More than $1 billion in construction got going in 2025 from January through June in north-central Alabama's Madison, Limestone and Morgan counties, according to permits pulled by Southern Exposure Information, a construction data and market information company located in Huntsville.
The Madison Street Tower expansion at Huntsville Hospital leads the way in 2025 construction projects in the region's largest city, Al.com reported July 3, 2025.
Other top projects that have begun since Jan. 1 include construction on the Ditto Landing event center and buildings at the Redstone Gateway and Cummings Research Park, all happening at sites in Huntsville.
Looking ahead toward the latter half of the year, more Huntsville/Madison County construction will include a $44.6 million expansion of the Ice Sports Center, and bids are expected to be let soon for the expansion of Big Spring Park East.
From the beginning of 2025 through June 30, Huntsville issued 1,123 building permits valued at $464.2 million. Madison County itself issued 1,202 permits totaling $324.2 million.
Among other nearby northern Alabama cities and towns:
• Decatur issued 234 permits totaling $96.2 million;
• Madison issued 242 permits totaling $86.5 million;
• Athens issued 213 permits totaling $69.8 million; and
• Priceville issued 12 permits totaling $950,000.
Many of State's Top Builders Began New Projects in 2025
Al.com compiled a list of construction companies that are hard at work in the area this year, with a brief description of a few of their projects.
For instance, Birmingham-based Robins & Morton is the top builder in the Huntsville area so far with four permits totaling $119 million.
The firm also has been working on the most expensive project in the region after obtaining a permit in February to build the aforementioned $112 million Madison Street Tower expansion at Huntsville Hospital, part of the HH Health System. The work involves adding 154,000 sq. ft. of new clinical space.
The Alabama Certificate of Need Review Board unanimously approved the five-story addition late last year, Al.com noted.
Most of the work will take place at the northeast corner of the hospital facing Madison Street and St. Clair Avenue.
Construction is expected to take about two years and will include:
• a new Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit made possible by a $10 million philanthropic donation — the largest private gift the hospital has ever received;
• a Neuro Intensive Care Unit for neurosurgical and stroke patients;
• three floors of new acute medical space;
• a total of 120 new private patient rooms; and
• a new and improved Emergency Department vehicle entrance.
When the hospital's construction is completed, HH Health System's flagship facility will have a total of 931 patient beds. 70 existing patient rooms are also being converted from double occupancy to single occupancy.
The hospital's Madison Street Tower was originally built by Robins & Morton in 2006. Chapman Sisson Architects designed the tower, as well as its expansion.
The hospital construction is not the only Huntsville project that the contractor is working on this year; the company also is building a $3.7 million, 28,000-sq.-ft. buildout at 9700 Advanced Gateway.
That facility will include office space and high-bay space, Robins & Morton spokesperson Chris Yazbec told AL.com.
Homebuilders Have Been Very Busy in Growing Region
Davidson Homes was the top homebuilder for the first six months of the year in the three-county area that includes Huntsville, the state's most populous city.
The company was issued 288 building permits totaling $63.3 million in the first half of 2025 and is currently building homes in northern Madison County, as well as the cities and communities of Huntsville, Madison, Decatur, Athens, Toney, Hartselle and Harvest.
The contractor advertises homes starting in the $250,000 to $500,000 range.
Another major Alabama homebuilder, Lennar Homes, received 264 building permits totaling $58 million. It is the main contractor working on the Clift Farm development bordering north Madison off U.S. Highway 72.
Lennar also has constructed other homes in Madison and Athens, and in the Retreat subdivision in Meridianville. Most of the homes listed on the builder's website are priced from $280,000 to $400,000.
Woodland Homes was issued 57 permits totaling $28.4 million. Its website advertises 15 new home communities at sites in Madison, Athens, Meridianville, New Market and Owens Crossroads. Most of the contractor's homes advertise for more than $400,000.
Albertville-based Olympia Construction concentrates on multifamily developments but also does work on commercial projects. Two permits totaling $26.5 million have been issued to the company, Al.com reported.
Homebuilder DR Horton received 173 permits totaling $21.7 million before the end of June. It is the builder for Greenbrier Preserve, located not far from Interstate 565 and several major Huntsville employers in the Limestone County portion of the Rocket City.
It also constructs homes on Huntsville's north side and other northern portions of Madison County, in addition to sites in and around Athens, Madison and Owens Crossroads.
DR Horton's advertises its homes in the $200,000-$350,000 price range.
Range of Different Commercial Projects Also Sprouting Up
Brasfield & Gorrie, headquartered in Birmingham, and noted for its commercial, industrial and heavy civil projects, received three permits earlier this year totaling $29 million.
The renowned contracting company is working on a $25 million, 125,000-sq. ft. building at 8500 Redstone Gateway in Huntsville. COPT Defense Properties manage the facility.
Brasfield & Gorrie also is building retail and office components for the Stadium Commons development near Huntsville's Joe Davis Stadium.
Another Alabama company, Fite Construction of Decatur, was issued five permits totaling $18.4 million. Two went to the City of Decatur's Industrial Development Board for alterations to the Nucor Towers and Structures facility at 913 Maero St. NW.
Fite also is building the recreation center at Huntsville's John Hunt Park, a preschool in Madison and several downtown Decatur projects.
Its work on constructing a $32.7 million hangar project at Pryor Field Regional Airport in Tanner, Ala. is just now getting under way. The facility is expected to create 50 aviation-related jobs in three years, according to Al.com.
Turner Construction is the contractor of record for a $16.5 million building at 905 Mark C. Smith Dr. in Cummings Research Park. The Huntsville-Madison Chamber was issued the permit for the work.
The builder has worked on several high-profile projects in the area, including Huntsville's new City Hall, which opened in 2024.
After having received two building permits worth $14.6 million, Lee Builders is working on the $13 million Ditto Landing marina event center project in Huntsville. The contracting company also was responsible for renovating nearby Joe Davis Stadium, which reopened in 2023 as a multipurpose stadium.
Not included in these project totals are ongoing ones that began prior to 2025.
Among them is the $375 million Front Row mixed-use development going up at the corner of Clinton Avenue and Monroe Street in Huntsville, across from the Von Braun Center.
ARCO/Murray National Construction, the top builder in the Huntsville area over the last two years, is the contractor for that project. In June, the firm was also awarded a contract by the city to work on the Ice Sports Center on Leeman Ferry Road.
