Newspaper Page Text
The ADVANCE, October 18, 2023/Page 4A
5lfe Aiiuancg
Industry Traveling Down I-16
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
During his address at
the Greater Vidalia Cham
ber State of the Industry on
Thursday October 5, Presi
dent and CEO of the Sa
vannah Economic Devel
opment Authority Hugh
“Trip” Tollison informed
attendees of the possible
industrial opportunities
that will be traveling west
ward from Savannah down
1-16.
Tollison - whom
Greater Vidalia Chamber
President Michele Johnson
described as an “economic
development powerhouse”
- began by informing the
audience about the recent
Hyundai megasite acquisi
tion. According to Tollison,
four counties - Chatham,
Effingham, Bulloch, and
Bryan - all shared a similar
desire for increased indus
trial investment in the large
undeveloped area along
1-16; thus, they joined to
gether in 2014 to form the
Savannah Harbor-Inter-
state 16 Joint Development
Authority to begin working
together to try to gain in
dustry within the area.
“We wanted to pool
our resources together and,
basically, go after a large-
scale project that would
have a big impact on the re
gion,” he emphasized.
The Authority knew
that they wanted to attract
an original equipment
manufacturer into the area.
The group entertained
many projects, including
the Volvo project - during
which the site was named
a finalist in location con
siderations. “We learned a
lot from losing that project,
but at the end of the day, we
are 10 times more blessed
to have the Hyundai plant
than we did the Volvo proj
ect because the Volvo proj
ect was a lot smaller and
did not contain the suppli
er network [that Hyundai
does],” Tollison added.
As companies contin
ued to peruse the megasite
for their projects, it became
obvious that the Author
ity would need to own the
land. “It is 3,000 acres,”
Tollison explained. “We
had to go and work with
multigenerational fami
lies that owned the prop
erty - and the property
had sat with these families
for a very long time. Every
member of the family had
their own opinion of what
to do with the property, so
as land prices started go
ing up -especially with all
of the industrial stuff that
is going on in our region -
we had to work very hard
and quickly with these land
owners in order to buy the
property.”
The Authority part
nered with the state of
Georgia to take the risk of
purchasing the property.
“I can’t say enough good
about Governor [Brian]
Kemp,” Tollison shared.
“He was there right at the
beginning and wanted to
take the same risk that we
did.”
