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62 | BusinessAlabama.com January 2013

ontgomery County, the home of Alabama’s state capitol in central Alabama and part of the state’s River

Region, also is known as the first capital of the Confederate States of America and as the birthplace of the Civil Rights movement.

That history has been preserved in many ways throughout the city of Montgomery, but Montgomery also has been growing, redeveloping and remak-ing itself, especially in the last several years. The result is an impressive down-town entertainment district that makes the most of its tourism draw, yet creates an inviting place to live, work and play.

Strategically located at the intersec-tion of Interstate 85 and Interstate 65, with the Alabama and Tallapoosa rivers running through it, Montgomery Coun-ty has a great deal of economic diversity.

It is home to state and regional gov-

ernments, Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, the area’s largest employer, an ex-tensive service industry, wholesale and retail trade and an industrial base that includes Hyundai Motor Manufactur-ing of Alabama, the area’s largest indus-trial employer.

It is a regional trade center, a whole-sale and distribution gateway to the Southeast. It also is served by an inte-grated railroad system, airlines, motor freight lines, a national bus line and a city bus line.

Much of the city’s economic develop-ment planning stems from the Imagine a Greater Montgomery program, a plan that includes community development and other quality of life issues. “We are in our first year of this second phase of the program, which goes from 2012 to 2016,” says Ellen McNair, senior vice president of corporate development for the Montgomery Area Chamber of

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The fountain at Court Square is the work of Frederick MacMonnies and was erected in 1886. Photo courtesy of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Convention & Visitor Bureau

The Alabama Governor’s Mansion went into service on January 15, 1951, after it was purchased by the state for $100,000. It was designed in the Neoclassical style by the architect Weatherly Carter, and built in 1907. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 3, 1972. Photo courtesy of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Convention & Visitor Bureau

monTGomery counTy

monTGomery counTy

By Lori chAndLer pruiTT


Source: US. Census Bureau 2006-2010 Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2011 estimates

Total Alabama Population: 4,802,740

Commerce, the economic development arm of the county. “It is an economic development strategy that we have had since the early 1990s. Goals include championing education, leadership de-velopment, image of the area and eco-nomic development sectors.

“We work closely with city and coun-ty government and build on our eco-nomic capital,” she says. That sentiment is echoed by other local leaders, who say they work well together. The result is growth that usually isn’t seen in an eco-nomic recession.

McNair says the county continues to recruit advanced manufacturing that includes automotive and aerospace, in-formation technology, warehouse and logistics, and health care-related indus-try. Montgomery County provides the vast majority of jobs in the River Re-gion counties of Montgomery, Autauga, Elmore and Lowndes, so many people commute into the county for work.

Lori Chandler Pruitt is a freelance writer for Business Alabama. She lives in Birmingham.

The Riverwalk Amphitheater in Montgomery is located on the banks of the Alabama River. In addition to concerts, movies and plays, there also is a splash pad for children. Photo courtesy of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Convention & Visitor Bureau

January 2013 BusinessAlabama.com | 65

Maxwell Air Force Base-Gunter Annex/Air University

With 12,280 active duty, reserve, ci-vilian and contractor personnel, Max-well is easily the area’s largest employer. Maxwell-Gunter has an estimated yearly economic impact of $2.57 billion and a payroll of $750 million. And other mili-tary units in the area — including the Al-abama Air National Guard, the Alabama Army National Guard and the Defense Information Systems Agency, along with Air University — represent a total defense economic impact in Montgomery of more

than $4 billion. Many of these units are predicted to continue to grow in the fu-ture. Montgomery also is a growing center of IT and cyber education, training, re-search and operations.

Air University, headquartered at Max-well and established in 1946, is the intel-lectual and leadership center of the Air Force and its center for professional mili-tary education. It prepares graduates to develop, employ, command, research and champion air, space and cyberspace power at all levels.

Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama LLC

HMMA, Hyundai’s first automotive assembly and production facility in the U.S., and its local suppliers generated a total economic impact of $3.8 billion to Alabama’s economy. HMMA was directly responsible for 74 percent, or $2.8 billion, of the total impact.

HMMA opened in 2005 and has brought with it several automotive suppli-ers that have beefed up the area’s work-force considerably. In 2010, HMMA and its suppliers were responsible for more than 34,000 full-time jobs statewide.

The plant has continued to expand, add-ing a third shift and opening a renovated engine plant that expanded the manufac-turing capacity by nearly 300,000 units.

To date, HMMA has invested $1.5 bil-lion in its Montgomery plant, while its more than 40 Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppli-ers have invested more than $650 million in Alabama. And in 2010, HMMA pur-chased $2.7 billion in goods and services from Alabama-based businesses.

