Jekyll board approves deal for hotel

Jeff Martin

Associated Press Writer

Updated: Nov 20, 2012, 8:30 PM

Published: Nov 20, 2012, 3:00 PM

ATLANTA (AP) — Jekyll Island's governing board on Monday approved a series of agreements with a developer to get a 200-room beachfront Westin Hotel project back on track, a spokesman for the island authority said.

The hotel is part of a broader plan to revitalize the tourist destination. The Jekyll Island Beach Village project also includes an adjacent convention center that just opened and plans for a second hotel, new shops, restaurants and public parks along the beach.

"It's hard to overstate how important this is," Jekyll Island Authority spokesman Eric Garvey said of the $41 million Westin project.

"The new convention center opened in May to rave reviews, but it's critical that we have the new hotel just adjacent to it to really make it all work," he said.

Construction of the Westin was to have started in September, but developers were unable to secure needed financing.

The agreements approved Monday by the board, meeting on Jekyll Island, allow the project to move forward, Garvey said.

"The timeline becomes more definite now that these agreements have been passed," he said.

Under the deal approved Monday, the Westin hotel must be under construction by April 30, 2013. It must be opened by Aug. 31, 2014.

The board approved a deal to use the new Jekyll Island Tourism Development Fund to enable the developer to secure financing for the Westin. The fund uses a portion of the hotel/motel tax collected from overnight visitors to the island.

For the first 10 years, the Westin Jekyll Island will be eligible to receive funds from the Jekyll Island Tourism Development Fund to help market property, the authority said in a statement. The 10-year total of the incentive amounts to $6.1 million.

Also planned is a 135-room Hyatt Place Hotel one block from the beach.

When completed, Jekyll Island Beach Village will be able to host 120 conventions per year, according to projections from the authority.

"The beachfront Westin will play a significant role in attracting businesses and leisure guests from across the country to Jekyll Island and the coast of Georgia," Bob Krueger, chairman of the Jekyll Island Authority, said in a statement.

Record April boosts Savannah's container trade at port

The Port of Savannah moved 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units in April, an increase of 7.1 percent. - photo by Provided

GardenCityTerminal — The Port of Savannah moved 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units in April, an increase of 7.1 percent. - photo by Provided

Bryan County News

Updated: May 23, 2018, 1:59 AM

Published: May 23, 2018, 2:00 AM

The Georgia Ports Authority's busiest April ever pushed its fiscal year-to-date totals to more than 3.4 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), an increase of 8.8 percent, or 280,000 TEUs, compared to the first 10 months of fiscal 2017.

"We're on track to move more than 300,000 TEUs in every month of the fiscal year, which will be a first for the authority," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "We're also anticipating this to be the first fiscal year for the Port of Savannah to handle more than 4 million TEUs."

April volumes reached 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units, up 7.1 percent or 23,700 units. As the fastest growing containerport in the nation, the Port of Savannah has achieved a compound annual growth rate of more than 5 percent a year over the past decade.

"As reported in the recent economic impact study by UGA's Terry College of Business, trade through Georgia's deepwater ports translates into jobs, higher incomes and greater productivity," said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. "In every region of Georgia, employers rely on the ports of Savannah and Brunswick to help them become more competitive on the global stage."

To strengthen the Port of Savannah's ability to support the state's future economic growth, the GPA Board approved $66 million in terminal upgrades, including $24 million for the purchase of 10 additional rubber-tired gantry cranes.

"The authority is committed to building additional capacity ahead of demand to ensure the Port of Savannah remains a trusted link in the supply chain serving Georgia and the Southeast," Lynch said.

The crane purchase will bring the fleet at Garden City Terminal to 156 RTGs. The new cranes will support three new container rows, which the board approved in March. The additional container rows will increase annual capacity at the Port of Savannah by 150,000 TEUs.

The RTGs will work over stacks that are five containers high and six deep, with a truck lane running alongside the stacks. Capable of running on electricity, the cranes will have a lift capacity of 50 metric tons.

The cranes will arrive in two batches of five in the first and second quarters of calendar year 2019.

Also at Monday's meeting, the GPA Board elected its officers, with Jimmy Allgood as chairman, Will McKnight taking the position of vice chairman and Joel Wooten elected as the next secretary/treasurer.

For more information, visit gaports.com, or contact GPA Senior Director of Corporate Communications Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or rmorris@gaports.com.

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