In Clayton Hudson’s Tuscaloosa office, the walls are plastered with blueprints, professional city renderings and architectural sketches representing Allied Realty and Development’s current projects, but one drawing stands out from the rest. For Hudson, the family portrait drawn in washable Crayola marker by his 5-year-old daughter will always hold the prime spot on his office wall.

Hudson started Allied Realty and Development, Inc. in 2006 after working his way from maintenance to leasing then management and sales before getting his contractor’s license after the April 2011 tornado. As a native of Tuscaloosa, Hudson said it is important he raise his three (soon to be four) children in a better Tuscaloosa than the one in which his parents raised him.

“I thought I’d leave, but I never did,” he said. “I always see people leave and it makes me sad that we lose a lot of good people, and that’s why I want to help add to the community that I grew up in.”

In his neatly pressed slacks and 
tucked-in collared shirt paired with dusty, black cowboy boots, Hudson’s attire represents exactly the mix between old and new, traditional and contemporary style he envisions for Tuscaloosa. While Hudson said he appreciates older architecture, many of his developments are contemporary and modern in style.

“Change is good, and it can also be bad,” he said. “But there’s a balance, and I think now [after the tornado] a balance is starting to happen.”

In addition to the single-family homes managed by Allied Realty in the Tuscaloosa area, the company’s more recent projects have included the 
construction of modern style town homes like The Edge in Forest Lake, Beverly Heights near Alberta and Rosemary House in Cloverdale, all of which emphasize creative lighting and landscaping.

Rosemary House, which was rented to its first occupants in July, has been Hudson’s favorite development. The house has the look of a large vacation home or resort with its tall white columns and olive green siding but has four separate units, each with 
wraparound balconies.

Audrey Buck, development ombudsman for the city, has worked with Hudson on many of the development projects Allied Realty has backed in the past. She said Hudson’s developments demonstrate a high level of quality in construction, materials and attention 
to detail.

“Allied Realty’s investments in the recovery area will hopefully stimulate additional investments not only in those affected areas, but also throughout Tuscaloosa,” she said.

“I want Tuscaloosa to become a place that you come to and you don’t want 
to leave,” Hudson said.