PELL CITY — Officials broke ground Thursday on a huge commercial center development, where a Home Depot will be located."Hello, Pell City," Hunter Stansbury with Home Depot said at Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony. "I just want to tell you how excited we are."
Stansbury credited city and county officials, as well as developers, for putting the construction of a Home Depot store in Pell City on the fast track.
"They are the reason why we were able to make the project come to fruition so quickly," Stansbury said.
Pell City Mayor Adam Stocks credited local developers Bill Ellison and Don Raughton for their vision of commercial development in the city.
"To have Home Depot to come into Pell City is a great opportunity," Stocks said. "It continues to show the state of Alabama and Metro Birmingham the direction Pell City is going in. … We’re not Atlanta or Birmingham, but we are a very fast growing city."
Malcom Wilson, director of marketing for Starwood Properties Inc. said the Bankhead Marketplace commercial development is a joint venture between Ellison, Raughton with Bankhead Marketplace LLC. and Tim Carter with Starwood Properties in Bristol, Tenn.
"The state’s commitment to refining the regional infrastructure, Pell City’s success in recruiting the Honda manufacturing facility and St. Clair County’s determination for continued educational, health care and professional expansion are all indicative of an area that is poised on the brink of phenomenal growth," Carter said.
Wilson said the new development is a 314,483-square-foot commercial site located behind Wal-Mart.
He said that, when the Bankhead Marketplace development is completed, it will generate $50 million in annual sales and create approximately 500 jobs.
Ellison said it took many people working together to make this development a reality.
He also credited Raughton for his tireless work on the project.
"Don Raughton deserves two-thirds of the credit," Ellison said. "He has basically given his life to this project since April."
Ellison said they are about four months ahead of schedule with the Bankhead Marketplace development, which will have a variety of retail stores.
He said the strong work ethic found among employees in the region make the area attractive to large national retail and restaurant chains.
"My experience from being both an employer and a commercial developer gives me unique insight into what business leaders are seeking in a strong workforce," Ellison said. "Pell City has the whole package."
St. Clair County Commissioner Paul Bowling said the new development is not only good for Pell City, but for all of St. Clair County.
"We (the County Commission) made a commitment to municipalities that we were going to form a partnership with them to make projects like this happen," Bowling said.
He said the commission could contribute as much as $150,000 for infrastructure work, such as roads, for the development.
"This County Commission is proud to be here today," Bowling said at Thursday’s groundbreaking.
Stocks said the city invested about $500,000 to complete a water loop for commercial development north of Interstate 20.
He said tax revenue generated by Bankhead Marketplace will pay off the city’s investment within a year.
He said new commercial development north of I-20 will also supply the city with additional revenue, so city officials can focus on improving sewer services for Pell City.
"This should bring in enough money where we can start major sewer work within the next couple of years," Stocks said.
Stansbury said he expects The Home Depot store in Pell City to open by the summer of 2006.
The Home Depot Inc. plans to build a 102,000-square-foot store. The home improvement store will also have a 25,000 to 28,000 square foot garden center.
The Home Depot store is expe cted to employ between 125 and 150 full- and part-time associates.
