Huntsville’s soaring growth brings the need for new housing, and as the city’s expansion continues, residential development in west Huntsville is following suit. The latest addition came from Atlanta-based Gateway Ventures (Gateway) and Bullpen Real Estate (Bullpen), which celebrated the grand opening of Laurel at Dry Creek with charcuterie cones provided by Honey Box, live music, beer tastings from Yellowhammer Brewing, and guided tours of model apartments.

Located at 393 Johns Road NW in Huntsville near Research Park Blvd and Plummer Rd, the new 20-acre residential community is a $60 million garden apartment project featuring 15 townhomes, 10 carriage homes, and 318 apartments.

The secured-access community features a resort-style pool with grilling stations outfitted with the Big Green Egg®, a state-of-the-art fitness center, a Pickleball court, free electric car charging stations, lighted walking trails, and numerous other amenities.

The project was developed in partnership with Atlanta-based Bullpen Commercial Real Estate, which was co-founded by former Major League Baseball pitchers Matt Capps and Blaine Boyer.

Capps helped bring the project to Huntsville partly because of local ties: “Since my wife is a Huntsville native, I have a personal connection to the city. We are so excited to welcome the Rocket City community for a first look at our new multifamily development. This event will be an opportunity for us to continue to get to know Huntsville residents and understand how to best cater to their residential needs,” he said in a statement.

Prior to the ribbon cutting, guests mingled and explored the spacious, attractive clubhouse while enjoying charcuterie cones and sampling a wide variety of Yellowhammer beers on the pool deck. The event was produced by Revel Events.

Following Mayor Tommy Battle’s arrival, the festivities moved to the entrance of the clubhouse, where the ribbon cutting ceremony commenced. Gateway Ventures Managing Partner Mack Reese addressed the audience, noting that Capps drew his attention to the property on which Laurel at Dry Creek now sits back in 2019.

“Matt kept telling us that all these [government] jobs are gonna come,” Reese explained, adding that he found out that about 7,000 additional apartments were also coming to the area at the same time.

After taking a leap of faith with the purchase of the property, construction started in the fall of 2020. They finally got approval for financing a full year after the purchase of the property in June 2021. “Matt and Blaine were like, ‘I think I’m going to go back and play baseball,’” Reese said. “So we did the field of dreams,” he continued, thanking General Manager Niki Moody and her team for their efforts as well as Mayor Battle and the City of Huntsville for their continuing support and leadership.

Capps began by telling the story of Laurel: “L-A-U-R-E-L: Love, Ambition, Uniqueness, Risk, Execution, and Luck.” Love, he said, began on the day he and his wife said their wedding vows “right here in this beautiful city of Huntsville, Alabama.”

Capps explained that Laurel at Dry Creek was not an ideal building site, but they decided to highlight the uniqueness of the dry creek by making it a focal point of the property, planting native grasses and greenery to enhance its natural appeal.

Work began during the uncertainty of the pandemic. “Who in their right mind would close on land and start moving dirt to ready a site without all their ducks in a row? Well, we did. Why? Because we have a pretty darn good team in place that believed in themselves and each other. And we trusted the leadership of this city and the plan put in motion to make Huntsville one of, if not the best, cities in Alabama and the United States to live, work, and do business,” Capps said.

“We took that risk and I’m certain we’d do it again right here. Mayor Battle, your city, your staff, and your leadership is second to none,” Capps stated.

Capps also gave a shout out to his business partner Blaine Boyer, noting that they played professional baseball against each other for fifteen years and lived a mile and a half from each other but never crossed paths during that time. As luck would have it, they met through their sons, who played on the same first grade basketball team. “Wouldn’t you know it, another sport would bring us together,” he mused. “I’m grateful for you.”

Mayor Battle then stepped up to the plate, noting that the large number of new apartments in the area is allowing Huntsville to catch up with the massive influx of residents into the area.

“Everyone watches the economy and you think about how we’ve been through the cycles before and there’s probably a downcycle coming…we’ve kind of decided we’re not going to participate in the next downcycle. We’ve been fortunate enough to bring in enough jobs to keep us rolling for the next 5-10 years, and what we’re working on now is the next 15-20 years,” Battle said.

Following the presentation of a membership plaque from Crystal Baker of the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce, Battle and Capps cut the ribbon on the new apartment community, after which the guests were invited to tour the luxurious one- and two bedroom models. Matt Mason of Gateway noted that thanks to a new initiative, space will be reserved for ten Rocket City Trash Pandas players during the coming baseball season.

The game isn’t over yet for Gateway and Bullpen–there are plans for further expansion of the community, as well as potential future developments in the Huntsville area. To paraphrase Ray Kinsella in Field of Dreams, if you build it, they will come.

Photos provided by Dawn Suiter, Huntsville Business Journal.