REI Co-op is opening the company’s first location in the state of Alabama, bringing a wide assortment of quality gear and expertise for the region’s most popular outdoor activities to Huntsville in fall 2019.
The new 20,000-square-foot store will be located in MidCity Huntsville, a new experiential, midtown district at the intersection of University Drive and Research Park Boulevard. Similar to other communities REI serves, the co-op plans to invest in Alabama’s outdoor community, working with local nonprofits to steward and maintain local trails, parks and more.
“Huntsville is a growing outdoor community with proximity to areas like Blevins Gap, Rainbow Mountain, the Tennessee River and Guntersville Lake,” said Gail Kirkland, REI retail director for the Southeast district. “With more than 11,000 active REI members in the state of Alabama, we are excited to continue to grow in the South and invest in this community.”
REI Huntsville will be located just off U.S. Highway 72, at the north end of MidCity Huntsville. The new store will also have direct access to MidCity Park, a 40-acre public space with a trail system, lakeside dock and outdoor amphitheater. The park and accompanying retail space is currently being developed by Huntsville-based RCP Companies and is expected to be complete in 2019. REI Huntsville joins 12 other REI stores in the South, with existing locations in Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
REI Huntsville will offer workshops to connect people to a life outdoors. A national leader in outdoor experiences, REI helped more than 375,000 people across the country to get outside through classes and events last year.
