Business View Civil and Municipal | April/May 2022

74 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 super excited about this. We’re looking for workforce, upper tier, and low-income housing; we’re focusing on all three fronts simultaneously. We want to fill that comprehensive housing need.” The city is also further cultivating its Southern Gateway Commerce Park. Even though it’s not directly located within Statesboro, it’s served by the city’s utilities, making it a vital part of the community. Thompson elaborates, “The city purchased the land in 2011. It was about nine miles south of the city limits on Interstate 16; the main artery from Savannah to Macon, Georgia. Back then, it was a rural interchange with nothing but fields and ponds. The city and county partnered to extend utilities to the site. During the years it has taken to complete that, we’ve spent time, money, and effort to recruit businesses to Commerce Park.” Just this past November, ground was finally broken on the site for a brand new TravelCenters of America full- service truck stop, which will increase traffic at the interchange. Since then, Aspen Aerogels, a publicly-traded manufacturing company that produces insulating material used in electric vehicle batteries, has committed to a $325 million investment to build a manufacturing facility at the site which will create 250 advanced manufacturing jobs. Statesboro also invests in infrastructure. Updating everything from storm drainage to the roads and sidewalks. A soon to arrive, new piece of infrastructure will be public transportation. COVID along with supply chain issues caused a bit of a delay, but all that’s left to arrive now are the buses. “These will be the smaller cutaway buses, not the giant buses driving around,” says Mayor McCollar. “We’re highly conscious of our green footprint. We want to expand it over the years to come.” The city has also equipped both Luetta Moore Park and Grady Street Park with free Wi-Fi. “Those parks are in our more disadvantaged areas,” says the Mayor. “We