The new Selma Welcome Center will be a facility the city can be proud of, Mayor George Evans told the city council Thursday.

The welcome center has been closed since January but is expected to open later this month. The center was forced to move after the owner of its previous building found a tenant for the property.

The welcome center will now be at 14 Broad Street, near the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge and in a building the city of Selma already owned.

Evans told the city council during Thursday’s work session that a few television displays were being added and final touch-ups being done.

“That building was in bad shape. It was more to it than anticipated,” Evans said. “It’s deep and it’s wide. They found a lot of things that needed to be done.”

Air conditioning issues and other renovations delayed the center from opening in February as originally planned. Evans said the wait would be worth it though.

The project was originally expected to cost around $5,000 to $6,000, but the city ended up spending an estimated $10,000 on the upgrades, according to project manager Henry Thompson.

“It’s going to be a nice building. It’s going to be a nice location. It belongs to us. We are not using anybody’s building,” Evans said. “I think you are going to be proud. I think what we are doing there now, it’s going to bring dividends.”

The mayor invited the council to schedule a time to walk through the new welcome center.

The welcome center is expected to be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The center will provide visitors with brochures on local attractions, maps and information about local dining and lodging. There will also be a new line of Selma merchandise, including T-shirts, mugs, hats and other souvenirs, for sale.

Councilman Greg Bjelke suggested city council members volunteer hours at the center each month.

“I think it would be good for us to man it and see what’s going on,” Bjelke said.