Birmingham Selected for New U.S. Coast Guard Training Center at Former Birmingham-Southern Campus
The U.S. Coast Guard has selected Birmingham as the location for a new training center that will help prepare the next generation of service members.
The facility will be located on the historic campus of Birmingham-Southern College, repurposing the 192-acre site into a training hub for Coast Guard recruits and personnel. The decision follows a nationwide search for facilities capable of supporting the service’s growing training needs, with training missions expected to begin later this year.
The new center is part of the Coast Guard’s Force Design 2028 initiative, a modernization strategy aimed at strengthening the service and expanding its ranks by approximately 15,000 personnel over the next several years.
Birmingham was selected in part because of the campus’s turn-key facilities, available space, and proximity to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, allowing the Coast Guard to begin operations quickly. Once operational, the center will support housing for approximately 1,200 recruits along with classrooms, training facilities, dining services, medical support, and other operational infrastructure.
Birmingham Business Alliance President and CEO Steve Ammons welcomed the announcement.
“We’re thrilled that the Coast Guard selected Birmingham to train the next generation of military leaders,” Ammons said. “This announcement further cements Alabama's role as one of the country’s strongest defense industry hubs. We look forward to welcoming servicemembers and trainees to the Magic City. We thank our federal delegation in supporting the Birmingham region in this announcement."
Local leaders say the project will bring significant economic activity and new jobs to the surrounding community while ensuring that the Birmingham-Southern campus continues to serve an important public mission.
The announcement also reinforces Birmingham’s growing role in national security and defense innovation. The region is home to leading research institutions, advanced manufacturers, and technology companies supporting defense and aerospace missions across the Southeast.
The training center will also introduce thousands of servicemembers and trainees to Birmingham each year, strengthening the region’s workforce pipeline and creating new connections between military training, higher education, and private-sector career opportunities.
Repurposing the Birmingham-Southern campus for a national training mission represents a powerful example of how the region is transforming existing assets into new opportunities for economic growth and community impact.
As the Coast Guard begins preparing the campus for training operations, Birmingham is proud to support the servicemembers who will come here to train, learn, and lead.
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