Statesboro Development News

[andremurra]

I wanted to rename the Statesboro current projects list, but I couldnt figure out how to do that, so Im going to just create this forum for the discussion of anything related to Statesboro which may include the obvious (developments, news, etc.), perhaps Georgia Southern University, the Coastal Empire, Water Issues, Politics and such. Since the new Savannah and Macon forums were established (which were needed), there have been less activity in the Georgia general forums. Macon and Savannah are two of Statesboro's three big sisters, and without interested parties patronizing the general forums, less activity will be involved with Statesboro topics. So Im creating this Unofficial forum for all Statesboro stuff instead of making a zillion Statesboro posts. This community is one of the best kept secrets in Georgia and people are starting to finally hear the gossip! - I know Ill probably be the main activity in here, but I hope others will post in here too, especially Statesboro's big siblings - Savannah, Augusta, Macon - as well as other coastal parties.

Edited July 25, 2006 by andremurra

[andremurra]

Additional Hotel Rooms

Comfort Inn & Suites held its ground-breaking last week. The hotel's expansion will include 20 additional suites, 2 meeting rooms, and a board room with a full kitchen and business center. The hotel is still fairly new, only a few years old and is already expanding. Thats good news.

A sign was erected today facing Veteren's Memorial Parkway (Statesboro bypass) at Commerce Park (adjacent to the new Toyota-Scion Showroom) depicting an upscale 6-story Holiday Inn artist's rendering with the words, "Coming Soon!" above. There has been no press releases that I know of since the sign was erected. This will be InterContinental Hotel Group's second property located in Statesboro - there is a 4-story Holiday Inn Express located on South Main Street in Downtown.

Others News:

~3 new physicians have opened practices in Statesboro this summer, all of which have priveliges with East Georgia Regional Medical Center.

~Keep Bulloch Beautiful has moved to its new HQ on East Parrish Street.

~Krystal has announced it will build a new full-service proto-type brand of its restuarant in Statesboro.

Edited July 25, 2006 by andremurra

[SimCity]

Additional Hotel Rooms

Comfort Inn & Suites held its ground-breaking last week. The hotel's expansion will include 20 additional suites, 2 meeting rooms, and a board room with a full kitchen and business center. The hotel is still fairly new, only a few years old and is already expanding. Thats good news.

A sign was erected today facing Veteren's Memorial Parkway (Statesboro bypass) at Commerce Park (adjacent to the new Toyota-Scion Showroom) depicting an upscale 6-story Holiday Inn artist's rendering with the words, "Coming Soon!" above. There has been no press releases that I know of since the sign was erected. This will be InterContinental Hotel Group's second property located in Statesboro - there is a 4-story Holiday Inn Express located on South Main Street in Downtown.

Others News:

~3 new physicians have opened practices in Statesboro this summer, all of which have priveliges with East Georgia Regional Medical Center.

~Keep Bulloch Beautiful has moved to its new HQ on East Parrish Street.

~Krystal has announced it will build a new full-service proto-type brand of its restuarant in Statesboro.

This is great news for Statesboro. I'm glad to see that the city is growing. I used to visit an ex-girfriend who lived there and have many fond memories of the city. Is the Wal-Mart distribution center still going strong?

[andremurra]

This is great news for Statesboro. I'm glad to see that the city is growing. I used to visit an ex-girfriend who lived there and have many fond memories of the city. Is the Wal-Mart distribution center still going strong?

Yes, Walmart first opened it distribution center with 1.5 million square feet and it was the largest distribution center in the world at that time. Since then it built a 500,000 sq. ft. addition, and then another 500,000 sf. ft. addition bringing it to 2.5 million square feet. I am not sure what its current size is, but I remember reading that it either just had another expansion or was planning to have another one.

[andremurra]

This is fascinating and good to see, especially the in-town growth. What exactly is fueling all of this development?

