Another busy, exciting year on The Plains is coming to a close — a year punctuated by continued growth, significant and, at times, controversial change, and landscape-changing progress.
Auburn’s accelerated period of growth continues to shape everything else on The Plains, from new business and industry to new neighborhoods, parks and infrastructure.
The latest Census estimate from July 2021 pegs Auburn’s population at 78,564 people, with the city welcoming about 6.6 new residents every day. It’s probable that when the next estimate is released Auburn’s population will top 80,000, a milestone that would have seemed unlikely two decades ago.
Auburn’s rapid growth of about 43 percent from 2010-2020 caused a substantial redrawing and reconfiguring of the ward map, which was approved in January, and now has a balance of about 9,500 residents in each ward.
The rapid growth has also put a substantial strain on parks and recreation facilities, as teams scour for times and locations to host practices. The city has committed to make substantial headway to address the matter, approving large projects like the Lake Wilmore Community Center, an expansion to the Boykin Community Center, and an expansion of the Wire Road Soccer Complex, among other initiatives. Long gone are the days when all youth sports ran through Felton Little Park, the history and importance of which was commemorated with a plaque in October.
About 90 percent of the features at the Inclusive Playground are ADA compliant
Brian Woodham/The Villager
The city also became the envy of neighboring municipalities when it brought the Town Creek Park Inclusive Playground online this summer. The $4 million park is not only impressive in the scope and variety of its offerings, it’s inclusive, with about 90 percent of the park compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The city has also continued to make improvements to infrastructure to deal with the growth, including opening a roundabout at the intersection of Cox and Wire roads and beginning work on a second roundabout a little further down Wire at the soccer complex.
Brian Woodham/The Villager
Construction also continues on the new connector road between Highway 14 and Richland Road, which was named the Will Buechner Parkway in honor of Auburn’s fallen police officer, while the multi-use path on Martin Luther King Drive is also nearing final completion. And it’s hard to ignore or avoid the substantial improvements being made to the intersection and road along Samford Avenue and South College Street, which should make traversing that area much easier once completed.
The continued growth has also increased the need for more neighborhood projects in the city, highlighted by the Old Samford development off of Mrs. James Road, which will bring more than 1,500 units on 885 acres online over the next 13 years.
Contributed rendering
Growth has also been a factor in a number of hotel projects in the works for downtown Auburn, including the Graduate Hotel along Magnolia Avenue and an AC Hotels by Marriott on Gay Street as part of the new AuburnBank headquarters, which itself opened this year.
It’s not hard to figure why more people want to move to or plan a trip to Auburn when attractions like the Rane Culinary Science Center are added to the fold of offerings on the Plains. The culinary center is a world-class teaching facility that offers an array of high-end amenities for visitors, including the Laurel Hotel and Spa, the Hey Day Market, and 1856, a tasting-menu restaurant that will draw foodies to the Plains.
MOLLY BARTELS AUBURN UNIVERSITY
Auburn’s growing status in the region has also helped expand industry, with companies like the EV charging station manufacturer ADS-TEX Energy and the multi-tenant data center AUBix setting up shop on the Plains.
The past year has also seen substantial changes at Auburn University and in state representation.
Auburn University welcomed a new president in Chris Roberts earlier this year, while also parting ways with head coach Bryan Harsin, whose tenure on the Plains was tumultuous and divisive. Auburn also made a controversial choice in hiring Hugh Freeze as its next head football coach, which was embraced by some of the Auburn Family while others derided the decision.
While controversy surrounded Auburn athletics, the preparatory schools in the city found much success, including state championships by the Lee-Scott football program and Auburn High’s girls flag football team.
Auburn City Council members take their oaths of office in early November, 2022.
Brian Woodham/The Villager
On the political end of the spectrum, Auburn held a municipal election this year and in November seated a new City Council, which included three members new to the political arena.
Statewide elections impacting the area included the controversial primary race between incumbent State Sen. Tom Whatley and then Auburn City Councilman Jay Hovey. The race and election was filled with drama, as Hovey held the narrowest of leads after election day and ended up only winning by a single vote. After the race was declared a tie with a suspect vote being counted for Whatley, the Alabama Republication Party reversed course, Whatley conceded and Hovey became the first new representative for Senate District 27 in more than a decade after beating his democratic opponent in November’s general election.
All in all, it was an exciting year on the Plains, full of growth, progress and change that shows no signs of slowing down in 2023.
