The excitement in the air was evident at Mayor Tommy Battle’s “State of the City” address on Tuesday. Around 1,400 community and business leaders filled the Von Braun Center (the most ever for a chamber event according to Battle) to hear what the mayor had to say and to celebrate many of Huntsville’s latest achievements.

The city is still abuzz after various city accomplishments and some major city makeovers. Huntsville was obviously named Best Place to Live in the U.S. by U.S. News & World Report, The Orion Amphitheater has breathed new life into the tourism industry and the Artemis launch ushered in a new era of space travel.

While there was much to celebrate, the recurring theme presented by Battle focused on going forward with that success and the work still to be done. It’s a common notion that staying at the top is harder than actually getting to the top and, according to Battle, the city of Huntsville will be taking every step necessary to remain “the star of Alabama.”

Battle pointed out that along with being named the best place to live in Alabama, Huntsville is now the largest city in the state in terms of population and still growing. Huntsville gains 460 new residents each month and the city must plan accordingly.

Much of the speech was devoted to explaining the “quality of life” infrastructure projects that will allow the city to grow while also maintaining its beauty and excellence for future generations to come. These projects included investments in roads, greenways and parks.

“They are the ones who will benefit from the investments we make today,” Battle said, referring to the generation of tomorrow. “That’s why everything we plan, develop and build is done with transparency and prudence. It is done with purpose and strategy.”

Perhaps the largest project aimed at increasing the quality of life for Huntsville is the second phase of the Restore Our Roads initiative. Totaling six projects with an estimated cost of around $800 million, the initiative will aim to enhance traffic flow around the city and in and out of the arsenal.

“With growth, we may not be able to provide an 18-minute commute (the city wide average for a commute to work) for everyone, but we’re working to keep traffic moving, safe and manageable,” Battle explained.

The project is a much needed one as, highlighted by Battle, the Huntsville metro area has seen a 24% growth in employment during Battle’s tenure as mayor. The growth in employment can be attributed not only to new residents moving into the city, but also to initiatives that are equipping the citizens who grew up here with the appropriate skills for 2022’s job market.

The Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering opened earlier this year in Cummings Research Park.

“It is the first, and remember this, the first statewide tuition-free magnet school for cyber engineering in the United States,” exclaimed Battle.

“This school will educate, train and prepare the next generation of animated thinkers. Their students will someday solve the problems of tomorrow and possibly even take center stage at our National Cyber Summit that is held right here in Huntsville, Alabama.

So while there is much to celebrate within The Rocket City, Battle’s address made it clear that we can’t stop anytime soon.

“Our secret is out,” as he put it. And with his speech, he also made it clear that growth for the sake of growth is not acceptable. The goal is to grow in such a way that future generations will be positively affected by the growth.

“Knowing who we are, what we want and how to get there and doing so together. That ‘together’ is a big word,” Battle emphasized.

“That’s the secret to our success and the secret to being the star of Alabama. With everyone’s help sitting here today….We will continue investing in a quality of life that brings people here and a quality of life that exceeds the dreams of our predecessors.”