To pay for this large
megasite, the property near
the Mitsubishi facility - at
the comer of 1-95 and 1-16
- was sold to Amazon and
other developers. Yet, the
work was only beginning
on the megasite, which,
Crossword Puzzle
Solution, page 16A
CLUESACROSS
1. A device to disengage
without a key
5. Subdivision
8. Network of nerves
12. Lounge chair
14. Ocean
15. C. European river
16. Bowl-shaped cavity
18. Caesar, comedian
19. Lyric poems
20. Tia’s sister
21. A way to develop
22. Cows collectively
23. Areas close by
26. Slightly disreputable
30. Made a mistake
31. One who cites
32. Food stall: pai dong
33. Narrow valley between hills
CLUES DOWN
1. A dissenting clique
2. Japanese city
3. Spiritual leader
4. Second letter of Greek
alphabet
5. Musical term
6. Ruled over
7. Fortified wine
8. First year player
9. Moved in a circular way
10. Adolescents
11. Scottish or Irish Gaelic
language
13. Someone who serves in
the armed forces
17. Bring up
24. Factual written account (abbr.)
25. Having three sides
26. Annoy
27. Hustle
34. Members of people living
mainly in the Congo
39. More (Spanish)
42. Classroom implements
44. Cognizant of
46. One who tells on others
47. Free from slavery
49. Thick piece of something
50. Containing two nitrogen atoms
between carbon atoms
51. Removed entirely
56. Late rocker Turner
57. Appreciated
58. Observation expedition
59. Opposite of subtracts
60. Unit of work
61. Wreckage on the sea bed
62. Affirmative! (slang)
63. Witness
64. River in England
28. American WW2 leader
29. Stale atmosphere
35. US Treasury
36. Sound unit
37. They _
38. Soviet Socialist Republic
40. Places to play video games
41. Medical event
42. When you hope to arrive
43. Fixed prices
44. Popular Boston song
45. Valley in Indiana and Illinois
47. Omit when speaking
48. German explorer of the
Congo Basin
49. Stick around
52. From a distance
53. Heroic tale
54. Amounts of time
55. Eat
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
BE PREPARED TO MOVE QUICKLY - President and CEO of
the Savannah Economic Development Authority Hugh
"Trip" Tollison advised the audience at the Greater Vida
lia Chamber State of the Industries event to be prepared
for future industrial projects to continue to travel west
ward in spaces near 1-16, as these projects move quickly,
though purchased, had no
tenant or water and sewer.
“In the race of the
electric vehicle market,
speed-to-market is very
important,” Tollison con
tinued. “We had to have ev
erything in hand - in other
words, the company did
not want to leave anything
unchecked.”
The site is the largest
economic development
deal in the history of the
state, as it is equivalent to
one-third of the incorpo
rated area of Statesboro.
It is also 80 feet above sea
level, which Tollison said
has greatly helped in the
construction process of the
plant.
“We are going to con
centrate a lot of the indus
trial development around
I-16 to avid running off into
the communities,” Tollison
told the audience. “If you
drive down 1-16 right now,
you will realize that indus
trial growth is really start
ing to pop.
Investment and Job
Creation
The site is a $5.54 bil
lion investment, which will
create an estimated 8,100
jobs to the area. Hyundai
suppliers are also expected
to invest within the corri
dor and further westward.
Hyundai Motor Group
anticipates that 300,000
units per year will be built
and shipped out of the
metaplant. The facility has
a capacity to make up to
500,000 units if the market
demands it.
The battery plant ex
tension, which is a part
nership with LG that was
announced in August, will
increase the investment
within the area to $7.59
billion and create an addi
tional 500 jobs.
Jobs will also be ere-
Elvis Presley Experience in
McRae-Helena October 21
Elvis Presley has been
resurrected and will be at
the Telfair Center for the
Arts, 119 W. College St.,
McRae-Helena, on Sat
urday October 21 at 7:30
p.m.
Performer Matt Stone
was named by Graceland
in 2022 as one of the Top
Elvis Tribute Artists on the
planet. Unlike many other
Elvis tribute artists, Stone
portrays the “King” in his
prime. Visit https://www.
mattstoneaselvis.com and
listen to the young Elvis.
This concert is sup
ported by a grant from
the Georgia Council for
the Arts and the National
Endowment for the Arts.
Tickets are on sale at Ryals
Pharmacy and Smith Phar
macy and online at our.
Elvis tribute artist
Matt Stone
show/Telfair-center- arts/
elvis. Order tickets early
for $15 and save $5 over
the door price on the night
of the event. Early tickets
for students in grades 6-12
are $8. Students below 6th
grade are free with a paid
adult.
The Informed citizens Coalition
Montgomery County residents
are invited!
Homestead Petition Signing Events:
Tuesday October 24th @ 6:00pm
Location: Big Al’s, 1210 GA-29 Ailey
Tuesday October 31st @ 6:00pm
Location: Downtown Mount Vernon Trick-or-Treat
Regular monthly meeting
Sunday November 5th @ 2:00pm
Location: Alston Baptist Church, 126 Church St Alston
ated through Hyundai sup
pliers, which are moving
into the areas near 1-16 and
the metaplant. “Right now,
we’ve announced $2,128
billion worth of suppliers
[investments] and another
5,400 jobs,” Tollison re
marked. “All of these fa
cilities are under construc
tion right now, just like the
metaplant. I think that Vi
dalia and Toombs County
has a great opportunity to
get some of the future work
that is coming. They have
done most of the Tier Is,
but the Tier 2’s and Tier
3’s will follow. If you draw
a 75 mile circle around the
metaplant site, all those
communities are going to
benefit from this deal, and
we’re seeing that now.
