Just down the street from Tropic Falls at OWA in Foley, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, the city of Foley and Holtz Companies broke ground Tuesday on a new housing complex for seasonal workers. When it’s completed next summer, the complex will house 600 workers in two residence halls.

“This impacts all of south Baldwin [County], it’s not just restricted to the city businesses of Foley,” Foley Mayor Ralph Hellmich said Tuesday. “It’s going to be a Class A facility, that’s going to give a great experience for these J-1 workers. They’re going to remember our area, and they’re going to go back and tell everybody, ‘Hey, this is a great memory for me, I would go work there.’”

International Residence Hall will primarily house international summer workers that use the United States’ Summer Work Travel program, known as the J-1 visa. The residence halls will house four people to a room and will have common kitchens and living spaces. Rent will be $150 per bed, per week, according to Dan Bullock, president of Holtz Companies, which will also serve as the property management company for the site.

The goal is to draw more seasonal workers to south Baldwin County, Hellmich says. The region was about 6,000 workers short last summer, he says, and he hopes that this complex will be one piece of the puzzle to adding more workers to the area. The complex could be expanded to house as many as 2,400 workers, though plans for expansion have not been set yet, says Cody Williamson, president and CEO with the Creek Indians Enterprise Development Authority.

The complex will directly help the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, which employs over 6,000 people in Alabama and owns the OWA theme parks. Williamson says that OWA is about 200 workers short this summer.