State of the City 2015
Mayor Tommy Battle
Huntsville, Alabama
Thank you Rey, and thank you to our partners in Economic Development, the Chamber of Commerce of
Huntsville/Madison County – this group stays in the shadows, but they are the mainstay of our economic
recruiting success. To Dale Strong of the Madison County Commission and Troy Trulock of Madison –
both significant partners in the success of our team.
Thank you for the opportunity to be here today – to do what I enjoy most – talk about this great city that
we love.
As your Mayor, you have heard me repeatedly say that what makes Huntsville special is our partnerships.
The way we work together, the way we collaborate –the hard work we put into day-to-day operations of a
city.
This includes the hard work of our dedicated City employees and elected leaders. I thank my colleagues
on the City Council, my administrative team and department heads – and all the City employees who
work tirelessly to serve us. I salute you. Please stand.
Beyond Dale and Troy, we have regional partners in the surrounding counties – in Limestone, Morgan,
Jackson, Marshall and Lincoln. To Redstone Arsenal and General Via, TVA, Governor Robert Bentley,
State Commerce and ALDOT, and to the many individuals and organizations who work with our office
on initiatives. Thank you. It has been another incredibly successful year.
Team Huntsville is on the move.
To my wife Eula – my partner and best friend - and to my family, Drew, Lauren, and my best champion –
my Dad, Tom Battle, - thank you all for your love and support and for allowing me to seek a third term as
Huntsville’s mayor.
STRONG ECONOMY
This is my seventh State of the City Address. I’ve thought a lot about where we started when I took
office, and I am proud of what we have accomplished in the past seven years. Together. As Team
Huntsville.
We have a great deal to celebrate. In the past five years, this team has created 15,000 new jobs and over
$1.5 billion in capital investment. And, we’re not done yet.
Just last week, GE Aviation announced that it would invest $200 million in Huntsville and build two
advanced manufacturing plants to employ 300 highly skilled workers. These facilities will mass produce
silicon carbide materials for ceramic matrix composite components.
Two years ago, I had never heard of CMCs, but I have since learned that this dynamic technology is a
game changer – not only in aerospace, aviation and missiles, but for applications we can’t begin to
imagine. These composites are highly valued for their light weight, strength, resistance to wear, and
ability to stand up to intense heat.
This is the first production facility of its kind in the world, and GE’s decision to locate here positions
Huntsville as a global leader in this cutting edge technology.
GE Aviation chose Huntsville for all of the right reasons – many of the same ones as did Polaris and
Remington. For the reasons Boeing, Toyota, SES and many other Huntsville companies continue to invest
and expand. It’s our well-educated, highly skilled workforce, strong infrastructure, good schools, low cost
of living, and high quality of life. There are the reasons we have so many successes.
For those that read the recent Bloomberg article – the one that named Huntsville as “One of the most
unlikely cities to power the U.S. economy” –the writer summed it up best: people move here because life
is better.
Huntsville ranks in the top 15 percent of cities in the nation with residents holding a bachelor’s degree or
higher. We have the highest ratio of engineers than anywhere else in the nation. Seventeen percent of our
workers hold STEM jobs.
Our cost of living index tracks about 10 percent less than the national average and about 30 percent less
than our major competitors on the east and west coasts. Even the cost of renting space and operating a
business here averages 30 percent less than the national figure.
We are among the top 10 fastest growing cities in the southeast, and the 35th fastest growing metro in the
country.
There is an energy and excitement in Huntsville right now that is tangible. Things are happening here.
Tower cranes are back downtown with The Avenue, and breaking ground soon at City Centre. BIG
Picture plans are shaping outcomes in the way we think about development and how our city lives and
breathes. Schools are doing the hard work of reimagining the best they can be.
Thanks to our collective vision and strategic planning, our economy is better diversified, broader and
deeper than ever before. In a town known for its federal ties, this is important.
Redstone Arsenal remains an important driver – and we should not be afraid of that or apologetic.
We have worked hard, many of us in this room, to leverage the intellect and talent that stems from
Redstone to expand our economic base. It’s working.
Redstone itself has diversified. Not only is it home to a wide variety of Defense agencies, it is also home
to NASA and the Department of Justice – in fact there are now 72 different tenants there.
The Arsenal is responsible for $50 billion in annual contracts – and its agencies manage budgets totaling
$123 billion – from materiel management, space operations, missile defense, research and development,
test and engineering, to Intelligence & Homeland defense. We are proud of our Team Redstone portfolio.
Across the highway from Redstone, Cummings Research Park just celebrated its 50th anniversary. The
Park is now home to 300 companies, 29,000 workers in R & D, Biotech, aerospace and defense,
engineering, software design, computers and electronics.
Huntsville is already planning for the Park’s next 50 years with a new master plan – one that ensures the
park remains viable and meets the changing marketplace. With the success of our urban infill projects
downtown, we look to transfer this model for success to Research Park and other parts of the city.
This is Huntsville. Tackling challenges and opportunities head on. Never resting on yesterday’s laurels.
