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By NOAH WORTHAM | Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Work on the city of Alabaster’s new amphitheater and senior center expansion is now complete, just in time for the city’s annual Christmas festivities.

The Alabaster City Council previously approved the $4,725,100 bid to Clements Dean Building Company for the construction of both upgrades to the municipal area during a meeting on Dec. 11, 2023.  Now, just shy of a year later, both amenities are ready for residents to take advantage of.

“It’s really exciting because it’s an investment of a different kind,” said Jamie Cole, city council member in Alabaster’s Ward 5 and Alabaster Arts Council vice president. “To have something like this for the arts community and to be arts minded (is) a neat thing.”

The new amphitheater features a state-of-the-art sound system, a performing stage and a video board as well as loading and unloading areas for bands and storage. The space also offers a versatile seating setup that allows options for seating or for residents to utilize blankets and lawn chairs. New hardscape around the stage makes both configurations possible.

“This is a venue that belongs to the residents of Alabaster and I don’t want to just see them visit it, I want them to use it,” Cole said. “There are a lot of ways that can happen and we’ll be talking about that a lot more over the next year.”

Cole said the venue opens up a lot of possibilities for the Alabaster Arts Council which is an organization that aims to enrich the quality of life in Alabaster through arts and arts education.

Cole highlighted that Alabaster CityFest “isn’t going anywhere” and will continue to be held at the Thompson High School campus each year. The new amphitheater provides a space for smaller concerts that offer a different kind of appeal.

“(Alabaster) has a lot of creative diversity,” Cole said. “That’s the exciting part from the Arts Council’s side is, if you put somebody on the CityFest stage, you expect them to be a high-end, A-list draw and to be able to do something with this venue that might be a little more on the niche side is exciting.”

The amphitheater is part of the city’s newly designated Siluria Mill District which covers down to the corner of Highway 119, Thompson Road and around Larry Simmons Stadium, Peanut Davenport Field and Warrior Park. Connecting these major amenities allows the city to develop a more centralized venue that is easily accessible.

“This is the first big project that we’ve seen come out of the ground and get vertical that represents a longer term plan for that part of town,” Cole said. “This is sort of the north anchor of a new city center.”

The city has also completed construction on an addition to the Alabaster Senior Center which will aid with the center’s programs while also complimenting the new amphitheater with venue space.

“Not only did that add an amenity, it added space for a very active senior center (and) that space also gives us some latitude when we’re hosting events,” Cole said.

The new senior center expansion features various additions, including a large catering kitchen, new restroom facilities and an open porch that faces the amphitheater.

Residents will be able to fully take advantage of both amenities for the first time during the city of Alabaster’s first scheduled event for the holidays, its annual water tower lighting on Friday, Dec. 6 from 6-8 p.m.

“The proximity of this venue to something that really is our historical icon in the city, it just opens up so many possibilities and this water tower lighting is the first of them,” Cole said.