Left: The Retirement Systems of Alabama has invested heavily in the state, including in office buildings in downtown Montgomery. The RSA Tower is pictured to the left, with a view of Madison Avenue. Photo courtesy of Alabama Tourism Department/Tim Goode

Above: The Alabama State Capitol was declared a National Historic Landmark on Dec. 19, 1960. The building was built in 1851, although two additional wings have been added since. It is located on Capitol Hill, originally Goat Hill, in Montgomery. Photo courtesy of Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Convention & Visitor Bureau

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economic enGines

economic enGines


HMMA is the largest manufacturing employer in Montgomery County, with 2,700 employees. It currently produces the 2013 Sonata and Elantra sedans.

Health Care Montgomery County’s hospitals em-

ploy more than 7,000 workers. The larg-

est system in the county, Baptist Health, is the region’s largest private sector em-ployer, with more than 4,100 employees. Hospitals in the system include Baptist Medical Center South, a licensed 454-bed, regional acute care referral center and the tertiary care facility for Baptist Health; Baptist Medical Center East, a

150-bed acute care hospital, and Prattville Baptist Hospital in neighboring Autauga County.

Jackson Hospital has about 1,300 em-ployees, and the Central Alabama Veter-ans Health Care System has about 600 employees. HealthSouth Rehab Hospital has about 400 employees.

Alabama State GovernmentAs the second largest employer in the

area, at 9,500 employees, state govern-ment generates a great deal in economic impact. It also attracts many organizations and agencies that are headquartered in the capital city.

The county also is home to the Retire-ment Systems of Alabama, which has in-vested in the county and throughout the state, including downtown office build-ings, golf resorts and industrial projects. According to a recent economic study, RSA has invested $4.6 billion in Ala-bama’s economy from 1990 to 2011.

Tourism With a vibrant downtown riverfront

entertainment district, outdoor recreation and a strong, historic Civil Rights district, the area attracts many visitors. In 2010, the most recent year available, more than 1.3 million people visited the city, which generated $240.2 million in tourism-re-lated earnings.

Outdoor sports, such as hunting and fishing, are important in the area. Mont-gomery County is one of 23 counties that make up the Black Belt region of Alabama. The total economic impact of hunting and fishing in the Black Belt is almost $1 bil-lion, according to Alabama Black Belt Adventures, a non-profit group formed to promote tourism in the area. The region covers more than 10 million acres, and in 2011, of all sportsmen who fished in Ala-bama, one out of three fished in the re-gion. Total spending by sportsmen in the Black Belt yearly is $619 million.

Designed by international artist Maya Lin, the Civil Rights Memorial is a block south of the church where Martin Luther King Jr. was pastor. It honors 40 individuals who died between 1954 and 1968. Photo courtesy of Alabama Tourism Department/Peggy Collins


hyundai motor montgomery

manufacturing alabama llc

automobiles 2,700 emp.

rheem water heaters montgomery

water heaters 1,147 emp.

mobis alabama llc montgomery

cockpit and chassis modules, bumper

assembly, service parts 1,017 emp.

koch foods montgomery

poultry processing 900 emp.

us foods montgomery

food & beverage products 600 emp.

webster industries inc. montgomery

plastic freezer & garbage bags 501 emp.

russell brands llc montgomery

sportswear distribution 412 emp.

lear corp. montgomery

automobile seats 320 emp.

coca-cola bottling co. montgomery

beverage bottling/distribution 320 emp.

kowa pharmaceuticals

america inc. montgomery

branded pharmaceuticals manuf. 300 emp.

source: montgomery area chamber of commerce

largest manufacturers

montgomery county


Baptist HealthThe not-for-profit Baptist Health is

comprised of three hospitals, a behav-ioral health facility, surgical center and several clinics and service centers. It includes Baptist Medical Center South, a 454-bed acute care regional referral center in Montgomery; Baptist Medi-cal Center East, a 150-bed acute care hospital providing a wide range of health care services in Montgomery, and Prat-tville Baptist Hospital, with 85 beds, that serves residents of Elmore and Autauga counties.

Baptist Health has more than 4,100 employees and is one of the top employ-ers in the area.

In October, UAB School of Medi-cine announced it will locate a regional campus of the medical school at Baptist Medical Center South. The school is expected to enroll 10 third-year students beginning in May 2014 and by 2016, 20 third-year and 20 fourth-year students will be enrolled. It is a partnership among UAB, Baptist Medical Center South, the city of Montgomery and Montgomery County.

Baptist Health was the only system in

Alabama to receive the 2012 Thomson Reuters 15 Top Health Systems, which is based on performance, using statistical and clinical results. Baptist South also was named one of the 100 top hospitals by Thomson Reuters, and was recognized by The Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center.

Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System

CAVHCS was established in 1997 from the merger of the Montgomery and Tuskegee VA Medical Centers. Along with community-based outpatient clinics, it serves more than 134,000 veterans living in a 43-county area of Georgia and Alabama. In addition to its main facilities in Montgomery and Tuskegee, it also operates community-based outpatient clinics in Columbus, Ga.; medical and mental health clinics in Dothan and the Wiregrass Clinic at Lyster Army Health Clinic at Fort Rucker.

HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Montgomery

This 70-bed, 82,735-square-foot inpatient hospital offers comprehensive


heALTh cAreheALTh cAre

Top: Baptist Medical Center East received the 2010 HealthGrades Patient Safety Excellence Award, classifying them in the top 5 percent in the nation for patient safety.

Above: Jackson Hospital’s origin dates back to 1894, when Watkins Infirmary received its first patients at the hospital’s present location. On September 16, 1946, Jackson Hospital opened with 37 patient beds and five attending physicians.

Above right: Founded in 1963, Baptist Medical Center South offers an accredited sleep disorders center, a regional neonatal intensive care unit, a chest pain diagnosis and treatment center and several other specialties.


and outpatient rehabilitation services that are designed to help patients return to leading active and independent lives. It offers a wide range of rehab services, a large network of highly skilled physicians and therapists and innovative equipment and rehab technology. It cares for patients with a wide range of diagnoses, from hip fractures to neurological disorders.

Jackson Hospital With 1,450 employees, Jackson Hos-

pital is a major employer in Montgomery County. It is licensed for 344 beds and is a community not-for-profit hospital serv-ing Montgomery and the Alabama River Region. It offers comprehensive health care services and ranks among the largest hos-pitals in Alabama. It is widely recognized for providing excellence in care.

Recent developments include: Earning the American Heart Associa-tion/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. Adding bar-code technology and other clinical systems to improve medication safety, along with electronic records. Launching a major effort to replace its medical-surgical and critical care patient beds. The InTouch™ beds by Stryker can automatically weigh the patient and note changes in weight. They also can send a chart entry to the electronic medical record (EMR) when bed rails are raised or lowered. More extensive features include the ability to

actually ask questions and “speak” to a patient in their native language.

Noland Hospital Montgomery Affiliated with Noland Health Ser-

vices, this hospital specializes in treating medically complex patients who need

such services as ventilator/pulmonary care, wound care, long-term IV therapy and those with multi-system failure. It is located on the fifth and sixth floors in the north wing of Jackson Hospital.


Air University Air University is headquartered at

Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base. Es-tablished in 1946, it is the intellectual and leadership center of the Air Force and its center for professional military education. All levels of airmen, enlisted and officers, and civilians are educated through in-residence or distance-learn-ing courses to meet emerging geo-po-litical challenges faced by the United States. It provides the full spectrum of Air Force education, from pre-commis-sioning to degree granting and profes-sional continuing education.

Each year more than 30,000 students attend Air University classes creating a total estimated economic impact of the school’s units on the Montgomery area is about $2.56 billion.

Alabama State University ASU, founded in 1867 as a school for

African-Americans, is a widely respect-ed, world-class institution of higher learning that welcomes students of all races. It offers nearly 50 undergraduate and graduate programs that range from

teacher education to international busi-ness and health sciences.

With about 1,500 employees and 6,000 students, ASU has an economic impact on the state of $970 million an-nually. The school is transforming its campus with more than $250 million worth of new construction, both on campus and in downtown Montgom-ery. Changes include a new stadium, a $62 million project that opened on November 22 for the Turkey Day Clas-sic. The classic is the oldest historically black colleges and universities game in America.

ASU operates under its Vision 2020 strategic plan, which affects all areas of the university. Among those goals are many infrastructure projects.

Amridge University Amridge offers bachelors, masters

and doctoral degree online programs through five schools – the college of business and leadership, college of gen-eral studies, school of human services, Turner School of Theology and school of continuing education.

hiGher educATionhiGher educATion

Top: Alabama State University, founded in 1867 Photo by David Campbell

Above: A delegation of 13 Chinese dignitaries attended the grand opening of Auburn University at Montgomery’s new Confucius Institute. The celebration included a variety of cultural exhibits and performances — from calligraphy demonstrations to a hibachi-style cooking show. Photo by Frank C. Williams


Auburn University at Montgomery Founded in 1967 as the metropolitan

campus of Auburn University, AUM serves 4,225 undergraduates and 764 graduate students, offering more than 90 accredited degree options, as well as numerous certificate and professional development programs.

In November, AUM opened a Con-fucius Institute on campus. Established in 2004, these institutes are part of the Chinese government’s Ministry of Edu-

cation, designed to promote Chinese culture and language abroad.

