HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — RCP Cos. has announced plans for Anthem House, a $110 million mixed-use development in Huntsville’s new MidCity district. The property will feature 330 apartment units, 35,000 square feet of creative office space and 32,000 square feet of street-level retail space.
Named for MidCity’s music theme, Anthem House will offer a “residential-meets-hospitality housing solution” with furnished units, shorter lease contracts and hotel-like surroundings and amenities.
Most of the major aerospace companies have a presence in Huntsville, which is home to regional employers including U.S. Army post Redstone Arsenal and Cummings Research Park. Additionally, the city offers twice the amount of government jobs per capita than any other city in the country. Huntsville’s workforce demographics feature many remote and contract workers who greatly prefer the multifamily-hospitality niche for their housing.
“Currently, Huntsville has a housing deficit that is accentuated by the continued job growth in the market,” says RCP co-founder Max Grelier. “The shift in consumer preferences, particularly among millennials, is driving demand for more hospitality features within real estate projects, including more amenities, hosting events and activities which bring residents together.”
U.S. News & World Report named Huntsville as the best place to live in the United States in its 2022 annual ranking for its quality of life, growing job market and affordability.
According to the most recently available U.S. Census Bureau estimates, Huntsville is now the most populous city in Alabama with a total population of 215,006 as of 2021 — a 19.4 percent increase from the 2010 total of 180,105. This surpasses Birmingham which had a population of 200,733 in 2021.
Over the next five years, private investment in MidCity is expected to exceed $1.5 billion.
RCP plans to release more project details upon breaking ground later this fall. Completion of Anthem House is scheduled for early 2025.
— Kari Lloyd