The Saban Center will be located in the River District of Tuscaloosa. (Saban Center)

This past week, three new building permits were issued across the state for construction projects exceeding $1 million. Two of these projects are in Tuscaloosa, with one being the massive 312,000-square-foot Saban Center in Tuscaloosa.

Here’s what we know:

Saban Center set to open in 2027

Saban Center Main North E1733937430258 — December 2024 renderings of the campus (Saban Center)

The Saban Center will be a launchpad for those looking to enhance their lives through innovative, interactive learning. Gov. Kay Ivey has officially designated the Saban Center as the STEM hub for Alabama. In addition, she announced a $25 million capital investment to support the project.

The Saban Center’s 312,000-square-foot campus will house:

State of Alabama STEM Hub
Tuscaloosa Children’s Theatre
IGNITE, formerly the Children’s Hands-On Museum

The center will be located in the River District of Tuscaloosa on the old Tuscaloosa News building site. Demolition has already begun, and the campus is slated to open in 2027.

The $74 million building permit was issued to Stone Building Company.

More on this week’s new building permits

Thanks to our friends at Report Construction LLC, we have the list of all of the new million-dollar-plus construction projects approved in Alabama last week. Each week, they pull together information from building permits issued to get all the details on these projects. You can get access to all of their construction permits right here.

Here’s more on these new building permits in Alabama this week (Pro tip for mobile users: turn phone sideways for best viewing experience):

Date	City	Builder	Ownerof Project	ProjectAddress	ProjectState	Square Footage	Amount
07/10/2025	Huntsville	Specon Systems Inc	Crown Leasing	6000 Technology Dr Nw Unit 3	AL		$4,642,000
07/10/2025	Tuscaloosa	Derek Rice Construction LLC	Derek Rice Construction LLC	14136 Santorini St	AL	10,300	$1,399,300
07/10/2025	Tuscaloosa	Stone Building LLC	City Of Tuscaloosa/Saban City	297 Nicks Kids Ave	AL	312,262	$74,194,493