Alabama’s built environment is constantly changing, as existing buildings are updated, renovated or demolished, and new construction is added. Despite uncertain economic news throughout 2025, the state of Alabama kept building, with more than $1 billion in new commercial construction in the Huntsville area alone.
We take a look at some of the most interesting construction projects completed in Alabama in 2025 in a four-part series. The second of the projects we explore is the Guardian Credit Union headquarters.
Founded in 1958 to serve the needs of the Alabama National Guard members and their families, Guardian Credit Union (GCU) has grown over the years, expanding to serve a broader member base. With various departments operating from disparate locations, leaders wanted to create a headquarters campus to foster collaboration and communication among various departments, support a positive workplace culture and provide room for continued growth.
Russell Construction and Foshee Architecture, both based in Montgomery, have worked for years with GCU to build unique branches. Credit union leaders turned to the same trusted partners when they were ready to construct a new headquarters building.
“The headquarters project was exciting because we worked together to create a space that instilled the true values of Guardian Credit Union in its employees every day,” says Josie Young, president/CEO of Russell Construction. “We wanted to build a space that allowed every employee, from the CEO down, to feel special and excited to walk into their career daily.”
The building is the result of years of collaboration, as the project began before the COVID-19 pandemic. As the pandemic restructured the world of work, the team “was confronted with the uncertainty of what the future entailed, including whether work-from-home would be the new normal,” says Daniel Beeker, architect at Foshee Architecture. “In the face of this, GCU held strong to the belief that being in an office together was important to their future success. The design was approached as a living building that can readily change and evolve as the spaces are used and needs change or are refined over time.”
In an effort to incorporate the natural surroundings into the structure to relieve work stress, the glass fronts overlook ponds to the north and south of the building, and a bend in the building footprint opens up the central atrium to the view of nature beyond, Beeker says. The central atrium is open to all floors and helps to interconnect various departments and wings, and all private offices feature glass fronts with sliding doors to help to support approachability and team communication.
Nancy Mann Jackson is a Madison-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama.
This article appears in the February 2026 issue of Business Alabama.
