Final phase of construction at Sandra Moon Community Complex in Huntsville, Ala., a $31.3M project, includes a 600-seat theater, pickleball courts, gym refurbishments, and ADA compliance. Once completed in 2026, it will offer a hub for arts and community collaboration.
KPS Group rendering/Courtesy of the city of Huntsville
The centerpiece of the last phase is renovating the high school auditorium into an intimate, 600-seat theater that’s been on Arts Huntsville’s wish list for almost 30 years.
It is a fascinating moment to pause and reflect on how dreams have become reality beyond just bricks and mortar. Huntsville, Ala.'s Sandra Moon Community Complex represents more than that; it's about community and bringing people together.
Now the work is almost done, the city's official blog reported Oct. 25. Construction of the fourth and final phase is expected to start by the end of the year at the South Huntsville urban campus of what once was Grissom High School on Bailey Cove Road.
One final lunge toward the finish line will begin following the Huntsville City Council's recent approval of the $31.3 million construction contract. The centerpiece of the last phase is renovating the high school auditorium into an intimate, 600-seat theater that's been on Arts Huntsville's wish list for almost 30 years.
There have been other ideas over the years — such as the desire for a library in South Huntsville that eventually became the first phase of the project — and there have been suggestions, such as one from Jennie Robinson, a District 3 city council member.
"The second phase is a good example," she said. "We were originally going to turn the ballfields into multi-use fields, which we've done, and put the roads through. [But] I got a phone call from someone saying, ‘Hey, have you thought about putting pickleball courts at the Sandra Moon Complex?' This was 10 years ago, and I had no idea what pickleball was. I had to go on You Tube and look it up."
As a result, there are now pickleball courts at the facility affectionately known as "The Moon." They also are one of the hub's most-utilized amenities.
The wide-ranging scope of work ahead also calls for refurbishing the former school's two gymnasiums, enhancing the exterior with landscaping and lighting, and bringing the project area into ADA compliance.
KPS Group of Huntsville is the architect and Fite Building Co. in Decatur, Ala. is the general contractor of the facility's transformation.
Construction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026, according to Huntsville city officials.
Designs of ‘The Moon' Have Been Adjusted Over the Years
The planning sessions for what the complex could become began in earnest in 2015 — two years before Grissom High relocated to its new home on Haysland Road.
To Allison Dillon-Jauken, executive director of Arts Huntsville, what is a few more months?
"It's all relative," she said. "When we think back to those first visioning sessions in 2015, we've made it 10 years. So, 18 months [of construction for the final phase] will fly by."
By the construction clock, however, things have moved pretty quickly. The library opened as the first phase in 2021, and the final portion of the project is expected to wrap up less than five years later.
Adjustments have been made along every step of the journey. For example, there was space for 10 organizations as part of the original plan for the arts wing before it was discovered there was no room for the music libraries. That led to planned offices being turned into music library space.
"It's huge for those organizations to be able to have their music libraries readily accessible while they are in rehearsal," Robinson said. "In every phase, we have figured something out that made it even better."
Once finished, five Huntsville musical arts organizations will have a place to rehearse and call home for the first time.
"With this project, five nonprofit arts organizations found a permanent home and they can help one another, can collaborate artistically, and can welcome the community into their programming," explained Dillon-Jauken.
And now the biggest piece of the Sandra Moon Community Complex is about to begin, a fitting grand finale for what, at times, has seemed like an arduous journey.
"I think my favorite part is to come," Robinson noted. "I think of it as an auditorium, but it really is going to be a theater. Just seeing the performance arts groups that come and the variety, from ballet recitals to productions. It's going to be really exciting.
"The other piece I really like is that there is something here for everybody. It really is a connection for the whole community."
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