The Huntsville City Council voted to annex more than 1,000 acres in Morgan and Marshall counties on Thursday, a move city officials said would expand the Rocket City’s industrial base.

Wiz Kidz LLC and Hollingshead Materials LLC, which operates Smyrna Ready Mix Concrete LLC, petitioned the city for the annexation of 1,013.96 acres south of the Tennessee River. The property lies primarily along McCutcheon Loop Road in Morgan County, with a smaller portion extending along Vaughn Road in Marshall County. Huntsville’s city limits now extend into four counties.

The petition did not request any city services as part of the annexation. The annexation will allow the city to regulate the quarry where Smyrna Ready Mix operates.

City Manager of Planning and Zoning Services Thomas Nunez said the quarry has already received permits from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and would have been allowed to operate without the annexation.

The City’s Urban and Economic Development Director, Shane Davis, said the move will help protect Tennessee River frontage in Morgan County and provide oversight in adjacent residential areas.

Smyrna Ready Mix has also offered to supply materials to help improve infrastructure within the newly annexed area. Nunez said the company already supplies materials for projects within the city limits. With the annexation, the city will receive revenue from the sale of materials from the quarry.

Huntsville first annexed land south of the Tennessee River in Morgan County in 2018. Wiz Kidz is managed by John Wisda, who was involved in Huntsville’s previous annexation of more than 659 acres in Morgan County in 2018. At the time, recreational and residential development was proposed for the across the river annexation.

The annexed land is south of the Riverside Event Center in Laceys Spring just off U.S. 231 and the Sundance subdivision where lots are being sold for residential use.

Nunez said there is only one single family home on the site now. Nunez said no homes are planned for the newly annexed land and will not affect Huntsville City Schools enrollment, which was a concern of District 1 City Councilwoman Michelle Watkins during this year’s earlier annexations.

Huntsville has already annexed more than 1,600 acres this year after only annexing 85 in 2024. This year’s annexations now make the Rocket City the 37th largest city in the nation at about 229 square miles, about the same size as Chicago and San Francisco geographically.

According to census tract data Huntsville is larger than:

• New Orleans (169.5 square miles)
• Denver (153.1 square miles)
• Las Vegas (141.9 square miles)
• Philadelphia (134.3 square miles).

Commercial, industrial and residential developments are proposed for land previously taken in by the city this year.