At least 18 new commercial buildings and about 30 additions or renovations, together costing well over $60 million, are under active construction permits in Statesboro as 2023 winds down. Projects nearing completion include the Jim ’N Nick’s Bar-B-Q, a second Tidal Wave carwash and a Parker’s Kitchen convenience store that is the second of three developed here this year.

But also “going vertical” now is Statesboro’s third Starbuck’s, and groundwork is being done for a third Chick-fil-A (in both instances counting those on the Georgia Southern campus as well as across town). Meanwhile, a few major projects that do not require completely new buildings, particularly the transformation of the former Hardee’s into a Slim Chickens, are also well underway.

When the city’s Planning and Development Director Kathy Field gave City Council a quick overview during a Nov. 21 work session, her slide show included a chart tallying 48 commercial building permits issued for still-active projects. These included six new construction projects in the Old Register Road Tax Allocation District, or TAD, where the Publix supermarket is located, 12 more new commercial buildings elsewhere in town, and 30 alteration projects.

The predicted construction cost of the projects – from estimates developers and builders provide the city for determining basic permit fees – was $61,536,585. That did not include any projects still in the permit application process, and City Manager Charles Penny noted that Field had given a much higher informal estimate – she had said $98 million – for the total of current and pending projects.

“They’re being pretty conservative right now on actual projects that you see, but it’s coming, and we’ve got more stuff coming every day,” Penny told the council.

This week, the Statesboro Herald asked for an update regarding the 10 major projects spotlighted in Fields’ presentation and adding a few others that were not included. Planning and Housing Administrator Justin Williams provided the refresher in an interview.

Jim ’N Nick’s, etc.

The 10 projects originally spotlighted, he explained, included every new building permitted with a reported construction value over $1 million, plus one – the Texas Roadhouse steakhouse – for which there is intense public interest but which had a building permit value under $1 million.

The Texas Roadhouse, 24034 U.S. Highway 80 East, is part of a commercial complex under construction for developer Branchwater Statesboro LLC. Originally this was called the Exchange, and the building permits issued July 12 also include a separate building for the Jim ’N Nick’s Bar-B-Q restaurant, 24106 Highway 80 East. A permit issued Sept. 5 covers the buildout of what the city calls the Exchange “shell building,” 23992 Highway 80 East, that will house a Five Guys burgers-and-fries place and a Mattress Warehouse.

The Jim ’N Nick’s building is farthest along of the three structures, and “looks done” to passers-by, Williams acknowledged. Tables and chairs can be seen both inside the restaurant and on a patio. Signs are up, and the parking lot has been paved.

A final step in the city’s permit process is to issue a certificate of occupancy, or “C.O.,” after a building is complete and equipment installed.

“The building itself has had a final inspection, but the surrounding area and some of the fire requirements still need to be met before they can be issued a C.O.,” Williams said Dec. 12. “So they still have work to do outside of the building.”

Second farthest along in construction is the Five Guys and the Mattress Warehouse shell building, which he described as “substantially built out.”

The Texas Roadhouse construction is so far only “starting the process of going vertical,” Williams said.

When the projects were listed at the city work session, council members and staff remarked on the difference between the predicted Jim ’N Nick’s construction cost of $1.79 million and the Texas Roadhouse valuation of $700,500.

“They may just be citing their portion of the whole thing,” Assistant City Manager Jason Boyles told the council. “Jim ’N Nicks with that $1.7 million, they probably had a lot of the sitework wrapped into that cost, whereas the Texas Roadhouse, I assume that’s just the footprint of the building itself.”

The “shell building” wasn’t even included in the Nov. 21 list, but Williams reports that its builder-stated construction value is $1,266,000.

Phoned Tuesday, Branchwater Statesboro LLC owner and developer Greg Edney said he couldn’t predict the opening date for Jim ’N Nick’s at this point, and the Statesboro Herald has not reached the restaurant company for that information.

Rain this fall has affected progress on the other projects, Edney said.

“But I would say Roadhouse would be sometime middle of April, and I’d say the Five Guys and the mattress store would be middle-April, maybe” he said. “I’m pulling these numbers on just pure guesstimates.”

He also has company approval to build an Auto Zone store in the same area, but it is not in the city’s permitting process yet.

Newest Parker’s

Meanwhile, the Parker’s Kitchen convenience store and fueling center at 2216 Northside Drive East, on the corner with U.S. 301 is ready to open. Its building permit had been issued April 24 with a construction value of $2,577,917.

Statesboro City Council approved a beer and wine package license for that location Dec. 5, and Williams reported that the certificate of occupancy was issued Monday, Dec. 11.

So this newest Parker’s Kitchen is now slated to open for business Dec. 20, Allison Hersh, Capricorn Communications spokesperson for the Savannah-based Parker’s chain, stated in a reply email Wednesday. But no grand-opening event or ceremony had been scheduled yet, she said.

In fact, the city’s list identified this one as Statesboro’s “Parker’s Kitchen No. 2” for the year and also included “Parker’s Kitchen No. 1,” issued a building permit back on Jan. 17, with construction valued at $4.1 million. But that store, at 141 Lanier Drive where it was a complete rebuild of a previous Parker’s location, has been open since mid-September.

A third Parker’s Kitchen is already under construction here this year, on Georgia Highway 67 (Fair Road) at the Burkhalter Road-Harville Road intersection, where City Council annexed the 3.8-acre site into Statesboro in October 2022 at the request of the Drayton-Parker Companies. Preparatory work has included the demolition of a house, and the building permit, which predicts a $2.5 million construction cost, wasn’t issued until Sept. 27.

But Williams noted that Drayton-Parker made rapid progress on the two previous projects, and Hersh said the new Highway 67 Parker’s Kitchen is expected to open in April 2024.

A building permit for the new Tidal Wave Auto Spa, at 24187 Highway 80 East, the former International House of Pancakes location, was issued Feb. 7, with a construction value of $2,278,914. Some city inspections have been completed and it is now “close to completion,” for a probable opening early next year, Williams said.

Old Register TAD

Huey Magoo’s, going up on the Eagles Corner Shopping Center outparcel at 141 Tormenta Way in front of Publix, was issued a building permit Sept. 7. Construction is valued at $1.5 million. It will be a franchise of the chain that serves chicken tenders trademarked as “The Filet Mignon of Chicken,” plus sandwiches and side items.

“It’s a vertical building now… ,” Williams said. “I think they’ll probably be done with it in the very near future.”

The new Chick-fil-A, planned for 333 Tormenta Way, isn’t at Eagles Corner, but near the Akins Boulevard intersection. Its building permit was issued just Nov. 3, for construction valued at $1.25 million.

“Quite a bit of groundwork,” is underway in that area, Williams said.

Council members noted that the Starbucks going in at 151 Tormenta Way, another Eagles Corner outparcel, wasn’t in the list. But a building permit for its shell building was issued June 15 with construction valued at $475,000, and a permit for the interior June 16, at another $475,000, Williams reports.

It too has taken shape, and its “fairly far along,” he said.

Warehouse projects

Two warehousing or storage projects were highlighted in the city’s list.

Parrish Street Warehouses Phase 2, at 161 East Parrish, is adding about 66,000 square feet of general-purpose warehousing, to total about 116,000 square feet with already completed Phase 1. The permit was issued Jan. 11 and the $1 million Phase 2 is nearing completion.

Monster Storage Phase 2, at 7079 Veterans Memorial Parkway, is adding almost 38,000 square feet to the existing Monster Storage. The permit issued July 12 valued the work at $2.25 million.