Alabama uses oil spill money for renovation of governor's mansion
AP
By Jay Reeves The Associated Press
Published: Tuesday, December 22, 2015 at 11:30 p.m.

Beachfront property had been abandoned
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In this Friday, May 15, 2015 file photo, a locked gate blocks the entrance to Alabama's abandoned Gulf Coast governor's mansion in Gulf Shores, Ala. Work began earlier this month to fix the 7,500-square-foot gubernatorial mansion that wasn’t repaired after Hurricane Danny in 1997. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves, File)

BIRMINGHAM — Alabama is using BP grant money left over from the 2010 Gulf oil spill to finally repair and renovate a beachfront governor's mansion that has been abandoned for nearly two decades.

Work began earlier this month near Gulf Shores to rehabilitate the two-story, 7,500-square-foot gubernatorial mansion that wasn't fixed after Hurricane Danny in 1997. The project should be done by late May, a spokeswoman for Gov. Robert Bentley, Jennifer Ardis, said Monday.

Ardis said taxpayer money isn't going into the project. Instead, she said grant money provided by BP and left over from the 2010 oil spill is being used to cover the cost, estimated at $1.5 million to $1.8 million.

While environmentalists filed suit over the state's plan to use BP restoration money to construct a hotel on the beachfront, Ardis said the state is “comfortable” using money remaining from a separate BP grant to pay contractor Phil Harris Construction Inc. to fix the mansion.

Baldwin County...