In August, AUM opened its doors to its highly-anticipated $20.6 million Wellness Center, the first building on campus dedicated to student wellness and recreation. It houses the depart-ment of physical education and exer-cise science, including classroom space, and is home to the AUM intramurals program and human performance lab.Amenities include a weight room, pool,

rock climbing wall, indoor track, bas-ketball courts and locker rooms.

AUM also is building a new residence hall on campus, to be named Warhawk Hall. The $30 million facility is slated to open in fall 2013. The 144,740-square-foot building will include 140 units for a total of 293 beds. The school’s other two residence halls are filled to capacity.

AUM’s graduate program for pub-lic and nonprofit leaders, the master of public administration, continues to be counted among the nation’s best. U.S. News Media Group’s “Best Graduate Schools” guide ranked it among the top 100 programs nationwide.

Also recently, the Alabama Commis-sion on Higher Education approved a new master’s degree program in home-land security and emergency manage-ment at AUM, the only program of its kind in Alabama.

Faulkner University Faulkner, celebrating its 70th year,

offers students more than 60 under-graduate degree programs and six grad-uate programs, including a law degree. Faulkner also offers degree-completion programs for adult students at its exten-sion centers in Montgomery, Birming-ham, Huntsville and Mobile.

Faulkner became the first university in the Montgomery area to issue iPads to its traditional students.

In October 2012, Faulkner opened a new football stadium, unveiling a bronze statue depicting former Alabama Coach Gene Stallings hand-in-hand with his late son, John Mark Stallings.

Faulkner University’s Jones School of Law graduates led the state in July 2012 Alabama Bar admissions results, passing at a rate of 95.1 percent.

Huntingdon College With about 1,150 students, Hunting-

don, a 67-acre campus in a residential neighborhood, offers traditional and adult degree accredited completion pro-grams that include a broad range of aca-demic majors, pre-professional programs and K-12 teacher certification programs. The average class size is 20.

Its adult degree completion program is offered on campuses in Montgomery, Baldwin County, Birmingham, Brewton, Gadsden, Enterprise and Clanton.



Trenholm State Technical College Trenholm, part of the Alabama Com-

munity College System, grants associate degrees in several areas and offers credit and non-credit courses and certificates for career preparation, advancement and lifelong learning. It has 29 programs of study relating to the academic, health technologies and technical categories. It also contributes to economic growth in the area by offering training in fields, such as automotive manufacturing, to provide a skilled workforce for area in-dustries. It also is recognized statewide for its continuing and adult educa-tion programs. It has two campuses in Montgomery.

Troy University Montgomery Troy University’s Montgomery cam-

pus, situated in the heart of Alabama’s capitol city, is a leading provider of higher education in the River Region. Growth and development at the campus has played an influential role in the revi-talization of Montgomery’s urban land-scape, and through the outreach of the Rosa Parks Library and Museum and the Davis Theatre for the Performing Arts, the Montgomery campus makes significant cultural and artistic contri-butions to the city.

The academic mission is designed to

meet the needs of working adults, with more than 30-degree programs and concentrations that can be completed via evening classes. Weekend and online classes further supplement the flexible learning options available to Troy stu-dents in Montgomery.

More than 5,000 students enroll at the Montgomery campus each year. The average age for a student at the Mont-gomery campus is 28, and 95 percent of them work full-time or part-time at

Maxwell-Gunter Air Force base or in the civilian workforce throughout the tri-county area.

Virginia College in Montgomery One of the newest Virginia College

campuses, the Montgomery school of-fers career training in fields from office management to cosmetology, pharmacy, surgical technology, business adminis-tration and more.

The Troy University at Montgomery campus is located in downtown Montgomery and consists of Whitley Hall, portions of the Bell Building, the Bartlett Building, building 136 and the School of Nursing building. Classes also are held in the Rosa Parks Museum and Library.


Jeffrey BakerBaker is an associate professor of law and the di-rector of clinical programs at Faulkner University’s Jones School of Law. He supervises and teaches the Family Violence Clinic and the Externship Pro-gram. Baker designed and launched the Elder Law Clinic, and he also teaches pre-trial practice and law and literature. He coaches the school of law’s advo-cacy teams for the ABA’s Negotiation competition and its representation in mediation competition.

David BronnerBronner is CEO of the Retirement Systems of Alabama, a public pension fund with assets in ex-cess of $24 billion providing benefits for more than 325,000 public employees and retirees. The RSA is ranked 117 of all private/public pension funds in the world. He has been involved in several high-profile investments in Alabama and out of state, including luxury hotels and conference centers, and television and newspaper holdings. His most notable venture is the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, a renowned collection of 26 championship golf courses at 11 sites that helped increase Alabama tourism from a $1.8 billion to a $9.6 billion industry.

