(a) The authority shall have the following powers, together with all powers incidental thereto or necessary to the discharge thereof in corporate form:
(1) To have succession by its corporate name for the duration of time, which may be perpetuity, subject to Section 11-54A-20, specified in its certificate of incorporation.
(2) To sue and be sued in its own name and to prosecute and defend civil actions in any court having jurisdiction of the subject matter and of the parties.
(3) To adopt and make use of a corporate seal and to alter the same at pleasure.
(4) To adopt and alter bylaws for the regulation and conduct of its affairs and business.
(5) To acquire, whether by purchase, construction, exchange, gift, lease, or otherwise and to refinance existing indebtedness on, improve, maintain, equip, and furnish one or more projects, including all real and personal properties which the board of the authority may deem necessary in connection therewith, regardless of whether or not any such projects shall then be in existence.
(6) To lease to others any or all of its projects and to charge and collect rent therefor, and to terminate any such lease upon the failure of the lessee to comply with any of the obligations thereof.
(7) To sell, exchange, donate, or convey and to grant options to any lessee to acquire any of its projects and any or all of its properties whenever its board shall find any such action to be in furtherance of the purposes for which the authority was organized.
(8) To issue its bonds for the purpose of carrying out any of its powers.
(9) To mortgage and pledge any or all of its projects or any part or parts thereof, as security for the payment of the principal of and interest on any bonds so issued and any agreements made in connection therewith, whether then owned or thereafter acquired, and to pledge the revenues and receipts therefrom or from any thereof.
(10) To execute and deliver, in accordance with this section and Section 11-54A-10, mortgages and deeds of trust and trust indentures, or either.
(11) To finance (by loan, grant, lease, or otherwise), construct, erect, assemble, purchase, acquire, own, repair, remodel, renovate, rehabilitate, modify, maintain, extend, improve, install, sell, equip, expand, add to, operate, or manage projects and to pay the cost of any project from the proceeds of bonds, or any other funds of the authority, or from any contributions or loans by persons, corporations, partnerships (limited or general), or other entities, all of which the authority is hereby authorized to receive and accept and use.
(12) To issue and use the proceeds thereof for the purpose of paying, or loaning the proceeds thereof to pay all or any part of the cost of any project and otherwise to further or carry out the public purpose of the authority and to pay all costs of the authority incident to, or necessary and appropriate to, furthering or carrying out such purpose.
(13) To make application directly or indirectly to any federal, state, county, or municipal government or agency or to any other source, public or private, for loans, grants, guarantees, or other financial assistance in furtherance of the authority’s public purpose and to accept and use the same upon such terms and conditions as are prescribed by such federal, state, county, or municipal government or agency or other source.
(14) To enter into agreements with the federal government or any agency thereof to use facilities or the services of the federal government or any agency thereof in order to further or carry out the public purposes of the authority.
(15) To contract for any period with the State of Alabama, state institutions, or any city, town, municipality, or county of the state for the use by the authority of any facilities or services of the state or any such state institution, city, town, municipality, or county, or for the use by any state institution or any city, town, municipality, or county of any facilities or services of the authority, provided such contracts shall deal with such activities and transactions as the authority and any such political subdivision with which the authority contracts are by law authorized to undertake.
(16) To extend credit or make loans to any person, corporation, partnership (limited or general), or other entity for the costs of any project or any part of the costs of any project, which credit or loans may be evidenced or secured by loan agreements, notes, mortgages, deeds to secure debt, trust deeds, security agreements, assignments, or such other instruments, or by rentals, revenues, fees, or charges, upon such terms and conditions as the authority shall determine to be reasonable in connection with such extension of credit or loans, including provision for the establishment and maintenance of reserve funds, and, in the exercise of powers granted hereby in connection with any project, the authority may require the inclusion in any such loan agreement, note, mortgage, deed to secure debt, trust deed, security agreement, assignment, or other instrument of the provisions or requirements for guaranty of any obligations, insurance, construction, use, operation, maintenance, and financing of a project, and such other terms and conditions, as the authority may deem necessary or desirable.
(17) To acquire, accept, or retain equitable interests, security interests, or other interests in any real property, personal property, or fixtures by loan agreement, note, mortgage, deed to secure debt, trust deed, security agreement, assignment, pledge, conveyance, contract, lien, loan agreement, or other consensual transfer in order to secure the repayment of any moneys loaned or credit extended by the authority.
(18) To appoint, employ, contract with, and provide for the compensation of, such officers, employees, and agents, including without limitation, engineers, attorneys, contractors, consultants, and fiscal advisors, as the board shall deem necessary for the conduct of the business of the authority.
(19) To provide the insurance as the board may deem advisable.
(20) To make, enter into, and execute such contracts, agreements, leases, and other instruments and to take such other actions as may be necessary or convenient to accomplish any purpose for which the authority was organized or to exercise any power expressly granted hereunder.
(21) To require payments in lieu of taxes, other than any sales or use taxes levied by the state or the local sales, use, or excise taxes required by state laws to be administered in a parallel manner to state sales or use taxes, to be made by the lessee of the project to either the authority or the city. The powers granted in this subdivision must be specifically approved, in each instance, by formal action of the governing body of the city at the time it grants any tax waiver or tax exemption under this chapter.
(22) To receive and use the proceeds of any tax levied by a municipal corporation to pay the costs of any project or for any other purpose for which the authority may use its own funds pursuant to this chapter.
(23) To encourage and promote the improvement and revitalization of the development area and to make, contract for, or otherwise cause to be made long-range plans or proposals for the development area in cooperation with the city or the county.
(24) To exercise any power granted by the laws of the State of Alabama to public or private corporations which is not in conflict with the public purpose of the authority.
(25) To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers conferred by this chapter.
(b) All projects of the authority shall be located wholly within the corporate limits of the city and shall be in the development area, which shall be an area defined by the authority and approved by resolution of the governing body of the city.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, any real property owned by the authority located in any development area located outside of the downtown central business district of the city shall not be exempt from any state taxes.