How Campus No. 805 turned a pass-through into a destination hub
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Randy Schrimsher said he must have driven by the site 100 times before he started making calls. Photo: Derek Lacey/Axios
Campus No. 805, the entertainment hub that opened its redeveloped doors 10 years ago, is marking the occasion with a new music festival and more.
Why it matters: An early public-private partnership for Huntsville, Campus No. 805 paved the way for similar adaptive reuse projects in the city and helped draw hundreds of millions in further investment.
- It also turned the area of Governors Drive west of Memorial Parkway into a destination, rather than a pass-through between 565 and the medical district, said Shane Davis, Huntsville's director of economic development.
Catch up quick: Built in 1949 for the University of Alabama, the site became S.R. Butler High School in 1951 and Roy L. Stone Middle School in 1967, which closed in 2009.
What they're saying: "The idea came about almost by accident," said Randy Schrimsher, Campus No. 805 developer, at an event Friday. "My plan was to build a warehouse complex, and the answer was always no, until one day for some reason, they said yes."
- When brewery tenants materialized, initially with Straight to Ale and then Yellowhammer, the plan changed, he said. Since its 2015 opening, "Campus 805 has become more than we've ever dreamed."
- "At that time, the banks that I talked to all thought that brew pubs were just a fad, and in three to five years, they would not be here," Schrimsher said.
Driving the news: Huntsville's had quite the decade, too, Davis noted, including 50,000 new jobs and "tons of growth."
- "It catalyzed this area," he said. "Today, the west side of Governors is now a beacon where people want to be."
- Campus No. 805 has leveraged $300 million in additional private investment into the neighborhood, Davis said, noting that Food City opened a store nearby in what was once a food desert, too.
What's next: Campus No. 805 has a slate of September events to mark the occasion, including a mural unveiling and three-day music festival.
- The festival will build on the success of the city's 805 After 5 series with Bone Yard of Brass and Saxsquatch on Thursday, Sept. 18; GypsySoul and Juice on Sept. 19 and Boot Scootin' Boogie Nights on Sept. 20.
- The venue is also holding the Report Card Challenge from Sept. 1 to 20, offering patrons prizes if they visit the campus' different tenants and collect stamps by competing in free activities specific to each location.