Elton Dean Dean is chairman of the Montgomery County Commission, serving his fourth term. First elected in 2000, he is a retired manager of Western Electric/AT&T/Lucent Technologies, a former manager of Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. and owner of Dean Realty and 21st Century Hair Studio. He chairs the Alabama State University board and is on the ex-ecutive board of the South Central Alabama Boys and Girls Club. Recently, Dean was presented with the International Economic Development Council Leadership Award for Public Service.

Lt. Gen. David FadokFadok is commander and president, Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, which graduates more than 50,000 resident and 120,000 non-resident of-ficers, enlisted and civilian personnel each year. He previously commanded at the squadron, group and

wing levels, flying combat and combat support mis-sions in operations Just Cause, Desert Storm, Des-ert Shield and Southern Watch. He also has served in other high-level military positions.

Col. Trent Edwards Edwards is commander of the 42nd Air Base Wing, Maxwell Air Force Base. He is responsible for pro-viding all base operating support, infrastructure and services support at Maxwell and Gunter Annex. As Maxwell’s installation commander, he interacts with local officials through a three-county, 12-city region with a military economic impact of $2.6 billion an-nually. He has served in several key Air Force and Secretary of Defense staff positions and has experi-ence in combat and counterinsurgency operations.

Thomas Harris Harris is chairman of Merchant Capital LLC, a Montgomery-headquartered investment banking company specializing in underwriting municipal, housing and infrastructure financing throughout Alabama and the Southeast. He and Merchant Capital have a long interest in promoting and ad-vancing economic development activities in Ala-bama. Most recently, Harris has chaired Alabama Black Belt Adventures, a state-funded rural eco-nomic development initiative created to promote Alabama’s Black Belt region as a national destina-tion for outdoor recreation. Harris serves on the board of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Com-merce, Alabama Wildlife Federation, BSR Trust and Cotton State Insurance.

Billy Hilyer Hilyer has served as president of Faulkner University since July 1986. He began his career at Faulkner as a part-time counselor and served in several admin-istrative posts, including executive vice president, before becoming the school’s seventh president. He has guided Faulkner into a rapidly growing univer-sity, adding degree programs, athletic facilities, stu-dent life facilities and a law school.

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Ellen McNairMcNair is se-nior vice presi-dent of corpo-rate develop-ment for the Montgomery Area Cham-ber of Com-

merce, as well as local coordinator for the Hyundai Project. She was the first woman project manager for the Alabama Devel-opment Office, the first woman Certified Economic Developer in Alabama, the first woman president of the Economic Devel-opment Association of Alabama and the first woman to lead a major metro area’s economic development effort.

Hazel MitchellMitchell has been the plant manager for Coca-Cola Refreshment’s manufactur-ing facility in Montgomery since 2010. Mitchell joined the Coca-Cola team in 2008 as a supply chain manager. Prior to that, she held various roles for Nestle & McNeil Consumer Health care in the manufacturing, supply chain, transporta-tion, safety, security and environmental sectors. She is a board member of Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama and active in Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce.

Joe Riley Riley joined Jackson Hospital as president and CEO in April 2012. A registered nurse with a master’s degree in health care administration, he served the last four years as CEO of McAllen Medical Center in Texas. Riley has been active in civic and professional organizations that include chambers of commerce, the Boys and Girls Club and Rotary International.

Gordon Stone Stone is the mayor of Pike Road, Ala-

bama’s fastest-growing municipality, and executive director of the Higher Educa-tion Partnership, an advocacy organiza-tion that works to strengthen the standing of Alabama’s four-year public universities and communicate the critical role higher education plays in the state’s economic well-being. He is president of the Auburn Football Lettermen Club and is active in the National Young Farmers Educational Association.

Todd StrangeStrange was elected mayor of Montgom-ery in March 2009. He is former chairman of the Montgomery County Commission and was formerly director of the Alabama Development Office. He currently is pres-ident and CEO of Blount Strange Hold-ings LLC, a limited liability company for acquisitions and management of assets from the sale of Blount Strange Automo-tive Group, which was sold to Sonic Au-tomotive. He is involved with many civic and community groups, including the YMCA, Montgomery Business Commit-tee for the Arts, Montgomery Area Com-mittee of 100, Montgomery Area Cham-ber of Commerce, Montgomery Area Community Foundation, United Way and chairman of the chamber’s Blue Ribbon Task Force for Economic and Commu-nity Development.

Pamela Swanner Swanner has more than 25 years of lead-ership experience in the tourism industry throughout Alabama and the Southeast. As project director of Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association — a public/private sector non-profit organization — Swanner leads an association dedicated to fostering economic development in Alabama’s 23-county Black Belt region through the marketing and promotion of outdoor recreation.

Russell TynerTyner joined Baptist Health as president and chief executive officer in 2004. He is responsible for charting the strategic di-rection of Baptist Health. Prior to joining Baptist Health, Tyner served as senior vice president and chief operating officer at UAB Medical West in Birmingham. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama and has 20 years’ experience in health care.

