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Alabaster Water Board Chairman Bobby Harris.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held for Alabaster Water's new 18,400-square-foot facility that is expected to be completed by the summer of 2021. (Reporter photo/Keith McCoy)

ALABASTER – Alabaster Water hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, Jan. 17, to kick off a construction project to build a new facility on Kent Farms Way.

The new 18,400 square foot building will house Alabaster Water’s offices and workshop and will include a drive-thru window, parking lot and training facilities. The building will be located behind the Alabaster Post Office on Alabama 119.

The project comes with a $6.8 million price tag and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2021, said Laura Koon, general manager of Alabaster Water. Work crews will begin moving dirt at the 10-plus acre site on Feb. 4.

Koon said Alabaster Water, which is an entity separate from the city, received its funding from the State Revolving Fund loan program administered by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, which provided the business with a better interest rate that it would have received on the bond market.

Koon said a new facility is needed because the business has outgrown its two current facilities, a main office on First Street and a workshop on First Avenue, that were built in the 1970s. The new building will allow all operations to take place in one centrally-located building that can be expanded to meet future needs as the city continues to grow.

Mike Allen, vice chairman of the Alabaster Water Board, said the Alabaster Water employees are very excited about the project and are looking forward to having access to advanced technology that will enable them to do their jobs more efficiently.

Alabaster Water Board Chairman Bobby Harris, a lifelong resident of Alabaster, said he remembers a time when Alabaster residents didn’t have access to water in their homes. Growing up in the Key Stone community, which was located on U.S. 31 where McDonald’s now sits, Harris said everyone would line up and wait their turn to draw water from a well. He also recalled using water from Buck Creek to wash clothes.

“God has given us these natural resources and the ability to draw our resources together and deliver water into homes,” he said.

It’s not a responsibility he takes lightly. He said providing exceptional customer service remains one of the businesses top priorities.

“The construction of this state-of-the-art facility is a proactive investment in our residents and the future of Alabaster Water,” Harris said.

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