As a result, people are looking at us. Cities from states across the nation are looking at Huntsville, asking,
“what’s the magic potion?” They are coveting our jobs and industry, wanting to have what we have, and
to emulate our success.
Other cities are coming to study our economic development strategies and our financial structure.
Other cities are coming to study our BIG Picture planning process, our Research Park, and our ability to
put politics aside and get things done as Team Huntsville.
Other cities are coming to study the changes in our city schools – to see how we are transforming an
educational system that had pockets of excellence to one that is technologically advanced; where every
child has equal access to a high quality education.
GAME ON
What this means to me, and to all of us in Huntsville, is that we need to stay on top of our game.
Competition is fierce and it is only getting stronger. In every competition there is a winner and a loser.
Our job is to make sure Huntsville wins.
Our basic strategy hasn’t changed in the past seven years – we are rooted in fiscally conservative
practices and we believe in maintaining a balanced city budget – something I am exceptionally proud of
in City Hall, and I want to thank my partners on the City Council for sharing this belief and for supporting
a lean government.
At the same time, we have taken a thoughtful, yet aggressive approach to landing the right businesses for
our community. From regional landmark stores like Whole Foods and Cabela’s, that are retail sales
multipliers, to major industrial employers, who are job multipliers, we have worked to make smart
choices with a strong return on investment.
REINVESTMENT
Our strategy includes a greater emphasis on reinvestment. Putting resources toward our central core –
projects that revitalize the Parkway and University Drive. Projects that lift neighborhoods, that promote
wellness and play, and enhance our quality of life.
Our strategy is to revitalize our older urban areas. Commercial corridors, downtown, and neighborhoods
will not be sacrificed to suburban sprawl.
Look at the energy that’s ignited in West Huntsville – spurred by the continued expansion of Lowe Mill,
the transformation of two schools – one into Campus 805, an entertainment venue, and the other into
Huntsville West’s co-working space for innovation. A new Neighborhood Market is moving in,
Merrimack Village earned historic status, Jim Marek Park opened, a new Aquatic Center is under way,
and Morris Elementary is getting a stunning new campus.
Planners are working the revitalization strategy in South Huntsville to create a town center on the
Grissom High site. We’ll use this same process in North Huntsville to reimagine the Johnson High
property and a library/learning center on Sparkman Drive.
The addition of Whole Foods and its retail center is spurring the revitalization strategy as new businesses
take a fresh look in the area of Bob Wallace and the Parkway. The same is true in North Huntsville with
new retailers moving back in, including At Home and Hibbitts.
Madison Square Mall’s new owners are thinking out of the box and working on new and different
possibilities that include a live-work-play destination. This site is of prime importance because it anchors
the north side of Research Park and sits at the mid-point of the U.S. 72 retail corridor.
In Downtown Huntsville, The Avenue is changing our skyline, reenergizing our older downtown site.
Next year, this gateway site will offer more retail and dining options and will be home to hundreds of
residents – a likely mix of millennials and mature workers.
As The Avenue goes up, City Centre will be breaking ground and this development, along with the new
Dr. Joseph Lowery Boulevard, will transform this area with more live, work and play options.
Next week, UG White opens a retail store in a historic building on Clinton Avenue.
The BIG Picture conversation has us looking at the Holmes Avenue corridor, and its direct connection
from CRP through UAH to Five Points – a perfect opportunity for a multi-modal renovation that is bike
and pedestrian-friendly. Live downtown, ride your bike to HudsonAlpha, or catch a shuttle bus. These
are the ways we can make our community better, and more livable.
We believe in partnering with business to build a more dynamic Huntsville. Our goal is to target
opportunity sites in every area of the City, so that as Huntsville grows, it strengthens its core.
Our mandate is healthy growth, smart growth -- Growth that is measured and incremental.
We will not grow exponentially or outstrip our infrastructure.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Huntsville’s prized quality of life depends upon a strong infrastructure – and that is why we asked the
State of Alabama to partner with us on a $250 million roads package to Restore Our Roads.
At our recommendation, the City Council approved a one-cent sales tax to pay for roadwork and
economic development and that is exactly what we are doing. Thanks to this vision and leadership,
Huntsville is actively engaged in constructing nearly one half billion dollars on critical new roadwork on
an accelerated timeline.
Investing in our roads was a tough move, but one we couldn’t afford not to make. We have more than
110,000 people commuting in and out of Huntsville every day for work. Our daytime population swells to
one-half million. Our transportation network is central to our success. That 18-minute average commute
is vital to our growth.
FIBER
Beyond roads, infrastructure demands also include the power of a gigabit broadband community and the
endless possibilities associated with high speed Internet.
Last year, I announced we would seek information from companies interested in developing a fiber
network. More than 11 companies responded, and as we work through this process, our goal is to provide
high speed Internet, at an affordable cost, for all businesses and residents.
A Gig network supports a growing remote workforce, fuels the creative class, and gives birth to new startup companies.
DREAMERS & DOERS
We are a town of tinkers, thinkers, dreamers and doers. The sons and daughters of engineers who
pioneered space travel.
