By Stephanie Springer - bio | email
ALBANY, GA (WALB) – It's an economic development project that's been years in the making, and could be only the beginning of what officials hope will be robust commercial development in an area where its badly needed.
The director of planning and development says he has been getting phone calls from people all over including Worth and Tift County asking questions in anticipation of this retail giant.
Every month, Shirley Hancock makes a trip across town to Walmart. "East Albany, this side of town... they don't have stores we can go to we have to go so far away," she said.
She drives almost 30 miles to pick up the essentials such as dog food, groceries and most importantly prescriptions. "Sometimes I don't need to be that far away from home I have elderly parents one that depends on me quite a bit..."
Prescriptions she says she cant get at a better price than at Walmart. "Ninety percent of the time their prices are a lot better than these local stores around here, and I would like to see them bleed a little and put some competition out here," said Robert Williford.
But today Shirley and her father watched in excitement-- "That sure looks like prosperity in the making out there... it sure does," she said.
As bulldozers prepare the land for something that they and hundreds of others have been waiting for years.
"We will be the first ones there won't we? You better believe it, as long as they drive the prices down here," Hancock said. "If I see some concrete building going up it would tickle me."
Officials say right now the land is being leveled and in a couple weeks the concrete will be poured. With Walmart comes almost 500 jobs, with an additional 300 indirect jobs.
"Of course across the street you know all this stuff will end up turning into a commercial retail development," said Howard Brown, Dougherty Co. Director of Planning and Development Services.
And a sidewalk will be put in, in an area where it is badly needed. "This will be a pedestrian oriented development that will occur on both sides of the street," said Brown.
Officials say with they don't know what businesses will come yet but they do anticipate a gas station and some restaurants.
Officials say this is one of the new state of the art Walmart Supercenters. On the outside it will look differently than the store in Lee County and in Tift County, but on the inside there will be just as much if not more than the existing stores, including a full grocery store and a pharmacy.
Walmart should open sometime next year.
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