MidCity will build a new music venue, two hotels, a tech campus and more as part of a $300 million, 12-acre expansion.
Why it matters: The public-private partnership is defining what mixed-use developments in Huntsville can be: an “18-hour district,” where people can find an apartment, start a new company or catch a show.
- This latest phase is further diversifying MidCity’s offerings and solidifying its foothold as a premier destination for the region.
Zoom in: In plans shared first with Axios, developer RCP Companies will build out the MidCity Arts + Innovation Subdistrict with a new mid-sized music venue, two hotels including a 200-room music-branded one, an Innovation Tech Campus and 60,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space.
- The Camp — a MidCity staple and outdoor venue near the entrance to MidCity on University Drive — will move to a new home in the center of the development, expanding to a capacity of 3,000.
- RCP is currently in talks with a national restaurant to replace it, Nadia Niakossary, senior development director, tells Axios.
Zoom out: The new additions will serve to reinforce MidCity’s “three-legged stool” approach: daytime activity in education and workspaces; evening and overnight activity via residential and hospitality; and year-round programming from concerts, festivals and other events.
Case in point: The Innovation Campus, developed by the nonprofit Apollo Coalition, aims to provide a launchpad for startups and a home for the city’s tech and creative sectors.
- It’ll be home to the gener8tor Tech Accelerator, funded by Innovate Alabama, the NextGen HSV high school AI product development program. And will include flexible office space, a SCIF-enabled defense technology space, founder support services and more.
What they’re saying: “We want people to come and work on their ideas, form new companies and startups,” Niakossary said. “Hopefully one day we’ll have the next AirBnB or Uber founded right here in Huntsville.”
- Joanna White, managing director of the Apollo Coalition, said in a statement that by locating at MidCity, “we are igniting economic growth through daily collisions between innovators, artists, and students — the creatives who are shaping tomorrow.”
By the numbers: A study from real estate advisory firm RCLCO projects the district to account for 40% of MidCity’s non-Orion fiscal impact, support 386 permanent jobs and generate more than $420 million in new tax revenues, of which the city of Huntsville is projected to receive $220 million…