John VeresVeres is chancellor of Auburn University at Montgomery. He has worked for more than 31 years at AUM, 30 of them in hu-man resources management. He serves as special master to Federal District Judge C. Lynwood Smith in the Northern District of Alabama, and has served as the court’s expert to federal district courts in Arkan-sas and Georgia. He currently serves on the boards of directors of the Alabama Technology Foundation, the Alabama World Affairs Council, the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, the Mont-gomery Area YMCA, and Seton Haven, along with the Governor’s Commission for Action in Alabama’s Black Belt.

Jim Wilson & Will Wilson With more than 40 years of combined experience, Jim Wilson III and Will Wil-son, CEO and president, respectively, own and operate Jim Wilson & Associ-ates LLC, founded in 1975 by their late father. Noted for premier developments, including Riverchase Galleria, EastChase New Park and Wynlakes in Montgom-ery and the massive Redstone Gateway in Huntsville, the Wilsons have continued the company’s reputation as a premier real estate developer. Both are involved with the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, the YMCA, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and M.A.N.E. In addition, Will Wilson serves on the Board of Trustees of Huntingdon College and Jim Wilson serves as a trustee of the University of Alabama system.

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The City of Montgomery and 2WR Architects Inc. teamed up to renovate Grocer’s Alley into a premier entertainment district. The Alley currently is home to Dreamland Barbeque, AlleyBar, 129 Coosa, the Deli, Cantini, Central and SAZA’s Serious Italian Food. Photo courtesy of Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Convention & Visitors Bureau

The success of Montgomery’s down-town entertainment district has continued to spawn more development, from retail to commercial to loft apartments. It’s a natu-ral progression, city leaders say.

“We have a safe, vibrant and growing city,” says Mayor Todd Strange. “Like the spokes of a wheel, we are moving our ef-forts from the center of downtown in all directions to meet our vision.”

The city’s entertainment district down-town includes an amphitheatre, the Renaissance Hotel, the Montgomery Performing Arts Center, the Riverwalk Stadium, a riverboat and plenty of res-taurants and retail, generating at least a million more dollars each year in sales tax, Strange says.

The next step is building more lofts and retail to meet increasing demand for that type of housing, and there are several loft projects on the books, Strange says.

“We have 120 loft apartments, and a re-cent study told us that we have a need for 3,000 residential units,” he says. “We are catering to young people and those who work at Maxwell, in state government and other areas near downtown. The common thread in most of our ongoing projects is residential.”

The city has been buying dilapidated historic properties and reselling them to private developers who either are building their own projects or partnering with the city and others to revitalize areas.

One major example is the $22 mil-

lion Questplex, which will be located at One Dexter Plaza, the former One Court Square building in the heart of down-town. It will house the main branch of the Montgomery City-County Public Library, redesigned for the 21st century, and the Children’s Museum of Alabama, a new hands-on science and technology

business benchmarks

November 2012: Rheem Manufacturing, which manufac-tures water heaters, announces a $2 million to $4 million ex-pansion with 25 to 30 new jobs. The expansion will help the plant create a new line of metal-free water heaters.

September 2012: TK Electric LLC, a supplier of assembly

panels to Hyundai Heavy Indus-tries, announces it will locate in the Town of Pike Road, hiring 27 people and making a $3 mil-lion investment. It is the town’s first manufacturing partner.

June 2012: MOBIS Alabama, an automotive supplier, an-nounces an expansion with a capital investment of nearly $10

million and 204 new jobs.

June 2012: Lear Corp. Mont-gomery, which makes auto-motive seats, announces a $90,000 expansion with 86 new jobs.

June 2012: Glovis Alabama, Hyundai’s North American lo-gistics subsidiary, announces an

expansion with a capital invest-ment of $500,000 and 200 new jobs.

June 2012: Medical manufac-turing company STERIS Corp. announces it will will expand its Montgomery operations, invest-ing $11 million to add fabrica-tion and assembly capabilities. It will hire about 80 people over

communiTy deveLopmenTcommuniTy deveLopmenT



business benchmarks

the next two years.

May 2012: Webster Industries, which manufactures plastic bags, announces a $14 million expansion.

May 2012: The Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce is presented with the Partnership-ping Award from CSX Corp. for

its efforts in helping bring rail-related projects to the region. The chamber helped attract the Hyundai Power Transformers Plant to Montgomery, where it is served by CSX freight rail. The $108 million plant is ex-pected to bring more than 500 jobs to the region.

April 2012: Hyundai Motor Man-ufacturing Alabama announces it will add a third production shift, adding 877 new jobs and investing $23.5 million capital. March 2012: DAS North Ameri-ca, an automotive seat compo-nent supplier for Hyundai and Kia, announces it will build a manufacturing facility in Mont-

gomery, investing $50 million and creating 240 jobs.

