JACKSON COUNTY
Located between Huntsville and Chattanooga, Tennessee, Jackson County benefits from its proximity to five major interstates — I-565, I-65, I-24, I-59 and I-75 are all within a one-hour drive -— and it is served by the CSX, Norfolk Southern and Sequatchie Valley railroads.
In Scottsboro, the county seat, renovations are underway on the Jackson County Courthouse. And three new housing developments, totalling 278 homes, are in progress.
New housing developments also are underway in Scottsboro, including the Jackson Bend Development, planned for 116 single-family homes; the Stone Bridge Development, planned for 150 single-family homes; and Feathered Oaks, which began with 12 homes and has nine more planned this year.
Several road projects wrapped up in 2024-2025, including resurfacing 8.1 miles of streets representing a $1.87 million investment.
The city added three acres to the Scottsboro Municipal Airport site in preparation for future growth and completed an updated airport layout plan for long term development, and the city council recently discussed the addition of a maintenance hangar.
Scottsboro has seen several new retail developments in the past year. Advanced Displays, a leading distributor of Lozier’s shelving systems, opened a 300,000-square-foot distribution center in August. In April, Fast Pace Health Care celebrated the grand opening of a walk-in urgent care clinic that will serve Scottsboro and the surrounding communities. Alabama Farm Credit opened a new branch downtown in March, and Citizens Bank & Trust broke ground for a second facility in February. Hobby Lobby plans to open a new store in November.
Downtown Scottsboro is a Main Street Alabama-designated community and is moving forward with projects like facade improvements and a pocket park on Peachtree Street that is nearing completion. The downtown district received three awards at the 2025 Main Street Alabama Awards of Excellence event, including the Excellence in Reinvestment Award honoring $5 million in investment to the development of the area.
“The city’s commitment to downtown shows how collaboration and vision can breathe new life into historic spaces, with city leaders standing alongside us every step of the way to support revitalization and growth,” says Julia Whitehead, director of Downtown Scottsboro.
Jackson County is located on the northern shore of Lake Guntersville, a world-renowned bass fishing destination, and the Tennessee River runs nearly through its center. The county is part of the Tennessee RiverLine, a connection of outdoor recreational experiences that stretches 652 miles from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Paducah, Kentucky, and the Singing River Trail, a greenway system that connects Jackson, Marshall, Madison, Limestone, Morgan, Lawrence, Lauderdale and Colbert counties.
Scottsboro is home to the Ultimate Angler Championship, a bass fishing tournament hosted by Unified Pros and the State of Alabama, and hosted the annual Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners Tournament this October.
“Scottsboro is stepping onto the national stage in a big way,” says Mayor Jim McCamy. “Hosting the Ultimate Angler Championship and the Toyota Owners Series puts our community in front of thousands of visitors and millions in tourism impact. Events like these showcase what makes Scottsboro special while supporting our local economy.”
MARSHALL COUNTY
Marshall County is known for lake living.
Guntersville, the county seat, is located on the southernmost end of the Tennessee River and is surrounded by Lake Guntersville, a hub for bass fishing and outdoor recreation and the county’s centerpiece attraction.
The City Harbor welcomed an 88-room Home2 Suites by Hilton with a grand opening in May. The mixed-use lakefront development features restaurants, retail and entertainment venues and generated over $800,000 in local revenue for the city in 2024.
The Alabama Tourism Department ranked the four-mile Sunset Drive walking trail among the top 25 walking trails in the state. The city recently completed an expansion taking the trail beneath the River Bridge on Highway 431, making the entire peninsula of Lake Guntersville walkable.
The Guntersville Recreation Center added a splash pad and two ballfields last year. Earlier this year, a $4 million recycling center opened in the city’s public works complex in the Conners Island Business Park. Other projects in the city are wrapping up, including construction of a new Rotary Cabin rental facility that can accommodate more than 90 people, a full renovation of the Senior Center and rebuilding the Kiwanis Pier and Lurleen Wallace Pavilion.
Conners Island Business Park will soon have a new tenant. JST, a Japanese electronic connector manufacturer, announced in December its plans to open a 300,000-square-foot engineering and manufacturing facility and add 80 new jobs.
Guntersville City Schools officially celebrated the opening of the new Guntersville High School in January. Construction on the 140,000-square-foot, $54 million building began in 2023. Plans are underway to add a sports arena and auxiliary gym to the high school campus.
