- The demolition of an old bank on the corner of Thomasville and Maclay Roads is making way for a new Wawa.
- Eighty-eight businesses filed building permits in 2023 for new construction.
- Watch the video to hear from one neighbor who says this is good news for the area.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
If you drive along Thomasville Road every day, you've probably noticed some changes.
They are changes that include the demolition of this bank near Maclay Road.
I'm digging into what's planned for this site and what the rest of 2024 looks like in this neighborhood.
"Bannerman has just exploded," said neighbor Robert Gelhardt.
He was seen his hometown grow.
"That used to be just a farm road," Gelhardt said.
Working as an engineer with his firm FSM Engineering, development is something he keeps a close eye on.
"Somebody that is coming in and tear down something that was coming in and blighting our neighborhoods and build a new facility makes an impact," Gelhardt said.
One of those projects: the removal of this former bank here at Thomasville and Maclay Roads.
Economic development records show a WaWa convenience store is in the works here.
It's one of two planned for Northeast Tallahassee.
The other is expected to go at the corner of Blair Stone and Miccosukee Roads.
"The fact that Wawa is coming here will bring more people off the interstate and it will bring commuter here who may have not come here otherwise," Gelhardt said.
People may also be driving that development.
I have been following economic development in our area for six months.
In July, I spoke with Sleighton Murray, a commercial real estate advisor with NAI Talcor.
"Most of the single family home growth that we are experiencing as a market is occurring actually from the Apalachee Parkway up to the northeast side of Tallahassee," Murray said.
I checked the records.
According to the Leon County office of Economic vitality, 88 new businesses took advantage of that growth with building permits last year.
That includes Jeri's Love on a Plate, Jeremiah's Ice Cream and Rae's Restaurant.
In the year ahead, we'll be watching the development of Fazoli's, Don Melchor Mexican, a new orthodontist and Bradfordville Animal Resort Kingdom.
Gelhardt said this shows a healthy economy and overall progress.
"you're going to have new places to go, you're gonna have employment with the contractors. Those are necessary. Building is necessary to bring everyone economically out of a stagnant."
City leaders also just gave the green light for a WaWa that's planned of Tallahassee International Airport.
That project alone is expected to create 39 permanent jobs.