May 2011: Hyundai Motor Manu-facturing Alabama announces plans to invest $173 million in expanding and modifying an engine plant that will create 214 new jobs.

Above: Many of Montgomery’s historic buildings are getting new life as revitalization efforts get underway in the downtown area. Photo courtesy of Alabama Tourism Department/Carol M. Highsmith

Opposite: Jim Wilson & Associates LLC is building New Park, a planned residential development in east Montgomery that will have 180 home sites in its first phase of development.

museum. Like many other local projects, Questplex is being developed via a part-nership, Strange says.

“We’re all about partnerships,” Strange says. “We have a great relationship with all levels of government, and we work with private developers, as well. And we’ve been able to do all this during the great recession.”

Other planned and ongoing downtown projects include:

A $5 million renovation of Dexter Avenue that will include sidewalks, streetscape and improvements around the state Capitol. The flight-themed Aviator Bar opened in December.Irish Bred Pub, on Dexter Avenue, also opened in December, featuring lunch and dinner on all three floors and three bars, along with live music. The former skate park will be moved to the riverfront and the site developed into a $10 million apartment, commer-cial and restaurant project. The former Frank Leu building is set to get new life as a $15 million multi-story

development to include four restaurants and 54 apartments. Work has started on the Printing Press Lofts, the retooling of a 105-year-old building near Riverwalk Stadium to create 21 loft apartments. The Webber Building, housing the old Montgomery Theatre, will undergo a $3.2 million renovation with restau-rants, offices and apartments.The city repurposed Cramton Bowl into a $22 million sports complex and multi-purpose facility that has hosted many events from dances to sporting events, Strange says. A $2.5 million soc-cer complex just opened near Auburn University Montgomery, a joint venture between the city and the YMCA.The city is planning to rename Over-look Park for the Wright Brothers and display a 60x40 replica of the Wright Flyer in the park, located on the bluffs and easily seen by interstate travelers, Strange says. Outside downtown, the city is reno-

vating two former anchor stores at the Montgomery Mall into a fire station and a technical high school, Strange says.

A new high school and a new multi-family development are also being built on Park Crossing in east Montgomery, which already has two elementary schools, a middle school and the YMCA. Jim Wil-son & Associates LLC is building New Park, a planned residential development of more than 1,000 acres at Park Crossing in east Montgomery and is currently in the first phase of development, with 180 home sites and more than 60 completed homes. National builder D.R. Horton is playing a role in the development and has completed more than 40 houses.


Town of Pike Road With a population of more than 6,000,

Pike Road is no longer officially a town, but it enjoys the community spirit of a small town, says Mayor Gordon Stone. Incorporated in 1997 with about 350 people, it is now one of the fastest-grow-ing municipalities in the state and has 31 neighborhoods.

“We have a strong volunteer base net-work, and we have a volunteer arts council and churches that have formed an emer-gency response team,” Stone says. “We have a traditional growth pattern, with converging crossroads where businesses are urged to form villages, or town cen-ters.”

Pike Road uses Smart Code, an alter-native to traditional zoning regulations that places value on creating town centers, preserving green spaces and making cities friendlier to pedestrians and recreation

The town has been very busy in 2012. Residents voted to separate from the Montgomery County school system, cre-ate a town school system and raise ad va-lorem taxes to fund it, Stone says. “We are preparing to build our own K-8 campus, which should be done in 2015,” he says. “We are in negotiations with the school system for adjoining school buildings.”

City officials launched the ENHANCE initiative, a long-term strategic plan de-signed to ensure that the town continues to mature in four key areas — quality of life, community planning, public educa-tion and municipal services. Several citi-zen committees were formed to partici-pate in that initiative.

The town also began its comprehensive planning process in summer 2012 with Volkert Inc. that will include school proj-ects, regulation and code updates and a traffic study.

The town has completed the first four miles of a trail that also will include a mu-seum and a resource center, a community garden and a veterans’ memorial. And it welcomed its first manufacturing tenant – TK Electric, an automotive supplier.

Pike Road, in 2010, opened a renovated former commercial space in the Pike Road Station development on Vaughn Road to use as a town hall.


Alabama’s Black Belt The 23-county Black Belt, which in-

cludes Montgomery, is widely known for its excellent hunting and fishing opportu-nities, Civil Rights history and historical and cultural destinations from antebellum homes to river festivals and fascinating museums. Alabama Black Belt Adven-tures, a non-profit organization, is com-mitted to promoting outdoor recreation and tourism in this area.

Alabama Cattlemen’s Association “MOOseum”

This hands-on children’s educational center has a unique agricultural theme. Kids can be cowboys and cowgirls, and admission is free.