Like Peyton McNully, who moved back to Huntsville and wanted to work at HudsonAlpha. Peyton
didn’t know exactly how he would fit in. He liked bioscience and he liked beer – so he conceived of a
company that makes yeast for craft brews – the first of its kind east of the Mississippi. His company,
Leavendary, is successfully operating at HudsonAlpha.
Entrepreneurship is not only in our high tech areas. The food movement has taken off – complete with
brewers, and bakers, and popsicle makers. You see many of them at Green Street Market on Thursday
nights.
Jason Lafferty’s Bustaurant food truck has a new Bus Sauce – soon to be in grocery stores, and Jay
Short’s Jala Jala relish is now in Whole Foods.
Entrepreneurs Anotonio Montoya, Brandon Kruse, and Kim and Larry Lewis have created successful
startups. Now, they are mentoring innovators and encouraging investors through Rocket Hatch,
Huntsville West Co-working, and Biz Tech.
Dreamers and doers add energy and excitement to our City.
VIDEO on Huntsville’s Entrepreneurs
Outstanding talent. Two key takeaways from these entrepreneurs: One - is that may not take as much
investment as we would think to start up many of these new businesses. But, it does take someone saying
Yes. And, two, that Huntsville needs to pay attention to our talent so we don’t lose them to other cities
where seed money may be easier to get.
Whether these innovators are coding a new app, crafting the next must-have beer, caring for a child in day
care, cooking, or creating a new company, Huntsville is doing more than ever to foster
entrepreneurship. Let’s keep it going.
EDUCATION
Our schools and universities are doing their part. UAH’s Invention to Innovation Center is establishing a
job-creating business incubator. A & M has been named a Geospatial Center of Excellence. Community
colleges are training future business owners, and they are working directly with State Commerce to
support workforce development.
In Huntsville, we want to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to succeed.
It begins in our City Schools. The City is spending $200 million on high-quality facilities that provide
bright, modern environments for learning – schools that our students and teachers will be proud to attend.
The curriculum is stronger than ever, technology is integrated, and new programs are student-centered.
Expanded pre-Kindergarten is helping our youngest students enter school ready to learn, while the
Freshmen academics and new College Academy guide students toward higher learning.
Students participate in robotics and cyber teams, and build Greenpower cars. Focused on the most
important outcomes – career and college ready. My thanks to the Huntsville City School Board and Dr.
Casey Wardynski for their partnership.
Education is the foundation for our quality of life.
LIVABILIY
For the next decade and more, quality of life will define the most desirable cities. Authentic cities where
citizens feel a sense of pride and belonging. Where they know the important aspects of their life – their
family, work, and security, are facilitated by civic infrastructure.
The best talent, smartest workforce, and job multipliers have a choice in where they live. They can live in
Seattle and Silicon Valley, the Beltway, Boston, Nashville or New York. They will settle in cities that
offer a high quality of life.
That high quality of life includes good schools and education resources, high-speed Internet and wireless
access. Cities that are walkable, bikeable, with beautiful public spaces, thriving cultural arts, recreation,
public transit and low commute times. Innovation will be a factor, too – support for those dreamers and
doers who make our city unique.
The question is, how will we pay for this quality of life?
Some parks, greenways, bike trails and other projects are budgeted in our long-term capital plan. Others
are made possible by public-private partnerships.
We have a well-established practice of cost-sharing - joint ventures - with civic partners on exciting
projects that benefit our citizens. This year, we will cost share with the Burritt Museum, Constitution
Village, and Botanical Gardens.
Industry, retail and urban infill redevelopments are more challenging – joint partnerships. They are often
complex, involve a lot of different partners, and can take years to realize.
Twickenham Square has been a highly successful game changer for our central core. It’s a good model for
a multi-use urban infill. We had great partners, but it was a complicated process with multiple
developers, multiple property owners and, of course, multiple lawyers.
Restore Our Roads also involved numerous federal, state, regional and local leaders – plus more lawyers and public involvement.
Industrial projects can take years to negotiate. They require buy-in and participation from the Governor’s
office, Commerce, TVA and a host of regional governments and agencies along with property owners,
financial institutions, and, of course, a host of lawyers.
My point here is that these projects aren’t getting any easier. They are time-consuming, demanding, and
they require great skill, resourcefulness, patience, trust, and collaboration.
TEAM HUNTSVILLE
This is where Team Huntsville excels. We are focused on our community’s needs. We value our
partnerships and understand they are critical to our future and long-term success.
If politics comes into play, we work to put the greater good of this city above personal differences. These
projects would not be happening if we did not have an A-Plus Team.
It’s all a delicate balance. Working hard for jobs and growth, aligning our education system with our
workforce needs, advancing our scientific and technology network, revitalizing our older areas of town,
while making sure our infrastructure is up to the task.
As I have said, competition is fierce out there, and the best talent and the smartest workforce will be
attracted to cities that offer the highest quality of livability.
At the end of the day, government doesn’t make a city great. People do. Our job is to make this a city of
opportunity so that the people of Huntsville can do what they do best – innovate and create, and provide a
good life for their families.
Thank you for all you do for Huntsville. And, thank you for allowing me the great privilege of serving as
your mayor.