FOLEY, Alabama – As reported by Wear- ABC 3
News of an entertainment development on 525 acres off Foley Beach Express in Foley has spread quickly.
“I think it’s going to be great.” Folks like Diane Cheney want to find out now how to get one of the three thousand jobs “Blue Collar Country” is expected to bring. “Just talk to somebody about what’s going on and find out some more things about this.”
Plans are for hotels, theaters,retail shops and indoor sporting facilities. A kind of Branson, Missouri meets Baldwin county.
“This is pretty much a hybrid park,” says economic development director Jeff Rouzie. “The main developer plans a ride component to it.”
Large scale developments are risky business. Take Bama Bayou for example, ground had been broken, construction even began but it never got to the ribbon cutting. Finances fell through.
“Everything is signed, financing is in place,” says chamber of commerce president Donna Watts. “The city has gotten a grant to help with infrastructure. This group has applied for the new tourism incentives that are available.”
Not everything is ready. Work continues to secure the 200 million dollar investment but plans are moving forward. Temporary business offices are set to go up in the next couple weeks. A ground-breaking ceremony is expected near the end of the month.
“It will change the face of south Baldwin county forever,” says Watts.
For Diane Cheney that’s the best news of all. “That’d be great. There are a lot of people out of work and that’d be really good”
Construction of “Blue Collar Country” is expected to begin later this year and ready for business in 2015.
