Mobile City Council to Weigh $9 Million Brookley by the Bay Grant to Build Waterfront Park’s First Phase

MOBILE, Ala. — Mobile’s long-planned waterfront park could move a step closer to construction Tuesday, when the Mobile City Council takes up a $9 million Brookley by the Bay grant from the state to fund the park’s first major build-out on the western shore of Mobile Bay.

A consent resolution on the council’s agenda for Tuesday, Oct. 6, would accept the money from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for a project called the Brookley by the Bay Southern Activation Zone – Phase 1b. The city would put up a $5 million match, bringing the combined investment to $14 million.

The council will meet at 6 p.m., a special time for this week’s session, in its usual location, the Government Plaza Auditorium.

What the Brookley by the Bay Grant Would Pay For

According to the agenda item, the city has finished design and engineering for the first phase of the park and has shovel-ready construction documents in hand. The state grant and the city’s $5 million match would go toward building the Southern Activation Zone, the first phase of the park.

In addition to a south parking loop and road, the agenda lists these planned features:

• Destination play spaces
• An experiential water play area
• An environmental-themed playground
• Beach volleyball
• Picnic shelters
• Restrooms
• Disc golf

The agenda notes that the list is not exhaustive. Together, the elements are designed to give families and visitors reasons to spend a day at the park, from children’s play areas to recreational courts and shaded picnic spots near the water.

Because the item is on the consent agenda, it is the kind of routine resolution that councils often approve together with other items in a single vote, though any council member can ask to pull an item for separate discussion.

A Grant Announced by Gov. Ivey in August

The agenda item states that the award was announced by Gov. Kay Ivey on Aug. 20, 2026. That day, Ivey announced more than $52 million in funding for 21 projects in coastal Alabama through the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, commonly known as GOMESA.

The $9 million for Brookley by the Bay’s Southern Activation Zone, Phase 1b, was the largest single award in that round. Other Mobile County projects on the list included $5 million for the Alabama Port Authority’s Upper Mobile Bay Wetlands Creation construction project and $5 million for the Mobile County Commission’s Byrnewood Boat Ramp and public access project.

“These investments will strengthen our coastal communities, improve access to our waterways and preserve the natural resources that support jobs,” Ivey said in the announcement.

Alabama Conservation Commissioner Chris Blankenship, whose department administers the program, said in the same release that “the GoMESA projects announced today continue a long list of important environmental and quality of life improvements in Coastal Alabama.”

Mobile Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis welcomed the award in an email release a few days later, calling the park and the continued activation of the city’s waterfront “a total game-changer for our city.”

How GOMESA Funding Works

Congress passed the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act in 2006. The law shares a portion of federal revenue from offshore oil and gas leasing with the four Gulf oil- and gas-producing states, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, and with eligible coastal counties and parishes.

Under the program, those states and local governments receive 37.5% of qualified revenues from Outer Continental Shelf leases issued since Dec. 20, 2006. In Alabama, the state’s share is administered by ADCNR with approval from the governor’s office, and the money is used for coastal conservation, restoration, public access and related projects.

From Master Plan to Shovel-Ready Park

Brookley by the Bay covers about 98 acres along the western shore of Mobile Bay, just east of the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley. The city acquired the bayfront property in 2020 using GOMESA funding, with the goal of reconnecting residents to a stretch of shoreline that has long been difficult for the public to reach.

A master plan for the park was developed between August 2022 and February 2023 by a team that included SCAPE, Volkert, Moffatt & Nichol and Thompson Engineering, working with the City of Mobile. The planning process drew feedback from more than 300 community members, partner agencies and stakeholder organizations, and the city released the finished plan in March 2023.

The plan blends recreation areas built around waterfront access with ecological restoration. It envisions beaches, open fields and large tree canopies alongside natural habitats such as tidal flats, marshes, forested wetlands and shallow lagoons, plus flexible spaces that can host everything from small gatherings to large events.

Earlier Steps in 2026

The project has advanced in stages. In January 2026, the City Council considered an agreement with state officials for $3.5 million, funded mainly through GOMESA along with city money, to cover pre-construction work. That work included site surveys, engineering and design, and permitting for roads, pathways, drainage, lighting, utilities and landscaping.

Plans described at the time called for roughly 5,200 linear feet of roadway and about 3,300 linear feet of multi-use pedestrian paths, with the park’s entrance reached from Broad Street.

Tuesday’s agenda item builds on that groundwork, stating that design and engineering for Phase I are complete and that construction documents are ready.

What Comes Next for the Bayfront Park

If the council accepts the grant, the city can move toward putting the first phase out for construction. City officials said in August that construction is expected to take about a year once bidding is complete, with bidding anticipated in late 2026 or early 2027.

City officials have also described the park as a multi-year effort that will rely on funding from a variety of sources. Later phases outlined by the city include an amphitheater, which officials have said could hold 3,000 to 5,000 people.

For now, the focus is on Phase I and the Southern Activation Zone, the section that would give the public its first real taste of the park, with places to play, picnic and get close to the water.

The Brookley Name and Its Place in Mobile History

The park takes its name from the surrounding Brookley area, which carries one of the most significant legacies in Mobile’s modern history. Brookley Field, later Brookley Air Force Base, was established in 1940 on the site of Mobile’s original Bates Field airport.

The base was named for Capt. Wendell H. Brookley, a World War I-era Army pilot who died in a 1934 aircraft accident. During World War II, Brookley became the major Army Air Forces supply base for the Air Materiel Command in the southeastern United States and the Caribbean, employing about 17,000 civilians at its peak.

On Nov. 19, 1964, the Department of Defense announced that the base would be phased out, and it closed in June 1969. The closure eliminated an estimated 13,000 jobs, roughly a tenth of Mobile’s workforce, and was a major blow to the local economy.

The former base property went on to become the Mobile Downtown Airport and is now the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley, home to the Airbus final assembly line that builds A320 family jetliners. Brookley by the Bay sits next to that industrial and aviation hub, giving the area a new public, recreational identity along the bay.

How to Follow Tuesday’s Mobile City Council Meeting

Residents who want to watch the council consider the Brookley by the Bay grant can attend in person. Key details:

• When: Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, at 6 p.m., a special time for this week’s meeting
• Where: Government Plaza Auditorium, downtown Mobile
• Item: Consent resolution accepting a $9 million ADCNR grant for the Brookley by the Bay Southern Activation Zone – Phase 1b, with a $5 million city match

Because the meeting is being held at a different hour than usual, residents planning to attend should note the 6 p.m. start time. Council agendas are posted by the City of Mobile ahead of each meeting.