Judson College's new owners to bring pharmaceutical manufacturing, 500 jobs to Marion campus

The new owners of Judson College’s campus in Marion unveiled plans on Monday to turn the campus into what they’re calling Atlas Complex that they say will bring hundreds of jobs and a major pharmaceutical logistics presence to the Black Belt.

In a ceremony on the steps of Jewett Hall, Callan JMB CEO Wayne Williams outlined an ambitious plan to transform the campus into a national center for pharmaceutical research and manufacturing of various products.

The announcement was delivered before a packed crowd on the historic campus and gave the first details of the campus sale that’s been under negotiations for nearly a year. This is the first solid project in the five years since the former women’s college closed its doors.

Speakers repeatedly emphasized the scale of the project not just for Marion, but for Perry County and the surrounding region.

“This marks the beginning of a new chapter here in Marion,” Marion City Clerk Laura Hinton said in the opening remarks, calling the project “the birthing of a vision carefully carried, nurtured and developed over time.”

Mayor Dexter Hinton, who has been involved since the first conversations, said the project represents hope for a region with some of the highest unemployment in Alabama.

“Having a pandemic response team right here in Marion, Alabama, speaks volumes,” Hinton told the crowd.

Williams said Atlas Complex will be a national center for pharmaceutical resilience and address the country’s dependence on foreign suppliers for critical medical ingredients.

“When COVID happened… less than 20 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients were even in the United States,” Williams said. “That’s what this complex is going to fix.”

The Atlas Complex will include pharmaceutical-related manufacturing from India, Korea and other countries and will host companies like Walker Pharmaceutical, which has already committed to joining the project, Williams said. 

The complex is expected to employ 500 or more workers across warehousing, science, laboratory development, maintenance and logistics. Williams said. 

Williams also said the project will restore and repurpose Judson’s historic buildings, including converting dorms into apartments and academic spaces into clinics, daycare facilities and research labs. 

Williams said work will begin immediately. “We’re going to start steam cleaning and power washing the buildings… you will see a lot of activity starting next week.”

Perry County Commissioner Albert Turner Jr. credited a chance lunch meeting and a plate from The Shack, with helping bring the project to Alabama.

“That food at The Shack did the job,” Turner joked, adding that Perry County is “committed” and ready to meet every request needed to support the project.

Former State Sen. Gerald Dial, a board member for the Atlas Complex, said the project represents the kind of economic development rural Alabama has long fought for.

“Rural Alabama is where it’s all about… this is going to mean jobs, things we never dreamed before,” Dial said.

Troy University Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins announced that Troy will partner with the Atlas Complex, bringing research capacity, engineering programs and material science expertise to Marion.

“I think there’s a second life and that second life begins today,” Hawkins said.

Main Street Marion President Donald Bennett called the project a testament to persistence.

“There were obstacles. There were uncertainties. But this community has always found a way,” Bennett said. “This is about jobs. This is about opportunity.”

For many in attendance, the announcement symbolized something deeper, a long-awaited revival of a campus and a community that have weathered years of economic loss.

“We are bringing this campus back,” Williams said. “This is going to be a community that is all encompassed, so we can change what we should have been changing 10 years ago.”