About

ADDITIONAL FAST FACTS

• Established in 1962
• 2^nd largest research park in the US
• 4^th largest research park in the World
• Member of the Association of University Research Parks
• 1997 AURP Outstanding Research Park Award
• 2017 AURP Communities of Innovation Award

WHO WE ARE

Established in 1962, Cummings Research Park began as an idea during a brainstorming session between Dr. Wernher von Braun and a group of Huntsville community leaders. This conversation about the city amenities needed to attract business sparked the beginnings of Cummings Research Park, first known as Huntsville Research Park. The group set out to create a collaborative environment for companies who supported the ground-breaking governmental research on Redstone Arsenal. Brown Engineering was the first business to move into the Huntsville Research Park. The engineering firm, headed by Milton K. Cummings and Joseph C. Moquin, purchased a 100-acre lot in 1962 at the end of the dirt road that developed into what is known today as Sparkman Drive. As a founding business in Huntsville Research Park, Brown Engineering established their research laboratories and flourished. In 1967, Teledyne Incorporated of Los Angeles bought the engineering firm. The company, known today as Teledyne Brown Engineering still remains an anchor tenant in the Park.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, IBM, Lockheed, Northrop, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville all soon located within the Park, all of which grew tremendously. After the death of Milton K. Cummings in 1973, the park was renamed Cummings Research Park (CRP). The original settlement of CRP, known as CRP East, filled up by the late 1980s. In 1982, the City of Huntsville purchased additional land, known today as CRP West. Companies including ADTRAN and Dynetics Inc. as well as the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and its 152-acre biotech campus are located there. In 1996, Calhoun Community College established their Huntsville campus inside CRP East. They are the only community college in the nation with a campus in a major research park. They are also now the state’s largest community college. In 2007, Bridge Street Town Centre opened inside CRP West. The mixed-use project was originally established as a nearby place to offer services to employees inside the Park but soon became a booming regional retail destination. Today in the Park you find a vibrant mix of academia, the private and public sectors, retail, hospitality. With nearly 300 companies, 26,500 employees and 13,258 students, our Park is and will be a collaborative and connected ecosystem. Anchor tenants in the Park include Teledyne Brown Engineering, UAH, Lockheed Martin, Redstone Federal Credit Union, Calhoun Community College, ADTRAN, Dynetics and HudsonAlpha. In 2019, the first ever apartments opened inside the park. The Watermark at Bridge Street feature 240 luxury apartments in CRP West. Our 2016 Master Plan ensures another 50 years of success.