Alabama Farm Center receives $2.5 million mine reclamation grant
Officials said the Warrior project would reclaim mined land while drawing visitors, jobs and new investment to north Jefferson County.
Alabama Department of Workforce Secretary Greg Reed announced Wednesday that the department awarded the Alabama Farm Center a $2.5 million grant to reclaim former coal mining land for an agricultural exhibition center.
The funding comes through a 2025 Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization grant. The department said the grant will support economic development in Jefferson County by reclaiming land used in past coal mining operations.
The Alabama Farm Center will use the funds to help transform 520 acres of historically mined land at Hallmark Farm in Warrior into a statewide agricultural exhibition, education and economic development hub.
“Located at Hallmark Farm in Warrior, Alabama, the massive project will repurpose a mining-impacted landscape into a vibrant regional asset,” the department wrote.
A public-private partnership anchored by the Alabama Exhibition Center Corporation will back the project.
Funding commitments include $50 million from the state, $16 million from Jefferson County, more than $20 million from private donors through the Alabama Farmers Federation and $11 million from a previous AMLER award.
“By maximizing impact from the long-standing relationships that exist between business and government, we are able to provide major improvements in Jefferson County, along with creating and sustaining major economic impact,” Reed said. “This is precisely the type of collaboration that is needed in order to spur economic development in some of Alabama’s most critical areas.”
The department described the Alabama Farm Center as positioned to become a “massive tourism and financial driver for the state, translating a historic liability into a sustainable asset.”
The department projects that, over the next 20 years, the project will generate $2.2 billion in direct economic impact and support 850 jobs, including 300 direct and 550 indirect jobs. It also projects more than 620,000 annual visitors attending 91 planned events over 211 event days, demand for 24,000 overnight hotel stays and increased activity across 500,000 square feet of nearby retail and dining space.
“By resolving critical mining hazards and leveraging over $153 million in total Phase 1 investment, the Alabama Farm Center serves as a premier model for how blighted spaces can be reclaimed to fuel long-term community and economic growth,” the department wrote.
Before construction can begin, the site requires extensive environmental remediation to address hazards from past mining operations, according to the department. The current AMLER grant will fund foundational work in the project’s first phase to prepare the land for public use.
Crews will stabilize the site’s historic beehive-style coke oven complex, address horizontal and vertical mine shafts and grade the land to correct disrupted water flows and shallow pits.
“Comprehensive mass grading will be completed as a single package to maximize cost efficiency and pave the way for future infrastructure,” the department wrote.
AMLER funds will pay exclusively for reclamation work, utilities, roadways and parking. Separate public and private funds will finance construction of the facility’s centerpiece red barn.
“We appreciate Secretary Reed and the Department of Workforce’s support as we create a new future for Hallmark Farm,” Alabama Exhibition Center Corporation Chairman Jimmy Parnell said. “This area has long been an economic engine for north Jefferson County and beyond. The rich, natural resources that fueled Alabama’s steel industry now provide a site, rich in natural beauty, where the Alabama Farm Center will be a driver for education, youth development and tourism. We are grateful for the opportunity to reclaim this historic land for Alabama’s students, families and visitors.”
The department’s Abandoned Mine Land Program reclaims land affected by coal mining before 1977, addressing hazards such as mine fires, subsidence and water pollution. Federal grants, including AMLER grants, fund the program, which has restored thousands of acres of former mining land.