Alabama Department of Archives and History

The oldest state-funded archives in the nation features a genealogical research facility and museum exhibits that tell the story of Alabama history.

Alabama Shakespeare Festival The internationally acclaimed ASF is

ranked as one of the top 10 largest Shake-speare theatres in the world. It draws more than 300,000 people annually from all over the world. Built by Wynton Blount and nestled in a park-like setting, ASF stages a wide variety of live theatre.

Alabama State Capitol/ Governor’s Mansion

Alabama’s state capitol is one of the few designated as a National Historic Land-

Above: The Alabama Shakespeare Festival will be performing Macbeth from January 25-May 18, 2013.

Left: Erected in 1991, the life-size bronze statue of Hank Williams is located across from Montgomery’s City Hall, which used to be the civic auditorium, where he often performed.

Opposite: The Old Alabama Town school-house is one of 50 historic buildings open to the public for self-guided or group tours.


cuLTure And recreATion

cuLTure And recreATion


mark and offers self-guided tours. And the 1907 Governor’s Mansion — still the residence of governors — is open for tours by reservation.

Capri Theatre Built in 1941, the Capri was Mont-

gomery’s first neighborhood theatre. It is in historic Old Cloverdale and is now Montgomery’s only independent cinema.

Civil Rights Memorial and Center The Civil Rights Memorial honors the

achievements and memory of those who died during the modern Civil Rights Movement. The memorial is a circu-lar black granite table that records the names of the martyrs and the history of the movement. Water emerges from the table’s center and flows evenly across the top. The Civil Rights Memorial Center houses exhibits, a 56-seat theatre, a class-room and more.

Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church & The Dexter Parsonage Museum

The church led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from 1954-1960 offers guided tours. A modest pulpit where he preached is on display, as is a large mural that de-picts his crusade from Montgomery to Memphis. The parsonage was the historic home to 12 pastors of the church from 1920-1992 and is a museum today.

F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum

Literary legends F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald lived in this home from Octo-ber 1931 to April 1932. Saved from de-molition in 1986, it is the only remaining residence of the authors in Montgomery.

First White House of the Confederacy

This 1835 home was the residence of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confed-eracy, and his family during the spring of 1861 when Montgomery was the capital of the Confederacy.

Hank Williams Museum, Statue, Memorial

The museum pays tribute to Williams, one of the best-known country music writers and performers. A life-size statue stands across from the old city auditorium,

the site of many of his performances and his funeral, and the Oakwood Cemetery Annex in Montgomery is his final resting place.

Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Located in the Wynton M. Blount Cul-

tural Park, it houses an interactive gallery for kids, ARTWORKS. The museum in-cludes 19th and 20th century American paintings and sculpture, Southern regional arts, Old Master prints and decorative art.


Montgomery Zoo – Mann Wildlife Learning Museum

The 40-acre zoo has hundreds of ani-mal species in natural habitats. Paddle-boats, a playground and train are addi-tional amusements. The interactive Mann Museum hosts more than 275 exhibits of wildlife, fresh and saltwater fish, reptiles and insects.

National Center for the Study of Civil Rights & African American Culture

Located on the Alabama State Uni-versity campus, this museum houses cul-tural exhibits and hosts scholarly lectures and stories from foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement.

Old Alabama Town Old Alabama Town covers six blocks in

downtown with dozens of authentically restored 19th and 20th century structures, including a one-room schoolhouse, grist mills, a store, a church, a doctor’s office, cottages, a tavern and more. Visitors learn from costumed interpreters how early Americans of all backgrounds lived and worked in central Alabama.

Riverwalk Entertainment District The city’s popular riverfront entertain-

ment district includes Riverwalk Stadium, home of the minor league baseball team

the Montgomery Biscuits; Riverwalk Amphitheater/Splash Pad, the Renais-sance Montgomery Hotel and Spa and other attractions. Downtown also is home to the 19th century riverboat Harriott II, which offers public and private cruises.

Rosa Parks Library & Museum and Children’s Wing

Visiting this interactive museum puts you right in the place of Rosa Parks, who sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955. Artifacts include a restored 1955 station wagon, a replica of the public bus on which Parks was sitting that day and original historic documents. The Chil-dren’s Wing includes a “time machine,” and prepares visitors for the reenactment involving Parks.

Troy University’s Davis Theatre for the Performing Arts

The theatre, completely restored to its original 1930s look when it was the Para-mount Movie House, is affiliated with Troy and is home of the annual Subscriber Series, touring productions of Broadway shows to concerts.

Above: The Davis Theatre for the Perform-ing Arts is one of only a handful of grand theaters still standing across the South.

Below: Part of Troy University, the Rosa Parks Museum's purpose is to uphold and interpret materials related to the events and individuals associated with the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Documents

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