Foley, Ala. — (OBA) — Foley leaders say the city is on track for another busy year of growth and construction. In his latest State of the City address, Mayor Ralph Hellmich described projects that will add services and improve residents' daily lives. He discussed the new buildings, street and road improvements, and recreation facilities. He also praised city employees for helping Foley keep up with a growing population.

Hellmich delivered the 2025 State of the City speech at the Foley Civic Center. He told employees and residents that plans for 2026 include significant investments in public works, public safety, and community programs. Many of the projects build on work the city completed in 2025, including improvements around Heritage Park.

Related Article:  City Of Foley Partnership Lifts Performance At Area Schools

One of the most significant efforts is the new Public Works Campus on North Poplar Street. The complex is scheduled to be fully finished in the spring of 2026, with some areas expected to open by January. The site will provide several city departments with much more space to operate and store equipment.

“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,” he said. “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 new library and community center on East Orange Avenue is expected to be finished. The building will be about 40,000 square feet, double the size of the current library. City officials say the extra room will allow more programs and meeting space.

Hellmich said the library is about far more than shelves of books. “A lot of people ask why we are building a public library,” he said. “It's because of the programs that our library hosts.” He said thousands of children attend library programs each year.

“That's outside the normal balance of education,” Hellmich said. “We have other participants who 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.”

Foley also finished several transportation projects in 2025. The city extended Jessamine Avenue east of Heritage Park and built a new park gateway at the site. “We closed the gap on Jessamine Street and finished the grand entrance, which we're going to continue around downtown,” Hellmich said.

Similar streetscape work is now underway on South Chicago Street south of Heritage Park. The city continues to add sidewalks to make walking safer and easier. New stretches of sidewalk have recently been poured along North Cedar Street, linking neighborhoods and public spaces.

The Foley City Council has also approved $1 million for roadway repaving and improvements. Other current projects include work at Mills Community Park and upgrades at the Pecan Street Crosswalk. City officials say these efforts are intended to keep pace with traffic and parking demand as more people move to Foley.

Looking ahead, the city plans to build a new fire station in the northeast part of town. Leaders are also preparing a new access road for the Industrial Park and working with Baldwin County to extend James Road southward. Hellmich said planning is moving forward for a new Civic Center, an Aquatic Center, and a new Senior Center.

Some of this construction is being funded through impact fees charged to developers. Those fees helped fund Foley’s recently completed pickleball and sand volleyball complex and the new soccer fields in west Foley. City officials say the recreation sites are heavily used by residents and visiting teams.

Foley Sports Tourism continues to play a significant role in the local economy. The department hosted 85 events, attracting more than 250,000 visitors to the city. Those tournaments and meets generated an estimated $44.5 million in business sales, including $11 million in food and beverage spending.

Lodging sales from sports tourism reached about $5.5 million, according to the city. Local tax revenue tied to the events totaled $2.5 million. Hellmich said that money, along with impact fees, helps pay for upgrades without placing the full cost on existing residents.

The mayor said growth brings challenges, but it also delivers essential services. One example is the new $300 million hospital complex being built at Baldwin Health. “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,” Hellmich said. “With this expansion of medical parks and with these hospitals, we hope that we can keep meeting the needs of our citizens.”

Hellmich credited city workers for helping Foley manage rapid change. “We're doing a good job. Everybody in this room is doing a great job,” he told employees. He said their work keeps services running even as demands increase.

“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.”