Foley has officially broken ground on a hardened safe room designed to protect the city's first responders during hurricanes and other emergencies, marking a major milestone after years of planning and coordination with federal, state and local partners.

City officials broke ground around 2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9, on city-owned property at 1038 N. Poplar St. near the Public Works campus now under construction. The project will serve as Foley's first dedicated shelter and operations center for police officers, firefighters and other emergency personnel.

Mayor Ralph Hellmich said the city has worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for about five years to reach the construction phase.

"We are very excited. We are starting construction this month. It's been a long, long journey with FEMA," Hellmich said. "It's about a 14 month construction."

Hellmich said the need for the safe room arose after Hurricane Sally struck the area.

"We suffered a catastrophe in 2020 with Hurricane Sally. It demonstrated the need for our city and our community to have a safe room," Hellmich said. "Everybody said Sally wasn't supposed to be that bad. Those were famous last words. But today we're going to break ground on the safe room that will help us prepare for the future."

Construction is scheduled to begin next week and is expected to take between 14 and 16 months, placing completion ahead of the 2027 hurricane season. Once finished, the single-story facility will be nearly 10,000 square feet and capable of sheltering more than 200 people.

"It's a very well designed building rated to 200 miles an hour," Hellmich said. "Up to 200 people can be in here. That's responders, state troopers, deputy sheriffs, first responders from some of our smaller communities and our city workers. That way we can quickly respond."

The structure is engineered to withstand winds of up to 200 miles per hour and will include living accommodations and kitchen facilities to allow personnel to remain on site throughout an emergency. A 400-kilowatt generator capable of operating on natural gas or diesel fuel will provide backup power if the electrical grid fails.

"It has structural steel supporting recast concrete roof, concrete topping. It will be quite the fortress," said Buford King, Foley director of public projects, infrastructure and development.

Beyond its role as a storm shelter, the safe room is designed to function as a command post if other city facilities are damaged or rendered unusable. Police and fire departments will also use the building year-round for training sessions, meetings and other operational needs.

"It's not just a safe room during a hurricane. It will also be multi-purpose. We can use it for training our first responders and other needs of our community," Hellmich said. "This building is going to make us all very proud."

Most of the project's cost will be covered by a federal grant approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Foley officials have worked with FEMA and the state since 2020 to secure the funding. Hellmich also credited Baldwin County for assisting the city through a property exchange that provided the North Poplar Avenue site where the facility will be built.

Companies involved in the project include Roy Lewis Construction as the contractor, Adams Stewart Architects, Jade Engineering as civil engineer, Smith Mechanical for plumbing and HVAC, Stewart Engineering and Construction for electrical work, structural engineer Stephen Horne and Encompass 360.

City leaders said the facility will not only strengthen Foley's emergency response capabilities but also serve agencies throughout the region when major storms or disasters threaten the Gulf Coast.