The city of Mobile took another step toward revitalizing the Mobile Civic Center on Tuesday.

During its regular meeting, the Mobile City Council approved the ground lease for construction of an office building on the civic center property. The office building will eventually house the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Mobile offices.

In addition, the council shifted $1 million in funds from the city’s general fund to the capital improvement fund, which will eventually provide the money for construction of a new parking facility on the civic center site. The fund shift was approved unanimously. The ground lease was approved by a vote of 5-1 with one abstention; Councilmember Scott Jones abstained, while Councilmember Ben Reynolds voted against the lease.

“Both of these are good additional steps to see the overall redevelopment of the site,” Jim DeLapp, the city’s executive director of Public Works, said after the meeting.

The lease allows the developer, Virginia-based FD Stonewater, to use the land for 100 years, and the contract is not to exceed $30 million. If construction on the new office building does not begin in the next year, the lease will be voided, according to Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s Chief of Staff James Barber.