Foley’s slate of new facilities and infrastructure projects is moving from planning to reality as city leaders prepare for continued growth and rising demand for services.

Mayor Ralph Hellmich outlined the progress during his annual State of the City address, highlighting major investments nearing completion and several more scheduled to begin within the next year.

Construction of the new Public Works Campus on North Poplar Street is expected to be fully completed in the spring, with some portions ready by January. The campus will consolidate multiple city departments into a modernized facility designed to meet long-term needs. Once operations move, the current Public Works facility will be renovated and repurposed.

“Once we move over there this spring, we will refurbish the old Public Works campus,” Hellmich said. “That will give our Parks and Recreation Department a new home, which will be more modern. We're moving 150 people to this campus. This will be vastly expanded with modern technology, which will meet our needs for the next 30 or 40 years.”

Soon after the Public Works campus opens, the city expects to complete the new library and community center on East Orange Avenue. The 40,000-square-foot building will double the size of the existing facility and is scheduled to open in the spring.

Hellmich emphasized that the project is centered on community programming as much as traditional library services.

“A lot of people ask why we are building a public library,” Hellmich said. “It's because of the programs that our library hosts. There are thousands of children who go through programs in our public library every year. That's outside the normal balance of education. We have other participants that work there. We have computer labs, genealogy research, that's what this new library will be, a focus for the programs that support our community and the library group.”

Several infrastructure improvements were completed over the past year, including the extension of Jessamine Avenue east of Heritage Park and the construction of a new park gateway. Additional enhancements are planned to continue around the downtown area.

“We closed the gap on Jessamine Street and finished the grand entrance, which we're going to continue around downtown,” Hellmich said.

Similar work is now underway along South Chicago Street south of Heritage Park. The city has also expanded sidewalks to improve pedestrian access, with new walkways added on North Cedar Street. City Council approved $1 million for roadway repaving and improvements, while other projects included upgrades at Mills Community Park and the Pecan Street Crosswalk.

Looking ahead, Foley plans to begin construction on a new fire station in the city’s northeast area, build a new access road for the Industrial Park and partner with the county to extend James Road south. Planning is also underway for a new Civic Center, an Aquatic Center and a Senior Center.

Hellmich said many of the projects are funded through growth-related revenue, including impact fees paid by developers. Those funds helped build the city’s pickleball and sand volleyball complex and new soccer fields in west Foley.

Sports tourism has also played a growing role in the local economy. Foley Sports Tourism hosted 85 events that brought more than 250,000 visitors to the city, generating $44.5 million in business sales, $11 million in food and beverage sales, $5.5 million in lodging sales and $2.5 million in local tax revenue.

Hellmich acknowledged that rapid growth presents challenges but said it has also delivered critical benefits, including expanded medical services. He pointed to the $300 million expansion at Baldwin Health as an example.

“Without that growth, you would not have a new $300 million hospital complex,” he said. “Without those hospitals to meet our needs, especially doctors, we would still have to go to Pensacola, Fairhope, Mobile, or even farther. With this expansion of medical parks and with these hospitals, we hope that we can keep meeting the needs of our citizens.”

The mayor credited city employees for helping manage the city’s expansion and maintaining service levels.

“We're doing a good job. Everybody in this room is doing a great job,” he told employees.

As Foley continues to grow, Hellmich said the demand for services will keep rising.

“When you grow, you need more fire trucks. You need more police. You need more garbage trucks, you name it. You need more people,” Hellmich said. “We're growing, and we probably will be the largest city in Baldwin County within the next 10 years. We're not trying to do that. It's just a great place to live.”