Of course, Georgia Southern University has a significant part of the growth since it is growing:

2002 - 15,075

2003 - 15,704

2004 - 16,100

2005 - 16,897

Also, real estate is booming. Commerce is booming. Downtown redevelopment is popular right now. Arts are popular right now - and the arts community have built the Averitt Center for the Arts http://www.averittcenterforthearts.org/ in downtown Statesboro. A lot of people are moving from Savannah and its MSA. A high-tech corridor is being developed which was visioned under the authority of former Gov. Roy Barnes to create a technology corridor from Statesboro to Savannah, designating Statesboro as the anchor with GSU's College of Information Technology (which he put $20-million down for).

Over 50 new physicians moved to Statesboro in the first year after East Georgia Regional Medical Center opened, which is a Private hospital and has been recognized as one of the top-100 in the country, offering an array of services that you cannot get outside of Atlanta. Physicians are still moving here in droves. Medical office buildings are popping up on many street corners.

Briggs & Stratton and Viracon just announced major expansions. Statesboro celebrated its bicentennial in 2003 and Georgia Southern University celebrates its centennial this year. I believe the growing arts community are probably whats developing interest in urban living, such as with Tillman Park http://www.tillmanpark.com . The majority of the investors developing the community are locals who see the potential. Outside investors are taking notice that a very large number of locals see enough potential to put millions of their own money into Statesboro - which says a lot. We now have developers based out of major US cities investing in Statesboro real estate.

Fairfields website states, "Even before building begins, Fairfield consults with a team of industry specialists to determine the most desirable cities nationwide. Months are spent scouting for superlative locations within these cities. Sites with dramatic views, abundant recreation, and close proximity to conveniences are chosen to ensure years of gracious living."

Some economists are saying that Statesboro has guarunteed continual growth because of salt-water intrustion into the Floridan Aquifer in Effingham and Chatham Counties. Statesboro has a vast over supply of water, especially since it is poised in a marshland area. Effingham is almost out of water, even some subdivisions have halted contruction due to lack of water. Savannah is in trouble as well, and some economists predict a 100,000 person population shift to Statesboro, which is hard to believe. However, a population shift is occuring for many reasons, many of which are quality of life opportunities in Statesboro.

I would say the big generators of Statesboro current growth are local investments, real estate boom, education (including GSU, GTREP, OTC, EGC, CBC and three new high school facilities), medical services, recreation, transportation enhancement, and industry.

[SimCity]

Of course, Georgia Southern University has a significant part of the growth since it is growing:

2002 - 15,075

2003 - 15,704

2004 - 16,100

2005 - 16,897

Also, real estate is booming. Commerce is booming. Downtown redevelopment is popular right now. Arts are popular right now - and the arts community have built the Averitt Center for the Arts http://www.averittcenterforthearts.org/ in downtown Statesboro. A lot of people are moving from Savannah and its MSA. A high-tech corridor is being developed which was visioned under the authority of former Gov. Roy Barnes to create a technology corridor from Statesboro to Savannah, designating Statesboro as the anchor with GSU's College of Information Technology (which he put $20-million down for).

Over 50 new physicians moved to Statesboro in the first year after East Georgia Regional Medical Center opened, which is a Private hospital and has been recognized as one of the top-100 in the country, offering an array of services that you cannot get outside of Atlanta. Physicians are still moving here in droves. Medical office buildings are popping up on many street corners.

Briggs & Stratton and Viracon just announced major expansions. Statesboro celebrated its bicentennial in 2003 and Georgia Southern University celebrates its centennial this year. I believe the growing arts community are probably whats developing interest in urban living, such as with Tillman Park http://www.tillmanpark.com . The majority of the investors developing the community are locals who see the potential. Outside investors are taking notice that a very large number of locals see enough potential to put millions of their own money into Statesboro - which says a lot. We now have developers based out of major US cities investing in Statesboro real estate.

Fairfields website states, "Even before building begins, Fairfield consults with a team of industry specialists to determine the most desirable cities nationwide. Months are spent scouting for superlative locations within these cities. Sites with dramatic views, abundant recreation, and close proximity to conveniences are chosen to ensure years of gracious living."

