By Troy Turner
The U.S. Army awarded Birmingham-based BL Harbert International LLC a nearly $172 million contract for the conversion of existing administrative space in Huntsville to a data center, laboratories and updated administrative space.
The military award was the first one announced in 2026 by the War Department, which released contract information Jan. 2 but shared no details about the conversion work being planned.
The Army has a massive presence in Huntsville, much of which is connected to space and missile defense research and commands located on Redstone Arsenal.
Developmental work using artificial intelligence, data management and cyber technology also is prevalent on Redstone, adding to the Army’s previously reported intentions to modernize its data centers and labs.
The conversion project awarded BL Harbert has an estimated completion date of April 21, 2028.
Fiscal 2024 and 2025 military construction, defense-wide funds; and fiscal 2026 research, development, test and evaluation, defense-wide funds totaling $171,506,091, were obligated at the time of the award.
However, the total cumulative face value of the contract is almost $195 million, the Department of War reported.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, is the contracting agency.
BL Harbert International
BL Harbert International, among Alabama’s most notable firms, has become one of the U.S. government’s primary contractor/construction/development partners, including with major and often complicated projects for the military and for foreign embassy complexes that demand a wide range of security and mission-specific requirements.
The company has garnered more than $16 billion in government contracts during its history with the military and federal agencies, but its portfolio ranges far beyond that with a wide range of commercial, health care and residential projects around the globe.
Although headquartered in Birmingham, BL Harbert also has offices in several other U.S. cities and in international locations such as London, Dubai and Istanbul.
Troy Turner is the editor and senior consultant for AlaDefense.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. His bio can be found here.
Similar stories of interest:
