The Riverfront Amphitheater is in its final stages of construction, according to Selma Planning and Development Director James Benderson.

Located in Riverfront Park, the amphitheater will serve as performing arts facility. Feb. 14 is the contracted completion date, but the projected date is now Feb. 28, Benderson said Wednesday.

“We have loss a couple days with rain,” Benderson said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to make up those days because they’re working on the weekends, and they’re doing a little overtime, too.”

The city developed the idea in 2005 to build the brick structure, which will include a canopy, lighting, concrete stage and a loading area and audiovisual room and more. The vision was to give the community a venue for entertainment and community events.

For Benderson, it’s a place that families can enjoy after a long week of work.

“It’s a catalyst for development,” he said. “It’s something that’s going to inspire and encourage more growth in the area. It’s something that the community wanted.”

The city plans to host four large events per year and several smaller events per quarter. The public may have an opportunity to rent the building out for its own personal events, Benderson said.

Construction for the project, originally expected to costs about $800,000, began in August 2012. The city funded it with the help of a 2009 bond issue and $250,000 Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs grant, but getting the building to its current condition didn’t come easy.

In October 2013, a bidding error put a hold on the amphitheater, according to a previous Times-Journal article.

The Selma City Council voted to reject all three bids on the amphitheaters second phase because the bid contract listed an incorrect dollar amount for the insurance policy on construction.

The Cooper Brothers Construction in Selma presented the lowest bid at more than $1 million.

In August 2014, the city found a solution. Instead of rejecting bids because of over pricing, the council unanimously agreed to accept Cooper Brothers’ bid and renegotiate on three items, which lowered the pricing to about $965,000.

The city made plans during the meeting to ask the Cooper Brothers to not include a retaining concrete wall around the amphitheater’s front, an overhead door that would secure the stage when not in use and minor amenities in the dressing room.

As of Wednesday, the costs are less than the $965,000 expected after the changes, Benderson said.