By Valerie Baldowski
vbaldowski@henryherald.com

Locust Grove has attracted two new developments, which are expected to provide an economic boost to the city.

The Locust Grove City Council has approved architectural plans for a senior apartment community, and a QuikTrip convenience store. The approval came during a recent meeting of the council.

“I’m real excited over the senior apartments,” said Locust Grove Mayor Lorene Lindsey. “Ever since I’ve been in office, I felt like we needed a senior area in Locust Grove. I’ve been on the Council on Aging for years, and seniors are very near to my heart. I love the thought of seniors staying in place as long as they can.”

The future Shoal Creek Apartments will consist of 66 units, to be built on nine acres across from the Locust Grove library, on LG Griffin Road.

The development will be built to provide affordable housing for seniors aged 55 and older, said Community Development Director Tim Young. “The Atlanta Regional Commission has shown that the region is going to increase its elderly population dramatically in the next 20 years,” he said.

Young said, in other good news for the city, the Tulsa, Okla.-based QuikTrip Convenience Store corporation will build a new facility on the northeast corner of Bill Gardner Parkway, at Interstate 75.

The QuikTrip store will be built near the site where a future Wal-Mart is planned for the area. “They’re fairly close, within a half mile of each other,” he said.

When completed, the convenience store is expected to draw more traffic, Young said. “It helps increase tourism, because QuikTrip is a well-known gas station where people will stop.”

The apartment construction will be done by Atlanta-based Rea Development. The new senior facility will be funded with $2.5 million from the state Department of Community Affairs, and $1.5 million from federal economic stimulus funds, said Bill Rae, a managing member of Rae Development.

Rae said plans are to begin construction on the senior facility in June. It is anticipated to be ready for occupancy by spring of 2011.

The Locust Grove community was chosen because of its location, he said

“There are a lot of criteria we have to follow, in order to have projects funded through the Department of Community Affairs ,” said Rae. “Some of them are proximity to stores and schools. Also, you need to be adjacent to a residential community.”

Local residents will be hired during the construction phase, he added.

The first QuikTrip store in Locus Grove will materialize later this year. The average QuikTrip costs between $2 million and $3 million, said Mike Thornbrugh, a public affairs spokesman for the company.

A motel is located on the designated site for the convenience store, and will be demolished to make room for the new 4,600-square-foot facility, according to Thornbrugh.

“We hope to start building some time in May,” he said. “All things being equal, we’d like to be open for business the latter part of November, or the early part of December.”

Preference will be given to existing employees transferring from other QuikTrip facilities, but Thornbrugh said Locust Grove residents are urged to apply to the company, online, for employment.

The company decided on the location because of Locust Grove’s population, he said. “We continue to grow outside the metropolitan area, and we see a lot of potential growth at that site,” added Thornbrugh. “Quite frankly, we only build new stores, if we know they’re going to be supported by a healthy population growth.”

The new convenience store will be a welcome addition to the city’s business community, said Mayor Lindsey. “QuikTrip’s reputation has been very good, and we feel like that will bring some new blood into the city,” she said.

The store’s arrival will spark competition with other gas stations in the area, which will also be beneficial, she said.