Jul 21 2005
A $1 billion mixed-use waterfront development could soon be underway in the historic port city of Brunswick, Ga.
As envisioned, the development will feature over 1,000 residences, with a hotel and club complex and public access marina, according to Bryan Thompson of Blueprint Brunswick, a private non-profit agency that is spearheading the city's development. The development will be designed in the New Urbanism style, incorporating residential with retail and commercial in a pedestrian-friendly village setting. The development will include luxury condominiums, townhomes and single-family cottages. Also envisioned is a festive town center with retail shops, restaurants and an entertainment pavilion, and an expansive riverfront park and boardwalk, according to Thompson.
The development is proposed for a 110-acre site at Liberty Point, adjacent to the new Sidney Lanier Bridge over the Brunswick River and only five miles by boat to the Atlantic Ocean.
The site was once home to the Jones Shipyards, where the Liberty Ships that helped win World War II were built and launched.
WW Group Holdings, a Cleveland, Ohio-based equity and real estate investment fund, has put the site under contract and expects to close in mid- October. It plans to team with The BriarRose Land Company of Athens, Ga. to develop and market the property. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed. The developers plan to launch the first phase of the development as early as this fall, subject to obtaining the required approvals and permitting from local, state and federal governments, according to Gary Waxman, president of WW Holdings. This week, the developers invited over 40 local and state business, political and civic leaders to a three-day planning and envisioning retreat on Jekyll Island, along with a team of architects, designers, engineers and environmental consultants.