The Mobile City Council unanimously approved on Tuesday an agreement with the University of South Alabama to provide $10 million over ten years for the construction of a new facility for the Whiddon College of Medicine.

The council will give $1 million a year to USA for ten years to help pay for construction of the new facility. The money is coming from revenue in the city’s general fund earmarked for economic development incentives, Candace Cooksey, director of communications for the city of Mobile, said.

“The University of South Alabama has always been an incredible partner to the City of Mobile and has consistently invested in our community,” Cooksey said in an email. “We are proud to join the other private and public entities helping USA continue to provide a world-class education for the medical professionals that will serve Mobilians and Alabamians in the future.”

Although the measure passed unanimously, Councilmember William Carroll had been hesitant to support the agreement, because he said he felt the money would be better spent in Mobile’s underserved neighborhoods. But after a heated discussion during the council’s preconference meeting, Carroll decided to support the agreement.

“Right now, we’re working as hard as we can to get money [to Mobile’s underserved neighborhoods], but we continue to give millions and millions of dollars to corporations, which I agree with, that have hundreds of millions of dollars,” Carroll said after the meeting. “If we can do $1 million dollars for ten years, with a corporation or entity for ‘economic development,’ then we should be able to do $1 million for ten years or more in neighborhoods that truly need it.”