Foley Activity Center Dedication Set for Nov. 5 at $1.97 Million Former National Guard Armory
Foley will dedicate its $1.97 million Activity Center, converted from a former National Guard armory, on Nov. 5. The project is part of a wider city effort that includes the old library and a new indoor Aquatics Center.
FOLEY, Ala. — The Foley Activity Center, a $1.97 million conversion of the city’s former National Guard armory into recreation space and municipal offices, will be dedicated at 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, as the city continues a broader push to reuse and upgrade its public buildings.
The center is at 315 E. Jessamine Ave., behind City Hall. The city said the dedication is by invitation only and will recognize National Guard members who served at the armory, along with people involved in its renovation.
A building with more than 50 years of Guard history
The building has a long military story, one South AL News traced in a recent look at the city’s armories. Foley’s Guard unit moved into the East Jessamine Avenue facility in August 1969, and it was formally dedicated in January 1970 as Fort William L. Smith.
The name honors Sgt. 1st Class William L. Smith of Foley, a former Foley High School football player who joined the Guard at 16. He was killed in action while leading a charge near Kumhwa, Korea, on Nov. 4, 1951, nine days short of his 20th birthday, and was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
For decades, local Guard members trained at the armory, responded to hurricanes and prepared for overseas deployments, including a 2004 deployment to the Middle East.
The building changed hands after the Guard’s needs outgrew it. The city provided land for a new armory of more than 30,000 square feet, dedicated in 2023, and in exchange received the Jessamine Avenue property. It is the second of Foley’s former armories to find a new use. The city’s first, a 1935 building on North McKenzie Street, is now home to the restaurant Local and Company Food+Drink.
The renovated center now gives the community dedicated indoor recreation areas while also housing city staff and operations.
Part of a larger reuse strategy
City officials describe the Activity Center as one piece of a strategy to get more from city-owned facilities. Two other major projects are part of that effort.
The old library. The Foley Community Library moved to a new 40,000-square-foot home at 230 E. Orange Ave., which opened to the public Aug. 4. The city plans to reuse the former library building on Laurel Avenue, with a larger municipal Senior Center on the ground floor and administrative offices on the second floor.
In the meantime, the building has a seasonal use. In October, the City Council agreed to let the South Baldwin County Toys for Tots campaign use the first floor at no cost through Dec. 31 to sort and distribute Christmas gifts.
A new pool. The city is also developing an indoor Aquatics Center in Max Griffin Park to replace its outdoor pool, built in 1953. The city said the facility will allow year-round swimming, therapy and swim team practices. Once it is complete, the old pool site could be repurposed for park features such as a splash pad or pavilion.
Site preparation is already drawing council action. The council recently approved plans making $204,000 available for upgraded lighting and other improvements at the park, including LED lights for the softball field that will remain there and underground power lines. Foley and Riviera Utilities will also work together to upgrade electrical service and transformers for the new center.
Keeping up with growth
The projects come as Foley works to keep pace with rapid growth. The city puts its current population at about 32,000. When the old library building opened in 1984, Foley had about 4,500 residents, according to the city.
City officials said adapting existing structures and expanding public facilities allows Foley to meet the needs of that growing population efficiently.
