BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) -- Plans to turn the Hallmark Farms property off I-65 in Warrior into a destination agriculture and event center are one step closer to reality.
Alabama’s newly created agriculture authority plans to close on the purchase the 500 plus acre parcel of land on March 21, according to Jefferson County Commissioner Joe Knight.
Knight is a member of the Hallmark Cooperative District, which owns the property.
“It’s a beautiful piece of property,” Knight said. “It’s been well taken care of over the years. Once we acquired the title to it several years ago, we’ve kept it up, kept it clean, done some repairs, whatever we needed to do.”
Knight says Jefferson County plans to contribute $16.5 million through an in-kind donation by helping with modifications to the property. The new Agriculture Exhibition Center Corporation (AECC) plans to purchase the land for $13.5 million dollars, according to Matthew Durdin with the Alabama Farmers Federation.
“It is a significant step,” he noted. “The AECC Board will now actually control the property, they’ll have agreements with the county, agreements with the state, and you know chose and hire our contractors and our architects and those type of things.”
Durdin said what they envision is a first-class facility that will host rodeos, fairs, and equestrian events for not just the state of Alabama, but for the entire Southeast region.
“The group that we’ve had helping design this has made sure that we’ve stayed in front of new changes and developments in the ag world and the show industry and the horse world.”
When asked what makes the property so appealing, Durdin said in addition to interstate access, the icing on the cake is that it’s an actual farm. The property also boasts four lakes, and a tunnel that runs underneath I-65.
Durdin said in the last several months there’s been more interest from southern regional retailers, including hotel and restaurant chains that have expressed an interest in developing the property and nearby land.
CBS 42 asked about the fate of the iconic large barn that’s visible from the highway:
“It may not be this existing structure,” Durdin explained, “but we are going to have something that is identical to this right here. It’s what makes this whole place iconic is this big barn and we’re not going to lost that.”
Reaction to the news of the pending sale was positive at the nearby White House Restaurant:
“We waited so long, it’s been forever, it’s a great thing,”said Jonah Briant who lives in Warrior.
“I think it’s great,” said Bonnie Lowe, “Warrior needs something different.”
The $158 million dollar project is a public private partnership. Durdin said about 70% of funding has identified through state, county, and private investment sources.