Mayor outlines economic development strategy in Huntsville State of the City
Huntsville’s growth plan discussed during “State of the City Address”
HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) - How is Huntsville prepping for future growth and economic development?
That was the focus of Mayor Tommy Battle's State of the City address on Tuesday and he outlined a number of key initiatives and goals for the Rocket City.
Now in his third term as the mayor of Huntsville, Tommy Battle is planning for how the city will look decades from now.
"The next five to 10 years are taken care of because we have thousands of jobs coming in from FBI, Mazda-Toyota, Bocar, Polaris, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Blue Origin, Facebook and others. We've taken care of the next 5-10 years. Now our job is to take care of the next 15-20-30 years," he stated.
He gave his speech at the Von Braun Center to a crowd of more than 1,200- the largest luncheon ever hosted by the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce.
The mayor gave reasons that companies and businesses choose Huntsville- including good healthcare, education, a business friendly environment.
His focus continues to be on attracting a strong workforce. The key is having a city that offers a good "live, work, play" environment, he says.
"We've got to bring new families here and ensure they have the opportunity to learn skills for the industry of the future," he said.
So what’s the city doing to draw even more industry and families to North Alabama?
“We’re investing in the next generation of infrastructure, from Huntsville Utilities high speed fiber network and the deployment of the 5G cellular technology. We’re being creative on how we design our streets by adopting smart street strategies and promoting a transportation system with more forms of transportation,” Mayor Battle explained.
When it comes to downtown development, the mayor touched on new hotels, new retail, new city hall and new $110 federal courthouse coming to the heart of the city and even more exciting news about an upcoming announcement for a new business accelerator.
"That's going to be announced next week. It's another one of our creative clusters where you can go and work on apps and work on future development and how we can code and help us grow and continue to grow," he added.
Mayor Battle says Huntsville leads the state in economic growth and job growth.
"We have a plan and we have a strategy and they take us well into the century," he said. "Workforce development has to be a priority. Everybody wonders why we're doing high speed broadband, craft beer, music halls, new parks, urban development, alternative transportation. You do that because it attracts a new generation of workers."
Huntsville wants to position itself to be ready for emerging markets.
“Autonomous driving cars, artificial intelligence, block chain technology, cryptocurrencies. Those are the industries we’re spotting for the future growth. Are we going to be in those businesses in 10 years to take us into the future? We need to make those decisions today and make sure we have the workforce who can do it in the future,” he told the crowd.
There's been prolific growth on Redstone Arsenal and at Cummings Research Park, there's an occupancy rate of 91%. To keep that momentum going, the mayor says a solid infrastructure is needed.
“We paid the state $125 million to improve critical corridors as part of our Restore Our Roads agreement and we’re digging in our pockets to do even more. In the next 10 year capital plans which take us through 2028, the city will have spent $844 million on new and improved roads,” he said.
He thanked the city's employees, community partners and local leaders for all of their hard work to move Huntsville forward.
“We’re not just growing an economy. We’re growing opportunity. We have a great future in front of us. If we have the vision for the future we can make us a very prosperous city,” Mayor Battle added. “Huntsville’s future as the star of Alabama is brighter than ever.”
State of the City by Numbers (Figures from the City of Huntsville):
- 25,000 jobs created since 2010
- Huntsville International Airport is one of the top 20 airports in the country
- 10 Straight years of Triple A Credit Rating
- 18 to 20 minute commutes (often less)
- 5 Colleges with 25,000 students
- 91% of students attend public schools
- $844 Million in roads
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