Some economists are saying that Statesboro has guarunteed continual growth because of salt-water intrustion into the Floridan Aquifer in Effingham and Chatham Counties. Statesboro has a vast over supply of water, especially since it is poised in a marshland area. Effingham is almost out of water, even some subdivisions have halted contruction due to lack of water. Savannah is in trouble as well, and some economists predict a 100,000 person population shift to Statesboro, which is hard to believe. However, a population shift is occuring for many reasons, many of which are quality of life opportunities in Statesboro.

I would say the big generators of Statesboro current growth are local investments, real estate boom, education (including GSU, GTREP, OTC, EGC, CBC and three new high school facilities), medical services, recreation, transportation enhancement, and industry.

Wow! This is incredible, especially the fact that Statesboro is becoming a medical and technological hub. I remember that Statesboro had some very nice homes and some very pleasant residental areas and was making some commercial strides, I even remember some of the road projects that were being worked on but I never would have imagined anything like this. I didn't realize that a reliable water supply was such a problem for the Savannah area.

It looks like Statesboro is poised for some major growth. If the economists are even half right that would still mean a 50,000 plus addition to the Statesboro area population. I hope area leaders are preparing to handle such growth, I'd hate to see such a beautiful area succumb to endless sprawl.

[andremurra]

As far as the population shift due to water issues, Im not going to hold my breath for it. But it is very evident that many Savannah residents are making the move to Statesboro. We even have a quite successful real estate agency which exclusively focuses on marketing Statesboro to Savannah residents as an option for relocation or purchasing of a second home. It seems that there is a lot of development occuring in southeast Bulloch County too which is just minutes from Savannah. Savannah has been reaching west for some time, and Statesboro has been reaching east too. Today it is becoming more evident than ever though that the two are reaching for each other as the middlegrounds are filling up with development.

While the 301 corridor to I-16 has historically been the "developed" exit to Statesboro due to being the main artery from Boston to southern Florida before I-95 was built. Today however, GA-67 is becoming the exit of choice and is becoming much more developed than the 301 exit. Even the Ash Branch Church Road exit is developing, which is unique since it doesnt directly access Statesboro or Savannah, but is a middleground exit. And while I do believe more than enough preparing is taking place by area leaders, I still feel that when the boom hits, its going to be out of control and will get out of hand. We already have a handful of 10-year old apartment complexes that were nice and upscale when built that are turning into slum properties. That is probably going to be the biggest obstacle in Statesboro's growth. How will we control the established residential communities when everyone wants be live in the newest place.

Edited July 26, 2006 by andremurra

[Spartan]

I have to say that I'm generally impressed with the quality of development that is taking place in Statesboro. I definately have underestimated this town in the past. The types of developments you are seing there are not what one would expect for a city that size.

[andremurra]

Im glad you say that. Sometimes I cannot tell if our developments are good or bad. I personally cannot stand those developments where they build a brick facade on the front but then vinyl the sides and back. I think that is way tacky, but hopefully, they will stop doing that eventually.

I spoke to a hotel developer today who I work with. He knows the group who is developing the new Holiday Inn, and he said that it will be full service and will feature a restaurant and everything inside, so thats exciting and new for Statesboro, and he said that it would be very big. He develops hotels on I-95, and he sounded jealous of this property so I think thats a good sign.

I do wonder though how they got around the height restrictions for Statesboro. I believe the hotel is 6-stories, which most areas only allow 35-ft. The city officials want the Courthouse to be the focal center of Statesboro. Many developers who proposed midrise developments either had to redistribute the units into more land or decide not to develop in Statesboro. I believe that tract tho is just barely outside of the city limits, I think two sides of the property are the city limit lines, so Im thinking that since they arent building in Statesboro's city limits, they avoided the height restriction. It looks kind of tacky though how Statesboro's landscape is pretty much 3-story buildings everywhere. You dont see that very often, since usually when cities or suburbs get that dense, they build up.