The city of Albertville broke ground on the Sand Mountain Marketplace in May. The 246,000-square-foot shopping center will be home to Target, Academy Sports + Outdoors, HomeGoods and Burlington along with other retailers and additional outparcel restaurants and stores. In July, the city broke ground on Alleyway Entertainment, a 30,000-square-foot fun center that includes 20 bowling lanes, axe throwing, bumper cars, laser tag, golf simulators, a virtual reality arcade, 5D theaters, a restaurant and private party rooms.
Albertville City Schools celebrated the opening of the Albertville Innovation Academy last fall. It offers high school students hands-on experience and training in 12 career and technical education programs, including additive manufacturing, cybersecurity, health science, precision manufacturing and more.
DeKALB COUNTY
DeKalb County offers convenient access to major metropolitan areas, including Huntsville, Birmingham, Chattanooga and Atlanta, but with a lower cost of living, and has a healthy workforce pipeline, thanks to advanced training programs offered through Northeast Alabama Community College, DeKalb County Schools and Fort Payne City Schools.
DeKalb County will soon be home to a $40 million Career Technical Education Facility thanks in part to $18 million from the Alabama Career and Technical Education Facilities Grant Program. The 95,000-square-foot facility will replace the current DeKalb County Technology Center that has operated for more than 50 years and will offer programs in cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing and business with multi-media marketing. It also will be home to the DeKalb Fine Arts Academy and an 800-seat auditorium.
In January, Northeast Alabama Community College celebrated the launch of an Entrepreneurial Center in Rainsville.
Recent road projects in DeKalb County include a $13.7 million bridge replacement on SR-75 over Town Creek at Lakeview that was completed in July and a reconstructed four-mile segment of northbound I-59 between Fort Payne and Hammondville opened in May. Other projects are in progress on I-59.
DeKalb County is home to two state parks, DeSoto State Park and Buck’s Pocket State Park, and one national preserve, Little River Canyon, accounting for 36% of the state’s protected lands within a 50-mile radius in the county. DeSoto State Park opened an upgraded pool house in July that includes changing rooms for visitors and lifeguards and new ADA-compliant walkways. This summer Little River Canyon was featured on USA Today’s list of “most breathtaking views in the South.”
The town of Mentone is set to tackle some quality-of-life improvement projects thanks to two grants totaling nearly $600,000 provided by the Appalachian Regional Commission. A $295,000 grant will support upgrades to the town’s aging water system, and a $300,000 grant will support restoring and repurposing the historic Moon Lake Elementary School into a business and community center.
Other developments in the community include the opening of Legionnaire Park in July, featuring a fenced-in picnic area with a grill.
And in June, the DeKalb County Commission gave preliminary approval for Mentone Acres, a 27-lot subdivision off County Road 641.
Fort Payne, the county seat, has invested $70 million in infrastructure, public safety and quality-of-life initiatives in the past five years.
Currently, the city is undertaking a three-phase comprehensive digital radio system upgrade to modernize public safety communications and support first responders.
The Isbell Field Airport, in Fort Payne, recently completed a repaving project of its runway and taxiways, made possible by funding provided by the Alabama Department of Transportation and the city.
The city will welcome a new Marshalls and Five Below at the DeKalb Plaza Shopping Center in 2026 with more stores set to follow.
Fort Payne City Schools broke ground on a new Wildcat Arena on the Fort Payne High School campus in March. The facility will host sports plus cosmetology, computer science, a storm shelter and more.
The Fort Payne High School BEAT Center opened in April 2024, with programs in construction electric vehicles and aviation.
CHEROKEE COUNTY
Cherokee County was one of the fastest growing counties in Alabama in 2024 with a 1.7% population increase. The county is known for agribusiness, particularly egg and grain processing, and manufacturing. Tourism is driven by natural attractions like 31,000-acre Lake Weiss.
The county recently completed construction of a new courthouse in downtown Centre, the county seat. The two-story building on East Main Street will replace the original 1937 building located on West Main Street. Plans are in place to build a new city hall across the street from the new courthouse.
In March, the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs awarded the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office a $200,000 grant to establish a professional crisis intervention team (CIT). The funds will support a CIT officer, necessary equipment and provide CIT training to law enforcement personnel. The Sheriff’s Office also opened a new training center in Leesburg this summer.
Also in March, Cherokee County celebrated the opening of a Women’s Imaging Suite at the Atrium Health Floyd Cherokee Medical Center. The Atrium Health Floyd system has managed the hospital in Centre since 2018 and has invested more than $15.5 million in the facility and emergency medical services in Cherokee County.
In September, Cherokee County Schools opened the new Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation STEM Center at Sand Rock School. The new after-school learning space was made possible through the support of the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
This article appears in the November 2025 issue of Business Alabama.
