[Statesboro Development News]

Well, the hotel at the corner of Hwy 67 and the bypass has been confirmed. There is one change though, there will only be one hotel and I'm guessing no conference center. No name has been announced, but an agreement should be signed soon with the hotel chain. As of now it will be a 3 story, 100 room hotel. I'm assuming it's going to be a pretty long hotel, seeing that the new Holiday Inn just down the road is going to be 4 stories and have 93 rooms. Why can't they go up?

From what they say, it's going to be a nice hotel. Let's hope so. Construction should only take but about a year.

There's one parcel they're trying to sell, right at the corner of the intersection. There's been a couple of businesses that's shown interest, but they're trying to find something that compliments the hotel (I have an idea, how about a RESTAURANT!? ).

Oh, and there was a nice price tag on that. 2.5 million dollars for that 6.3 or so acre site.

article: http://www.statesboroherald.com/news/article/1692/

[Statesboro Development News]

Yea, being known as a suburb of Savannah would be a shame. It may not be too far away, but the blending of large geographic areas into something like a SMSA is a long ways off. When you ride around the county now and see the cotton fields where first sprayings have taken place, it's apparent this area is nothing at all like Sav'h.

I've always liked the quality of baked goods from Publix and would not mind at all if they returned. When I was in NC over the Labor Day weekend, I was surprised to see that Hendersonville is getting a Fresh Market. Actuallly it's not that surprising since lots of folks from Atlanta and larger cities in FL go there for spend the summer. The town is a short distance from Asheville and I guess that will also provide some support. Statesboro is more than twice the population of Hendersonville. I would faint if we got a Fresh Market here.

@andremurra: is the Starbucks staying busy? Have not been to it yet...

[Statesboro Development News]

So, Starbucks IS planning a store around the mall? I heard from somebody who worked at the mall this summer that they were planning one. They said behind the mall, so I thought Hull-Storey might be doing it since they've opened some up on other land they own.

My mom said that she saw people surveying land across the road earlier this week. I'm wondering what's going on there.

Could that be the Brannen Crossing development? Isn't that the name of the development where Brannen intersects with the Bypass? Is that a Hull-Storey development, too? I would love to see the mall get a shot in the arm.

I guess Starbucks must really be looking to have a presence beyond GSU. Can't say as I have seen them CLOSE too many locations, so I'm thinking that they are confident in current and future possibilities to succeed in town. Heck, with all the soon to open coffee businesses we are going to have plenty of options and that will force those who want to stay in the market to excel at what they do.

Same will hold true for the restaurants coming to the Market District. McAlester's is GREAT. I have eaten at a number of them and always had a good experience. Barberito's is composed of folks who were involved in Zaxby's early after their move to Athens. I haven't eaten at a Barberito's, but know Zaxby's corporate stores are generally well run (regardless of what you may think of the food, they do run their stores well).

Not sure what to think of Shane's Rib Shack. I looked at the online menu and didn't see anything that grabbed my interest. Hopefully, they will have good food.

And there's going to be a coffee roaster in town! Best news I've heard in a while.

[Statesboro Development News]

Yeah, I never really thought about that.

Have you heard anything about whats going on with Alicia Bea's? A letter came in the mail yesterday saying that they were closing their doors. They have two buildings, that could add a lot of stores downtown.

I have a friend who works (maybe that's worked) for A Bea's. Have not seen her in a couple weeks, but I did notice the sign in the window directs you to visit the warehouse type building on Vine. If I see my friend I'll hope to get more info from her on what's going on there.

[Statesboro Development News]

I take it youre not a local, Peachdogg. I dont see anything "ROFL" funny about your comment. Traffic backed up almost a mile from an intersection would be considered heavy traffic anywhere. Im pretty sure people In Smyrna are just as inconvenienced when they have to sit through one traffic light signal 7 or more times to get thru the intersection as Statesboro folk would be. Same with Warner Robins or Savannah. That is to say, if traffic is not flowing, it is very congested and inconvenient to drivers. The four apartment complexes currently underway near the bypass between Fair and Lanier will generate an additional 7,000 vehicles per day on that one small stretch of road. That is a very conservative estimate though since we all know college students come and go quite frequently between classes, work, greek affairs, events, study groups, and organizational meetings.

Well, I've only lived here for a couple years, so I don't know if that qualifies as local; I grew up in Savannah. Sorry if you're put off by the emoticon. I think the traffic in town is a nothing compared to when I lived in Miami, Boston, or Providence. I used to allow 1.5 hours for a 14 mile commute when in south Florida.

That's not to say I mean to trivialize the congestion we all see at various times in different parts of town, but I've worked and lived near colleges & universities for a couple decades now. There's absolutely nothing extreme or unusual about the traffic here compared with anywhere else I've been. Actually, I will trivialize it: it's so mild here as to be darn near undetectable compared to what I've experienced. I'm incredibly grateful for how insigificant the traffic is here.

As with any other place I've been, growth and development precedes and outstrips the placement of adequate infrastructure. It's just a very mild degree of it here. I imagine it will get worse before it gets better.

[Statesboro Development News]

Midtown Coffee is going to be in the Midtown shopping center. Its on South Main next to the Holiday Inn express.

Ah, right. That's the development Dr. Marz is doing. OK, I'll have to go have a look as I haven't been down that end of South Main in a while. That development seemed to be pretty far along as I recall. Should be a convenient spot to get to for folks moving into Tillman Park.

I almost think a coffe shop over in the Market District area would be successful. There's already going to be a McAlester's Deli, a BBQ place, and a TexMex place over there. All the professional offices and the hospital plus that big apartment complex by Monster Storage means the traffic over there is huge ... in Statesboro terms, at least.

[Statesboro Development News]

Oh, I didn't know about the Midtown Coffee Shop andremurra.

Did I miss that one in the Herald? Where on South Main is it going to be? Estimated opening date?

Now, all we need is decent ice cream... maybe gelato!

cheers ...

[Statesboro Development News]

It's good to hear there's a new Quizno's being built. I like their sandwiches, but find the layout and size of the current location makes it fairly unpleasant to navigate if there are more than a couple customers inside.

Woodlands Square sounds like a happening spot. Finally a coffee house beyond what's currently available. Now, if a local roaster were to open, THAT would be awesome! It sounds like what's going in @ Woodlands will be a step in the right direction --> though fluffy, frou-frou blended drinks aren't my favorite, at least it might be possible to find some specialty grade, fresh beans. Since I moved here a couple years ago, I was really shocked that a town with a school the size of GSU had so little to offer in the way of good coffee. Things are looking up in Bulloch county.