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Smiths Station population boom

ATLman1

By ATLman1
in Columbus

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ATLman1 Hamlet

ATLman1

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Smiths Station, located in Lee County, Alabama, has been growing non-stop for the last 2 decades. Here is the article from the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. Also, I took some of the information from the article. Here is the article Smiths Station Growth

The city proper is about six square miles, while the much larger community reaches north to Bleecker, east to the Chattahoochee, west to near the Crawford area and south to Phenix City and Russell County.

Two decades ago, this was a sleepy bedroom community of less than 5,000 people. Now estimates place the population between 25,000 and 30,000, with the city enclosing about 5,000 of that number. There are currently 2,000 new lots planned. Even more telling examples of growth are the schools in Smiths Station. The four Smiths Station schools -- the high school, intermediate school, elementary school and primary school -- will have more than 6,000 students this year. And that doesn't include the growth at Wacoochee Junior High, which is in Salem. With BRAC there will be another 1,100 to 1,200 kids coming in in the next three years. Around 90% work in Columbus (hopefully Lee County will soon be part of Columbus's metro adding 130,000 residents)!

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wassabe Unincorporated Area

wassabe

Posted
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Smiths Station, located in Lee County, Alabama, has been growing non-stop for the last 2 decades. Here is the article from the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. Also, I took some of the information from the article. Here is the article Smiths Station Growth

The city proper is about six square miles, while the much larger community reaches north to Bleecker, east to the Chattahoochee, west to near the Crawford area and south to Phenix City and Russell County.

Two decades ago, this was a sleepy bedroom community of less than 5,000 people. Now estimates place the population between 25,000 and 30,000, with the city enclosing about 5,000 of that number. There are currently 2,000 new lots planned. Even more telling examples of growth are the schools in Smiths Station. The four Smiths Station schools -- the high school, intermediate school, elementary school and primary school -- will have more than 6,000 students this year. And that doesn't include the growth at Wacoochee Junior High, which is in Salem. With BRAC there will be another 1,100 to 1,200 kids coming in in the next three years. Around 90% work in Columbus (hopefully Lee County will soon be part of Columbus's metro adding 130,000 residents)!

They need a Sewer system! Tons of people live out there and are moving there, but without the sewers they'll never attract the commercial development. It's built up more out US Highway 80, but on US Highway 280/431, once you past Home Depot and Wal-Mart in Phenix City, there is hardly anything for 20 miles until Opelika. Unless you count the flea market. :D

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bigboyz05 Burg

bigboyz05

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They need a Sewer system! Tons of people live out there and are moving there, but without the sewers they'll never attract the commercial development. It's built up more out US Highway 80, but on US Highway 280/431, once you past Home Depot and Wal-Mart in Phenix City, there is hardly anything for 20 miles until Opelika. Unless you count the flea market. :D

Hot damn! I had no idea the Columbus area was booming like that.

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gah Whistle-Stop

gah

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Actually, it's in the Auburn-Opelika Metro Area. But, of course, it's also considered part of the Columbus-Auburn-Opelika Combined Statistical Area. So, Smiths Station is more growing off of Auburn's growth. Auburn is exploding too.

Actually, that is not totally true. SS is in extreme SOUTH Lee County (and extreme N. Russell). It is economically, as well as geographically, tied more to Columbus/PC, than to A/O. The growth is, therefore, feeding off both, with the balance tilting more towards C/PC (and Ft Benning) than A/O. The draw for living in SS and working in C/PC is property taxes -- much lower than in Muscogee (or Georgia in general). You are right, however, that A/O are booming and that some of the SS growth is attributable to that. However, SS is immediately next to PC (and in fact spills over -- at least unofficially -- into Russell County) whereas A/O are some distance away. That tie to C/PC will only grow stronger once BRAC kicks in in a few years, so that more Lee Countians (ie, SSians) will be communting to Muscogee/Chattahoochee in Ga. At tha point, Lee County may become a part of the C/PC SMSA.

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AlabamaGuy2007 Hamlet

AlabamaGuy2007

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Actually, that is not totally true. SS is in extreme SOUTH Lee County (and extreme N. Russell). It is economically, as well as geographically, tied more to Columbus/PC, than to A/O. The growth is, therefore, feeding off both, with the balance tilting more towards C/PC (and Ft Benning) than A/O. The draw for living in SS and working in C/PC is property taxes -- much lower than in Muscogee (or Georgia in general). You are right, however, that A/O are booming and that some of the SS growth is attributable to that. However, SS is immediately next to PC (and in fact spills over -- at least unofficially -- into Russell County) whereas A/O are some distance away. That tie to C/PC will only grow stronger once BRAC kicks in in a few years, so that more Lee Countians (ie, SSians) will be communting to Muscogee/Chattahoochee in Ga. At tha point, Lee County may become a part of the C/PC SMSA.

Yea, now that you say that, it makes me think more. I think that there was a map that I saw that had a small finer of Smith's Station extending into Russell, but I can't remember.

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eastcentralalabamateen Unincorporated Area

eastcentralalabamateen

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I hear that they're putting more traffic lights at the intersection of Highway 280/431 and Lee County Road 379. My question is, are they trying to control the heavy traffic between Auburn-Opelika and Smiths Station/Phenix City/Columbus?

the sewer system is one of the many things that Smiths Station needs for those certain developments.

Are there any more developments happening in Smiths Station? (besides the subdivisions being built in the extending parts of SS in Russell County and in the city limits)

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aboutmetro Hamlet

aboutmetro

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The traffic light at 280/CR379 is up and operationa. It was a little premature if you ask this commuter. The traffic I guess is coming from development around Lake Harding creating traffic on 379. Those residents can get to Columbus, Lagrange or O-A in about the same amount of time. There are many bi-city families in there... couples who work in different towns.

SS growth has been all but stalled by high gas prices and the Villages at Westgate in East Central Russell County. The Atlanta developor has homes at a much lower per sqaure foot prices than any other new home in the market bar none. On the up side, SS and Alabama in general are seeing higher end homes. Corbett(sp?) Creek Falls on LR 240 in extreme NW Smiths (Salem zip) is a nicer-home neighborhood that could cater to bi-city famlies working in Columbus and O-A. Unfortunately, few mid- and upper-end homes in the burbs are selling with $3/gal commutes...

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