​​Cameron: So, Megan, tell me, is South Huntsville the new downtown? Megan: Well, I don't think it's ever going to replace downtown completely because downtown is downtown, and it has so much to offer. But South Huntsville is definitely experiencing rapid growth—I would call it a renaissance. I’ve lived in South Huntsville for about six years, and for a long time, everyone was saying, "This area is about to take off." I was skeptical, but it has been steadily growing. For residential real estate, it's a great area. The shops and things to do were coming, and now, all of a sudden, everything is down there. It is exploding. It very well could be the new downtown. I think it is "downtown enough" now, and will be in the future, that people can really live a more downtown lifestyle on that side of town. Cameron: Absolutely. I agree about the growth there. For the first three or four years I lived here, if I went to the southeast side, it was 100% for an appointment to list or show a home. Now, I find myself going down there to experience the new restaurants and other areas coming online; it has become a destination. It used to be really insular. You lived in South Huntsville and you stayed there. You might drive out to work at the Arsenal or up at Research Park at the hospital, but your life was in South Huntsville. You had Jones Valley and that was about it. Now, you see so many new, growing areas, but you also see areas getting revitalized. Maybe 80% of the locations are getting facelifts, but you have another 20% coming in, taking over old buildings or places that went out of business 10 years ago. Megan: I think it's by design. Hayes Farm has really changed what South Huntsville is. It's a massive, multi-use development with new construction right by the new Grissom High School—a really nice facility with walking trails and tons of shops. That’s in an area of South Huntsville where there wasn't much going on six or seven years ago. That is something they have designed to happen. Also, I live a little closer to Cecil Ashburn Drive. They widened that a few years ago with plans to make it a commuter area as Owens Crossroads developed. Now, we are seeing people coming over Cecil Ashburn daily from Owens Crossroads to enjoy restaurants. Even the gym on the other side of the hill—there’s a huge facility that was just built. When I moved to South Huntsville, I just went to the Y because that was the gym. Now, there are literally three Pilates studios within a mile of my house. I haven’t gone to any of them, but I definitely could branch out. Cameron: Sure. When I think of a downtown, I think of two things. It’s a magnet, pulling people in from other areas due to the concentration of businesses, cultural activities, and festivals. The other part is the density of people living surrounding it. To your point about Cecil Ashburn, I show a lot of homes in Owens Crossroads. We spend time talking about what’s there because it’s not fully built out yet. One of the first things we do is pull out the phone to see how far it is via GPS into Jones Valley, right over Cecil Ashburn. That is a big draw for people living over there. It’s not just people in South Huntsville or Owens Crossroads; it’s also people like me. My wife loves Bonefish Grill, so every Mother’s Day, that’s where we go. We come into South Huntsville for that. Megan: Even when you come down Cecil Ashburn, there’s that big development with the Target and the movie theater. There used to be empty shops on the left-hand side, but there are none now. If you take a left at the bottom and go past the Star Market, there was a whole strip mall—just a Mexican restaurant, maybe one or two other things, and a dance academy—that is now full of thriving shops. There's a new Vietnamese place, too. It was small-town feeling, and now it’s an actual destination; it’s starting to feel like a downtown. Then you have the Lyndon development behind the Target. As you come over Cecil Ashburn and continue down, you take a right into this beautiful development. These are high-end, walkable homes—no huge backyards, but you can walk to all the shops. It has a downtown feel for sure. I know you did a video tour of Lyndon on the Cameron Walker Realty Channel; it shows that old-world style with sidewalks and trees. That video was taken at least seven months ago, and the area has developed even more. I think they are about to start phase two. Cameron: It’s not just there. Back to Hayes Farm and other areas, they are finally reaching that density to support the businesses coming in. I was telling you earlier, half-jokingly, that I follow social media groups tracking Huntsville announcements. Every time I see a new restaurant or studio, my immediate thought is, "Is this in South Huntsville?" before I think of Madison or downtown. Megan: The other thing that feels urban is that it’s not just chain restaurants anymore. There’s the Red Robin and others, but now there’s much more independent, homegrown stuff because there is enough foot traffic. It’s reached that critical mass where if you put a shop there, it will get business because people are hanging out. Cameron: I was down there yesterday for a client appointment. It had been maybe three weeks since I’d been there, and the number of places that were under construction and are now open with full parking lots on a Sunday evening blew my mind. There are also many existing businesses getting facelifts—new frontage, fresh paint, or renovations. Coming out of COVID, we saw a lot of places closing. It’s cool to see the new stuff come in while the older, existing businesses flourish. It’s important for the culture of Huntsville. We are a city in transition; as we increase our wealth and affluence, people move here from other areas, but we still have that old agriculture-barbecue culture. It’s good to see that surviving and thriving. Megan: For years, going to restaurants meant getting in the car and driving pretty far. I can ride my bike to several good restaurants now, which is awesome. Cameron: That’s a good point. A lot of these places are interconnected by trails or greenways. It’s not just "downtown-esque"; it has its own vibe. Instead of walking a city sidewalk, you walk the greenway, passing nature, trees, and creeks, and you can stop for coffee, a brewery, or shopping. That is wholly unique to South Huntsville. Megan: And they are eventually connecting all those greenways. One of the first areas they built them out in was South Huntsville. You see people on them all the time—riding bicycles with their kids and hanging out by the water. Cameron: Another thing about density is pulling people in for events. An area growing exponentially is Ditto Landing. There is so much to do there now other than just launch a boat. For years, they tried to make Ditto Landing a "thing" and failed because we didn't have the population density that far south. Now, I think it’s going to happen. Megan: It has to. The money is coming from the people using these facilities. Economic development is dependent on the economy, and they hit that sweet spot as our population bloomed. But if you’re a home buyer, be careful if you work on the Arsenal. Listings often advertise proximity to Gate 3, but that gate isn't open all the time. The South Huntsville gates are not the same as Gate 9. You need to assess your situation and not just be excited about a gate. Cameron: You need a fallback. We’ve talked about how it is becoming more like a city center, but some things pull in the other direction. There are no high-rises. There are new apartments and hotels, but they aren't tall; they don't feel like a downtown. The skyline is still the beautiful green mountains. Megan: I prefer that. Some cities plan that way to preserve the view. I don't think South Huntsville will ever have high-rises, and I hope it doesn't. Cameron: It can be misleading. When you get off the interstate in Athens, you don't feel like you’re in Athens yet, and when you go through South Huntsville on the parkway, you don’t realize what’s off to the sides. You don't see Hayes Farm. The parkway is a means of getting from point A to point B, not where you hang out. You need to go deep. Megan: Agreed. Cameron: That wraps it up. We’ve covered what we expect from a downtown area and what South Huntsville offers. It’s not as central if you’re commuting far, but it’s a distinct center. Thanks for watching. I’m Cameron Walker, the broker and owner of Cameron Walker Realty, and this is Megan Hines. Megan: Hi, everybody. Cameron: Thanks for listening. You can catch us on audio wherever you get your podcasts, like Spotify or Apple, or you can watch the video on our YouTube Channel. Please subscribe so we can keep you informed of everything going on in Huntsville.