RCP Companies has unveiled plans for the MidCity Arts + Innovation Subdistrict, a 12-acre area within MidCity District in Huntsville.
The three-city-block subdistrict along Sanderson Road is designed to integrate arts, music, innovation and hospitality within a walkable cultural corridor.
The $300 million expansion will include a 3,000-capacity mid-size indoor music venue known as MidCity Live; a new location for the Camp, MidCity’s outdoor venue; two hotels, an Innovation Tech campus and approximately 60,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space.
MidCity Live is being designed by Matheny Goldmon Architects in collaboration with Urban Design Associates and will be operated by a partner to be announced in 2026.
The expanded Camp venue, which will be able to accommodate 3,000 individuals, along with the Artemis Event + Market Building, will provide an outdoor performance option during the warmer months, while also serving as a community hub for markets, festivals and cultural programming.
“There’s a large segment of artists whose audience size ebbs and flows over time — those on the rise or returning to smaller rooms,” said Nadia Niakossary, senior development director for RCP Companies. “Mid-size venues are essential to a healthy music ecosystem. They allow Huntsville to support artists at every stage of their career while strengthening the city’s long-term cultural economy.”
The Innovation Campus, developed by the nonprofit Apollo Coalition, will serve as the subdistrict’s primary daytime anchor. The campus will house a gener8tor Tech Accelerator, funded by Innovate Alabama; the NextGenHSV high school AI product development program; and education programs focused on sound, production and performance. Flexible incubator offices, SCIF-enabled defense technology space, founder support services and shared events and collaboration facilities also will be available.
“By strategically embedding our programs within this vibrant mixed-use environment, we are igniting economic growth through daily collisions between innovators, artists and students — the creatives who are shaping tomorrow,” said Joanna White, managing director of the Apollo Coalition.
A study by real estate advisory firm RCLCO states that the Arts + Innovation phase of MidCity District is projected to account for approximately 40% of the recurring fiscal impact of all non-Orion Amphitheater components within the district. The study projects this activity will support 386 permanent jobs and should generate more than $420 million in new lodging, sales and tax revenues, including approximately $222 million in direct fiscal benefits to the city of Huntsville.
