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Silver Cos. is taking its Celebrate Virginia concept to Alabama Date published: 11/24/2007
BY CATHY JETT
Silver Cos. is taking its Celebrate Virginia concept--and some of the partners involved--to Alabama. The developer has announced that it will build a 535-acre project called Celebrate Alabama in Opelika, which is about 100 miles southwest of Atlanta. The retail, entertainment and attractions destination will span more than the currently undeveloped acreage along I-85, and include an expo center, indoor water park and hotels similar to those being planned in Celebrate Virginia South in Fredericksburg. It also will have an outlet mall. Opelika "is a lot like Fredericksburg in that it's a small town, it's an historic town and it's right on the interstate. It's an incredible piece of property," said John Elkington of Memphis-based Performa Entertainment. His company is developing the Rappahannock Ridge entertainment, retail and restaurant district in Celebrate Virginia. It is expected to break ground the first quarter of 2008. It also is involved with Celebrate Alabama. Opelika, now home to about 25,000 people, is about an hour drive from both Atlanta and Montgomery and an hour and a half from Birmingham. It also is on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail and offers some of the best bass fishing in the country. Yet the area, which is one of the fastest growing in the state, has little in the way of shopping, hotels or entertainment. "I think [Silver Cos. CEO Larry Silver] is being very visionary," Elkington said. Silver Cos. expects to break ground on Celebrate Alabama in the first half of next year, and will spend about two years developing the property before the first store opens. Among those involved is Ballantine Management Group of Fredericksburg, which owns the Fredericksburg Expo & Conference Center in Celebrate Virginia. It has been invited to develop the expo center in Celebrate Alabama. "We're doing due diligence and all that fun stuff," said President Tom Ballantine. No one was available for comment at Silver Cos., so it was not clear yesterday if Kalahari Resorts, which plans to open a $200 million African-themed resort and indoor water park in Celebrate Virginia, also will be a part of the Alabama project. Carrie Leum, spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Dells, Wis.-based company, said she hadn't heard anything about it when contacted yesterday.
Leave it to Silver to screw up another small town, tell'em to brace for god awful traffic and a soon to be terrible road system. Getting to Jordan Hare Stadium for the Auburn games will be horrendous on Saturdays with this place right off of I-85 just like our Central Park. "It'll bring in a billion dollars" yeah in headaches and nightmares.......
With a long white line honoring Marion Barry? Geez, guys, this area is part of a extened city that has headed from Boston on I95 down towards us finally, and, I, for one, am grateful that Mr. Silver has taken the golf course from behind the Holiday Inn and done something planned. Bravo, because, it could have been a whole lot worse! And, great forsite for the Mary Washington Hospital Campus too!
So Worldstreet at Celebrate Virginia failed, and now instead of putting money into another area project they're taking the money elsewhere? Does that just seem wrong to anyone else?
Better warn them about the $300k annual welfare payment they will be asked to fork over after the expo center opens.
Also, it says in the article that the town is about 100 miles SW of Atlanta, but only about 1 hr. drive time. Has the speed limit on GA interstate highways been increased to 100 mph?
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