Lee, Macon and Russell counties, in Alabama’s east central area, are home to one of the state’s major universities, a host of high-tech businesses, a rich history and an economy sparking with new possibilities.
Since its founding in 1856 as the state’s original land-grant institution, Auburn University has served the state with expertise in agriculture and engineering, architecture and veterinary medicine and a wide range of other specialties.
Nearby, Tuskegee University has its own proud history — a Historically Black university founded in 1881, it traces its expertise in agriculture to the groundbreaking studies of George Washington Carver. It also is renowned for cancer research, veterinary medicine and a nationally known focus on bioethics in research.
The region also is home to a thriving automotive supplier industry. An array of international firms has sprung up to support the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama plant in Montgomery and its sister, Kia Motor Manufacturing Georgia, just across the state line.
Those supplier firms continue to generate investment — more than $250 million in the last two years in Lee County. And in Macon County, South Korean supplier Samkwang announced plans to be the first tenant in the new Regional East Alabama Logistics Park.
“This new industrial access on Interstate 85 at Exit 42 is becoming one of East Central Alabama’s premier properties, with 700 acres and the potential to host 6 million square feet of new projects in the next five to seven years,” Joe Turnham, executive director of the Macon County Economic Development Authority, says.
The three counties also produce bottled water, nutritional supplements, turf, lawn and garden equipment and — announced last year — chicken feet, which attracted a $2.8 million investment for AlaTrade Foods’ Phenix City facility.
The three counties also have plenty of recreational opportunities for residents and visitors alike.
Of course, there are college sports. A fall Saturday with an Auburn home game can turn the town orange. But the Auburn-Opelika region hosted nearly 100 other sporting events in 2024, bringing in some $36 million to the regional economy.
There’s also golf — the Grand National in Opelika is part of the famed Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail — and the East Alabama Motor Speedway in Phenix City.
Phenix City is at work on the Lively Entertainment District — an array of restaurants, coffee shops, nightlife sites and other businesses clustered to encourage people to gather and enjoy life.
And if you just want to enjoy the scenery, there’s Chewacla State Park in Auburn, home to great fishing, lovely trails and even six original stone cottages built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.
Gail Allyn Short is a freelance contributor to Business Alabama. She is based in Birmingham.
For more on Lee, Macon and Russell counties, see the links below:
This section appears in the December 2025 issue of Business Alabama.
