Ground broken on Montgomery Whitewater project

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) -The Montgomery Whitewater deal is sealed, delivered and on the way!

Thursday, dignitaries broke ground on a mammoth project worth $50 million off Maxwell Boulevard.

Construction workers will spend the first seven or eight months doing site work, which is going on right now before anything takes shape above ground.

Five years worth of work came to fruition.

“And, this will be a great addition to the state’s economy with a $50 million project,” said Gov. Kay Ivey.

“This is going to be a fantastic catalyst for economic development for this community. We intend to invite the world to learn about your historical city,” said Scott Shipley, President of S2o Design & Engineering. Shipley was also part of the U.S Olympic Kayak Teams in 1992, 1996 and 2000.

Shipley joined local and state leaders in the groundbreaking ceremony, and that included paddles, not the normal protocol of shovels.

“We’re going to be making a lot of money. I think the city and the county will not have to worry about raising taxes,” Montgomery County Commission Chairman Elton Dean predicted.

The Montgomery Whitewater Entertainment District will be built for those who love the outdoors with rafting, kayaking and zip-lining along with restaurants, retail and a beer garden.

“Air University is the intellectual and leadership development center for the air and space forces. We need to attract the best and the brightest and community projects like this raises the quality of life, bring a higher quality of life,” said Maxwell Air Force Base Air University Major General Jeffrey Hinrich.

Opening day will be sometime in the spring of 2023. Meantime, the numbers are impressive; a $40 million dollar economic impact every year; there will be 125 jobs up for grabs; a yearly attendance of 300,000 people, all of this according to Montgomery County leaders.

Montgomery County is footing the bulk of the construction tab of $35 million dollars.

The JESCO Corporation is the general contractor for the job.

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