Currently, surrounding
construction crews are also
benefiting from the Hyun
dai project, as companies,
like McLendon Enterprises
who is currently clearing
the site, are being contract
ed to complete the facility.
According to Tollison, it is
expected that 4,500 work
ers from area businesses
will be on the site daily af
ter Thanksgiving. These lo
cal businesses are reviewed
from their input into the
Authority’s website, which
allows contractors to sub
mit their qualifications and
name for consideration
of the project by Hyundai
leaders.
What to Expect
He also emphasized
how fast the megaplant
deal was made, as he shared
the following timeline:
• Project Received -
January 6, 2022
• The First Request For
Information Due - January
7, 2022
• Hyundai’s First Team
Visit to Site - January 27,
2022
• Will Serve Letters
Due - February 11, 2022
• Hyundai Engineering
Team Visits Site - February
14-15, 2022
• Hyundai Chairman’s
Visit - February 22-23,
2022
• State and Utility
Commitment Letters Due
-March 11, 2022
• California Hyundai
Headquarter Presentation
Incentive Pitch - March
22, 2022
• New York Meetings
at the Genesis House -
March 28-30, 2022
• Letter of Intent
Signed - April 25, 2022 at
10:32 p.m.
• Hyundai Task Force
Team Visits Site - April 27-
29, 2022
• Deal Point Nego
tiation in Atlanta - May 5,
2022
• Announcement of
Project - May 20, 2022
• Site Clearing Begins
- August 1, 2022
• Groundbreaking -
October 25, 2022
• Construction Starts -
January 16, 2023
• Battery Expansion
Announcement - August
31,2023
“At the beginning of the
process, if you don’t turn
something in, you’re out
[of the running],” Tollison
said. “When they ask you
to do something, you do
it - it doesn’t matter what
else you have going on, be
cause at the end of the day,
these site consultants know
they can go anywhere, and
they are going to go to the
places where people are ag
gressive and ready to go to
work.”
He continued, “This
company moves extremely
fast. Usually, a project this
size and scope takes 18
months to make a decision
- they made a decision in
4 months. You have to be
ready.”
Johnson also com
mented on this phenome
non, as she explained to the
attendees what to expect
within Toombs County re
garding potential industrial
development in the coming
months. “This happened
very quickly. We don’t have
the luxury of spending a lot
of time on these projects.
We have to have a product;
we have to be very respon
sive right out of the gate,
and we don’t say no,” she
told the group.
She referenced the
lack of resources on the
metaplant site, and the re
sourcefulness which the
Authority had to pull water
and sewage services from
nearby cities. “You’re get
ting water from Bulloch
County; you’re getting
natural gas from Claxton.
You’re investing so much
money,” she continued.
“If we want to grow, that’s
what it’s going to take for
positive growth.”
Johnson also encour
aged the public to be open
to new ideas and collabo
rations throughout the fu
ture. “[The counties] area
all facing the same issues.
We need to be prepared
to work together - we do
very well with that in our
community, but we need
to make an effort to keep
doing that because that’s
going to make us be more
responsive. We need to
work with our neighbors.
There may be a project in
the future where Toombs
County is investing in an
other county, and this is the
why - we are not an island.”
“State of” Addresses
Update
During the event,
the Greater Vidalia Cham
ber announced that they
plan to continue to host
the “State of” addresses in
2024, as the planned events
include the State of Agri
culture, State of Cities and
Counties, and the State of
Education.
Pink Out Women's Event
WOMEN SUPPORTING WOMEN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19 I 5 - 6:30 PM
Memorial Health Meadows Hospital Main Lobby
ONE MEADOWS PKWY. | VIDALIA, GA 30474
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Join us for our Pink Out
Women's Event-Women Supporting Women, on Thursday, October 19.
There will be onsite registration for mammograms, questions and
answers with our physicians and community resources. We will
also have food, fun and games. We hope to see you there!
J Memorial
r Health
One Meadows Pkwy. | Vidalia, CA 30474
(912)535-5555 I MemorialHealthMeadows.com