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City development has big dreams
Fri, Jul 22, 2005
Liberty Harbor project looks to begin in '06 By KEITH LAING The Brunswick NewsBlueprint Brunswick's vision for a revitalized city came into greater focus Thursday with the release of more details about a proposed $1 billion development of housing and shops.The site, near the southern tip of the city on the Brunswick River, has been christened Liberty Harbor. It was named in honor of the site's former name, Liberty Pointe, and its use as the construction site of Liberty ships by Jones Shipyard during World War II."It's a working title, but the liberty portion relates to the history of the property and the harbor part is because of the marina component and because it's a waterfront community," said Tim Newell, a principle with The BriarRose Land Co. of Athens, developer of the property.The project backers unveiled preliminary architectural sketches of the landscapes and buildings that will comprise Liberty Harbor. They hope to break ground on the project next summer."We're not going to pick some central theme and try to theme the whole project so that it looks like a theme park," Newell said. "We're trying to make what's new look old in terms of architecture and land plan."Elva Pellouchoud, president of the Denver-based Epiphany Marketing firm, said developers want to keep it simple."They want a green feel, consistent with the historic way the city was laid out," Pellouchoud said. "(Our philosophy is that) if it was good enough for (Georgia founder) James Oglethorpe, it's good enough for us. The architecture will feel like it has grown over time, not been plopped down." Newell said developers are more concerned with atmosphere and building a community in which to live."We're trying to get back to village retail and mom and pop shops," Newell said.Another highly touted aspect of the residential and commercial facility would be its impact on the rest of the community. Jeff Davis, president and chief executive officer of BriarRose, said Liberty Harbor will bring $5 million in property taxes and an estimated 15,000 jobs in construction and hospitality. "The people that (will) buy here are going to be successful, energetic and will contribute to the city," Davis said.The conference came at the end of an intensive four-day brand envisioning session on Jekyll Island, at which various competing interests came together to form one vision for the proposed urban village. "We'll start submitting applications (for permitting) and kick off a study period," Newell said. "Is it feasible? How long will it take? We'll do the background we do for every one of these. Each one is different, but it's the same type of permits usually." Pellouchoud said promotions will focus on what distinguishes Liberty Harbor from any similar facility along the coast. Among them are the fact that because Brunswick is the most western point along the East Coast, the risk and fear of hurricanes – which could scare potential buyers and visitors away – will be significantly reduced, along with the fact that its 1,300-foot marina will be the most accessible of its kind between Jacksonville and Savannah.
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