlin Property, the parcel sits east of the Wilbourne Antique Rose Trail and south of the current Foley Public Works Department. Mayor Ralph Hellmich said the existing Public Works site will be repurposed as offices for the city’s Parks Department and Horticulture Department once the new Public Works campus opens in early 2026.

“It’s where our Parks Department will be here in central Foley,” Hellmich said. “It's a pretty good piece of property for our campus.”

City leaders are exploring several potential uses for the newly acquired land, including a new civic center and a museum honoring Foley’s designation as an American World War II Heritage City. The current Civic Center, built in the 1970s, no longer meets the city’s needs.

“Our Civic Center was built when I was in high school, a long time ago, and when our city was 5,000 people,” Hellmich said. “We have outgrown it. It is not big enough, and so we're going to build one that will hold somewhere around 800 people. We want to build it over on this site, and we'll be able to preserve the majority, if not all, of the big oak trees.”

Plans for the museum would commemorate Barin Field, a Navy training base that opened in 1942, and highlight Foley’s contributions to naval aviation and the nation’s defense during World War II. The designation as an American World War II Heritage City is limited to one city per state or territory.

“Foley was selected as a World War II Heritage City because of our involvement with naval aviation in World War II and our contribution our city has to naval aviation and what it meant our country's defense in both the Pacific and since then,” Hellmich said. “If there's enough room on that site, we've been talking about putting the museum there.”

Foley City Administrator Mike Thompson said the family that sold the Gatlin Property also donated an adjacent parcel south of East Violet Avenue east of Heritage Park, adding about one-third of an acre to the city’s holdings.