Hopefully since there will be a building sticking out and perhaps looking like its out of place, they will ease up on the height restrictions and allow more midrises in to even out the landscape. I did notice today too that Summit Apartments (also 6-stories) near downtown are doing extensive renovations on the exterior. I often say that Summit is Statesboro's own Drayton Tower (located in Savannah).

Edited July 28, 2006 by andremurra

[ATLman1]

I know Ill probably be the main activity in here, but I hope others will post in here too, especially Statesboro's big siblings - Savannah, Augusta, Macon - as well as other coastal parties.

Don't forget Columbus. It's bigger than all those cities. Well maybe Augusta for now but not much longer due to BRAC .

Edited July 28, 2006 by ATLman1

[andremurra]

Don't forget Columbus. It's bigger than all those cities. Well maybe Augusta for now but not much longer due to BRAC .

Everyone is welcome to post here. I consider those three cities our big siblings because they are our neighbors. Columbus is not a neighbor, though perhaps a friend of Macon. lol. "Hey Columbus, remember me?" Statesboro asked, "Macon introduced us!"

[andremurra]

So I went around Statesboro with my cam and took a bunch of pics of the new developments because it suddenly got really cool outside, (yesterday's heat index made the local news at 133) and the light was perfect, then when I was finished I realized I had taken them all in 160x120 resolution and you can barely see them. POO! I suppose Ill try again tomorrow.

[andremurra]

Holiday Inn - Coming Soon!

Here is a comparison to the Holiday Inn Express on South Main Street to the new full-service Holiday Inn to be built at Commerce Park adjacent to the new Toyota-Scion Showroom.

Recently-opened Franklin Toyota-Scion Showroom at Commerce Park

Holiday Inn Express on South Main Street

New Holiday Inn at Commerce Park - will feature a restaurant

[Spartan]

Im glad you say that. Sometimes I cannot tell if our developments are good or bad. I personally cannot stand those developments where they build a brick facade on the front but then vinyl the sides and back. I think that is way tacky, but hopefully, they will stop doing that eventually.

They may indeed be tacky. I just dont know. But interms of density, they are excellent. There are cities larger than Statesboro that don't have that many condo/townhouse/apartments going up.

Is that Holiday Inn at Commerce park located near downtown? If so how do they get around the heigt limits? A map of Statesboro's city limits would be handy.

I didnt know that Statesboro has a height limit. 3 stories is kinda low, but you can still have a nice core area with that kind of density. Check out Madison, GA for an example.

[andremurra]

Here is a map of the city limits. The red area in the center is what is generally considered downtown - although there are branches of downtown such as the Savannah Avenue Historic District or the Zetterower Avenue Historic District, and so on. The light blue dot in the center of the map is the location of Holiday Inn Express. The red dot on the east side of the map, is the location of the new Holiday Inn. It looks like it is barely in the city limits, so I wonder how they got around the height limit. It is in the Mall area, which is the anchor for the fast-growing corridor between Statesboro and Brooklet. The suburb (or bedroom community) will be completely merged with Statesboro in less than 5 years. According to the road signs, Brooklet is 8 miles from Statesboro, but due to excessive sprawl, its becoming hard to notice a difference. Brooklet is even beginning to develop its own bedroom communities.

Well, we just got a new city planner so hopefully, they may have thrown away the height limit. Eagle Village opened August of 2005 as a massive two-building 4-story complex of 776 rooms.

Here are the "twin towers" as I call them. One opened in 2002 and the other in 2004.

Here is part of the new Statesboro Police Department & Jail.

Tillman Park Condos in downtown. The roof to me looks like it goes above 35ft.

