boykin tower

MOBILE, Ala.

At one time, it was a home to many, but now it stands boarded up and an eye sore.
The multi-story Boykins Tower was once a home for low-income seniors, but now it stands alone with an uncertain future.

A new purpose for the property is on the table to make it part of Mobile’s growing Brookley Aeroplex, soon to be home for the new Mobile International Airport, now under construction.

The Mobile Airport Authority has now acquired the Boykin Tower as part of a bigger property purchase.

“We want to ensure that, and so does the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Mobile Housing Board, that all of the families that could possibly be there are vacated and placed appropriately. The airport, from the start, has never had a timetable for when we absolutely wanted to purchase the property. So the master plan would be the next step to determine its best and highest use.”

Mobile’s booming port will also play a major role in that master plan, says Curry, and what will eventually be constructed on that property.

“I think when you look around the city it’s very hard to find modern warehousing,” says Curry. “So I think warehousing, the storage of goods would complement both the airport and the Alabama State Port Authority.”

Curry says it’s those kind of facilities that could help the airport authority to really get off the ground.

“Our primary interest in purchasing the property is that we can use the revenue that’s generated and drive our primary goal, which is to provide premium air service to the customers of our region. And so the airport is a self-sustaining entity and so we need revenue to continue to build on our project and to move in concert with our master plan.”

With all of this happening around it, will Boykin Towers have to come down?

Curry says it’s not a sure thing, not yet.

“Again, I think we will look to experts and we will look to the master plan to tell us what the highest and best use is for that building.”

The closing on the property was the cooperative work of the Mobile Airport Authority, the Mobile Housing Authority, the City of Mobile and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

This acquisition represents a significant milestone for both MAA and the City of Mobile. MAA will now commission a master plan to determine the best use of this property. This property will well-serve the MAA’s mission and help fund its operations well into the future.

As for the Mobile International Airport terminal construction, Curry says the structure itself is about 25 percent assembled.

The airport should be open in late 2025 or early 2026.