IRONDALE, Ala. — There is a reason to know about Irondale.

That was one of the messages Thursday as city leaders, business owners and community partners gathered at the AGC Conference Center for the official launch of the 2026–2027 Irondale Community Guide, a new publication designed to tell the city’s story while connecting residents, visitors and potential investors with the businesses, organizations and opportunities helping shape Irondale’s future.

The Greater Irondale Chamber of Commerce, City of Irondale and Irondale Commercial Development Authority (CDA) partnered on the guide, which combines community information with a business directory and marketing opportunities for local companies.

But the August 13 launch was about much more than introducing a new publication.

It provided another look at a city focused on growth, investment, collaboration and positioning itself as a destination within the Birmingham region.

One City. One Billion.

During his remarks, Irondale Mayor James D. Stewart Jr. discussed his vision of attracting $1 billion in public and private investment by 2033.

Stewart told those in attendance that Irondale is already approximately one-third of the way toward that goal, with seven years remaining to reach the target.

Among the major developments Stewart highlighted is the highly anticipated Costco development, which represents a significant addition to Irondale’s commercial landscape. Stewart said a ribbon cutting is scheduled for August 25 for the approximately $90 million investment.

The mayor also discussed investment surrounding Pine Tree Country Club, including plans to expand golf-related opportunities at the property which will give even more energy to the recreational opportunities in the City of Irondale.

The ongoing renovation of Irondale’s Civic Center is another visible piece of the city’s growth strategy, with the project representing continued investment in the community’s infrastructure and its ability to host events, attract visitors and provide additional amenities for residents.

Taken together, these projects represent a larger strategy of attracting public and private investment while developing amenities and opportunities that are distinctive to Irondale.

A Guide Designed to Generate Business

Catherine Hogewood, chair of the Irondale Commercial Development Authority, focused her remarks on growth and how the Community Guide can become another economic-development tool.

The guide includes a business directory designed to help residents and visitors discover companies throughout Irondale while providing Chamber members another vehicle to promote their businesses.

Hogewood encouraged businesses and community members not to simply receive the publication and put it on a shelf, but to distribute and share it throughout their professional and personal networks.

That becomes particularly important for businesses interested in expanding in Irondale and entrepreneurs considering bringing new operations to the city.

The Community Guide gives those businesses greater visibility while also helping residents and visitors better understand the resources, services and companies already operating within the community.

Print Meets Digital

Tim Young and Michael Whitten of Alliance Publishing Group discussed the work behind developing, selling, publishing and distributing a comprehensive community guide.

The company works extensively with chambers and communities on publications focused on economic development, tourism and local business.

Young explained that projects like the Irondale Community Guide typically require considerable coordination and time to produce. He praised Irondale for quickly providing the information and active Chamber membership needed to move the project forward.

With the publication having roughly a one-year shelf life, businesses were encouraged to actively use the guide throughout the year rather than viewing their participation as simply purchasing an advertisement.

Whitten spoke specifically about how businesses can incorporate the publication into their own marketing efforts.

Copies of the guide will be mailed to Chamber members and placed at high-visibility locations throughout the community, including hotels and other locations frequented by visitors.

The publication also has a digital version, significantly expanding its potential reach beyond printed copies. Digital advertisements are clickable, allowing participating businesses to connect readers directly to their online presence.

That combination makes the Community Guide more than a traditional business directory. It becomes a year-round marketing tool for both Irondale and the businesses that call the city home.

“Connectioneering” Irondale’s Future

One word appeared repeatedly throughout the launch: Connectioneering™.

It is the Greater Irondale Chamber of Commerce’s approach to intentionally bringing people and organizations together and turning those relationships into tangible results for the community.

Pastor Michael D. McClure Sr., president of the Greater Irondale Chamber of Commerce, delivered the invocation and later spoke about the importance of partnerships in moving Irondale forward.

His message centered on a simple idea: collaboration is key.

The Community Guide itself demonstrates that philosophy by bringing together city government, economic-development leadership, the Chamber, publishers, advertisers and local businesses around one project designed to promote the entire community.

The Chamber summarizes the idea behind Connectioneering this way:

“We bring people together and turn those connections into real results for our community.”

Another phrase heard around Irondale captures the community’s confidence in what it is building:

“We’re just built different.”

Local Businesses Are Part of the Growth Story

The program also made room to highlight one of Irondale’s established businesses.

Brian Kemp and Daniel Harp of Golden Rule BBQ & Grill participated in the business portion of the program, with Golden Rule also providing lunch for those attending the celebration.

Guests were served Greek chicken, beef tips and rice while learning more about the company’s plans for continued growth in Irondale.

Kemp and Harp discussed the acquisition of property that will allow the restaurant to relocate and expand into a former hotel property.

That local-business component reinforced an important message behind the Community Guide and Irondale’s broader development strategy: economic development isn’t limited to attracting large national corporations.

It also means creating an environment where existing businesses can grow, entrepreneurs can find opportunities and locally owned companies can expand alongside major developments.

Why Irondale?

One of the advertisements associated with the new Community Guide asks a simple question:

“Why Irondale?”

Its answer focuses on something economic-development statistics alone can’t capture — the city’s combination of nature and community.

From the Cahaba River to neighborhood gatherings and community celebrations, Irondale is marketing its quality of life alongside its commercial growth.

The advertisement describes Irondale as a place offering the best of both worlds — “a place to belong and a place to grow.”

That’s increasingly important because communities aren’t competing only for major companies.

They’re competing for residents.

They’re competing for entrepreneurs.

They’re competing for visitors.

They’re competing for retail.

And they’re competing for private investment.

Irondale’s strategy appears to recognize that attracting those groups requires more than available property and economic incentives. A community also has to communicate why people should choose it.

The cover of the new Community Guide reinforces that message:

“Build Community. Build the Future.”

Growth Worth Watching Across the Region

Irondale’s growth is also worth watching from a regional perspective.

Communities throughout the Birmingham-to-Anniston corridor, including Pell City and St. Clair County, are competing for many of the same residents, businesses, retailers and private investment.

That doesn’t necessarily mean every community has to approach economic development the same way.

What Irondale does demonstrate is how partnerships among municipal government, chambers of commerce, economic-development organizations and existing businesses can be used not only to attract investment but to intentionally market a community’s identity and quality of life.

For rapidly growing communities throughout Central Alabama, that may be one of the most important lessons from what is happening in Irondale.

Development projects matter, but so does the ability to tell the community’s story.

Telling Irondale’s Story

Sherry Berry, executive director of the Greater Irondale Chamber of Commerce, welcomed attendees to Thursday’s launch, which celebrated the people, partnerships and possibilities that tell Irondale’s story and help shape its future.

That may ultimately be the most important purpose of the new Community Guide.

Economic development requires infrastructure, financing, available property and willing investors — but communities also have to communicate what makes them worth considering.

Potential residents need to understand why they should live there.

Businesses need to understand why they should invest there.

Visitors need to know why they should come.

And existing businesses need tools that help customers discover them.

The 2026–2027 Irondale Community Guide is designed to help answer those questions while giving the city’s businesses another platform to tell their own stories.

As Irondale works toward Mayor Stewart’s ambitious goal of $1 billion in public and private investment by 2033, the guide arrives at an important point in the city’s trajectory.

Costco is coming. Investment is being planned around Pine Tree. A civic center is part of the vision. Existing businesses are expanding. And city, Chamber and economic-development leaders are increasingly focused on making sure people throughout the region understand what is happening in Irondale.

The Community Guide gives them another tool to do it.

There is a reason to know about Irondale — and city leaders want to make sure more people discover it.