The groundbreaking ceremony for Alabama’s new psychiatric hospital on the W.D. Partlow property drew attendees from across the state Tuesday. Cathy Andreen, spokeswoman for the University, said the facility will replace Bryce Hospital.

The tentative date of completion is 2013 and building it will cost an estimated $60 to $80 million, Mayor Bobby Herndon of Northport said.

Gov. Bob Riley, Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation Commissioner John Houston, University President Robert Witt and other dignitaries attended the event.

“Bryce Hospital has a great history that we want to remember and preserve,” Houston said.

He thanked the dedicated employees at Bryce, Partlow and other regional facilities.

“We have the finest, most dedicated, capable staff anywhere in the state government,” he said.

Houston said he employed a task force called “system reconfiguration,” in order to envision where the institution will be 15 to 20 years from now.

The building will be a state of the art facility and “world class” psychiatric hospital, Riley said, adding that a “haven of love” would more aptly describe it.

“I think this is something that some of us will look back in a few years and say ‘this was really something significant,’” he said.

The facility will be more like a community setting, according to Riley. Individual rooms for the clients and common areas will be included as well.

“It will be more like going to a little town than it is going into a hospital,” he said.

There is no comparison between what the patients have now and what they will have at the new facility, he added.

Herndon said Sen. Phil Poole and Riley put aside political party differences and worked together to make the project work.

Herndon said he believes the facility will be great for the entire community.

The University has also been recently involved in the process.

“Because the University has significant experience and expertise in construction management, the University was asked to manage the construction of the new hospital, which will be built on the Department of Mental Health’s property, where the W.D. Partlow Developmental Center is located in Tuscaloosa,” Andreen said.

Riley said Witt’s leadership and determination were crucial in making the project a success.