The Exchange by Fairfield Condos

Copper Beech Apartments (all units are 3-floors - bedrooms upstairs and downstairs and main living on middle floor)

Market District - One of the retail buildings

I got more pics... but thats all for now. =)

[andremurra]

This is somewhat interesting and makes me very annoyed with the outlying areas of Statesboro.

http://www.statesboroherald.com/showstory....6;recordID=7384

Its so aggravating for the Statesboro community how all the little subdivisions and towns and communities around us demand that no progress take place when its Statesboro that offers them the opportunity to make a decent living. So annoying. The winery brings a lot of tourism to Statesboro, and tourism is something we need. Statesboro was once called "The Tourist City", but I-95 was built and robbed us of that culture. I would like to see Statesboro's life come back someday.

In good news concerning life in Statesboro, business owners in downtown Statesboro, on West Main, are converting/restoring retail space adjacent to their own business (in the same building) into a coffee house/martini bar. The space will feature 1000 sq ft on the first floor for the "Statesboro Brewery" and 2000 sq ft on the 2nd floor into a martini bar. They will also convert two of the upstairs lofts next door into their kitchen and a piano bar.

On South Main Street in the Midtown development, the 2-story Midtown Coffee House is slated for opening soon. Next door, the Wine Cellar is about to open, and next door to that, the Wrapsody Grill has been in business for about a month. I recently visited the grill and it was VERY GOOD!! A building adjacent to the original Midtown development is underway, and the first tenant will be an upscale 2-story gourmet restaurant.

[Spartan]

Farms are an acceptable use for outside of a city. It forces more density elsewhere.

When you do pictures, use this format to get them to show up on the forum:

[img=http://www.image_address.com/picture.jpg]

[andremurra]

Thanks Spartan... Are the photos not showing up?

[poohsfolks]

Thanks Spartan... Are the photos not showing up?

It's weird. I'm using a Mac G5, and the pictures show up fine using Firefox. In Internet Explorer and Safari, just the html. Same thing on my Windows machine. Pictures in Firefox, just text on I.E.

Edited August 4, 2006 by poohsfolks

[andremurra]

More news for Downtown Statesboro!!!

There are pieces of the article concerning the Coffee House and Martini Bar (the website doesnt have a direct link for this specific article so Im pasting bits and pieces).

"Gail Ansley and her son, Greg Todd, are planning to open their latest venture on West Main Street, the Statesboro Brews Coffee House and Martini Bar, by November 1. Already a fixture on West Main as co-owner of Abbigail's on Main, Ansley can hardly contain her excitement as her family expands their business interests in the area.....

....."I wasn't sure how well the store was going to do when we opened nine months ago, but its success as sold me on downtown," Ansley said. "I'm going to be honest, I did not realize the level of sophistication here. These folks want somewhere to go at night, and we have heard that over and over again.....

....."We will have 1000 square feet of space downstairs and 2000 upstairs," Todd said. "We are converting two of the loft spaces upstairs into what will be the piano bar and the kitchen. The whole thing is just going to be beautiful and comfortable at the same time."

"It will have a different feel downstairs than up," he said. "The downstairs area will open at seven in the morning with coffee, danish, and the like available. We will also serve lunch which will consist of sandwiches, soups, and salads. At night, small entrees will also be available.....

Todd said it will not matter whether you are upstairs or down, all items will be available throughout.

- - - - - - - - -

E-store & renovation coming to downtown

http://www.statesboroherald.net/columns/co...hp?writer=moore

Statesboro's newest Starbucks, one of the largest in the country, is slated to open in two weeks!

[MorganA15]

I'm new here, so I thought i'd make a post. I've been a lurker, but I decided I would go ahead and join and give a few words of my own.

I'm just a high school student, but i've lived in Statesboro (or on the outside) all of my life. I've seen Statesboro grow over the years, especially over the past couple of years.

Just a quick intro, i'll definately be posting here alot.

Is the Starbucks your're talking about the one at the Russell Union? I think that one was supposed to open yesterday.

[andremurra]

I'm new here, so I thought i'd make a post. I've been a lurker, but I decided I would go ahead and join and give a few words of my own.

I'm just a high school student, but i've lived in Statesboro (or on the outside) all of my life. I've seen Statesboro grow over the years, especially over the past couple of years.

Just a quick intro, i'll definately be posting here alot.

