Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Department of Communications were held Tuesday, April 20, 2004. Several City of Montgomery officials including Mayor Bobby Bright, Executive Assistant to the Mayor Jeff Downes, members of the City Council, Chief of Police Colonel John Wilson, Fire Chief John McKee, Director of Communications Robert Stuart, Contractors Bear Brothers, Inc., Payne & Associates Architects, LLC, state and local leaders, and a crowd of well-wishers attended the ceremony that marked the new center becoming a reality.