City leaders say the U.S. Coast Guard plans to acquire the former campus of Birmingham-Southern College to build a training center.
The city anticipates a multi-million dollar economic impact from the influx of people coming in and out of Birmingham. The training center is anticipated to bring 1,000 jobs to the campus.
Mayor Randall Woodfin said the jobs represent significant growth over what the campus previously supported.
“Those 1,000 jobs represent a minimum of three times the number of jobs that were already there, so just do the simple math of that,” Woodfin said.
Birmingham City Councilor Sonja Smith, who represents District 8 and is a Birmingham-Southern alumna, said the announcement brings relief to the community.
“As an alum, it makes me proud and warms my heart to know that the property is going to good use and it’s able to stay intact,” Smith said.