Is the Starbucks your're talking about the one at the Russell Union? I think that one was supposed to open yesterday.

Thanks for commenting Morgan. I figured that I would be the only Statesboro person posting on Urbanplanet for a while, but Im glad to know there is someone else joining me! Yes, the Starbucks in the Russell Union is the one Im talking about. I am actually going to be working there, and training starts next week, so Im assuming they are planning to open the following week.

I wish the Statesboro Herald would do a piece on the new Holiday Inn, ie how many rooms, which restaurant, what special features, etc. Business Monday hasnt done anything on it to my knowledge either.

In news though, Statesboro's Walmart is undergoing its 4th remodeling. Walmart recently purchased property at the intersection of US-80 West/25 North and the Bypass. They plan to build a new Walmart there. I had heard a rumor about it a year ago, but I know its fact now since my company's owners own all the land around Walmart's new plot, and Walmart had informed them of their plans. I had heard that it was going to be a 2nd Walmart to cater to the Country Club, Hunters Pointe, Portal, Hopeulikit, Sylvania, Millen, Rocky Ford areas and that it would be a larger facility than our current one. I have also heard that the other one would be remodled into a Sam's Club. I dont know which accurate though. I tend to believe the 2nd Walmart rumor more, because the current remodling of Walmart going on right now does not resemble any Sam's Club aesthetic I know of, but does resemble the newer concept of Walmarts being built (which hardwood floor apparel areas and brown & green color scheme). Also, a lot of people say that Walmart is building the Sam's Club across Brannen Street from where Walmart currently is.

I think Statesboro could definitely support another Walmart. Ive been to many Walmarts in metro Atlanta, Columbus, Savannah, Forsyth, Macon, Anderson SC, Hartwell, etc. that were super-dead empty inside. I have never visited a Walmart even half as busy as ours and that is the truth. I know from a colleague who worked at BB&T, Walmart's Statesboro bank, that their staff has to count and deposit 6-figures of cash daily for the Walmart account. Thats just the cash. I wouldnt be surprised if Walmart makes over a million a day here, because I dont really see that many people using cash at the checkout.

[poohsfolks]

Thanks for commenting Morgan. I figured that I would be the only Statesboro person posting on Urbanplanet for a while, but Im glad to know there is someone else joining me!

I'm enjoying reading your updates on growth in the 'Boro. I was there at GSC/GSU from '88 until '92, and get back every now and then. Really appreciate your efforts to keep us informed.

[Pillsbury]

I think Statesboro could definitely support another Walmart. Ive been to many Walmarts in metro Atlanta, Columbus, Savannah, Forsyth, Macon, Anderson SC, Hartwell, etc. that were super-dead empty inside. I have never visited a Walmart even half as busy as ours and that is the truth. I know from a colleague who worked at BB&T, Walmart's Statesboro bank, that their staff has to count and deposit 6-figures of cash daily for the Walmart account. Thats just the cash. I wouldnt be surprised if Walmart makes over a million a day here, because I dont really see that many people using cash at the checkout.

That's interesting. My brother, whose girlriend just graduated from Southern told me that the Walmart in Statesboro sucked because it was so crowded......

[MorganA15]

Well the last time I read, Starbucks was going to open on the 7th. They must have changed it.

I know Statesboro could handle another Walmart, no doubt. People come from all around to shop there. The store is small enough to begin with, and when you get alot of people in there, it becomes crowded quick. That's why I know alot of people don't go to Walmart alot.

I haven't heard about that location. The last time I heard about a new location, it was going to be located at the intersection of the bypass and Hwy. 301, infront of the bowling alley. A lady my mom knows actually has a office in the bowling alley, and she talked to the real estate agent and said that Wal-Mart had bought the land. 80 West is kind of a random location, if you ask me. Maybe this will bring new development there (but im sure it will).

The SAMS idea was scrapped I believe. With the new, larger one opening in Pooler this month, they said it was too close to have another one.

Edited August 9, 2006 by MorganA15