The Valdosta Mayor and City Council approved the sale of downtown property to the Central Valdosta Development Authority (CVDA) at their Jan. 21 council meeting to make way for a $12 million hotel project that is expected to spur growth in downtown Valdosta and encourage future economic development in the heart of the city.

The CVDA entered into an agreement recently with JWM Ventures to build a 125-room Wyndham Garden Hotel in the parking lot on Central Avenue, between Lee and McKey Streets, which is currently owned by the city. The project will include a five-story hotel with a rooftop restaurant, lounge, conference space, and greenspace that can be used for community events.

“The CVDA believes this will be the catalyst project that will add more excitement to the downtown area to make it more vibrant, bring greater opportunities for additional growth, and support the many existing businesses downtown,” said Howard Dasher, CVDA Chairman. “We look forward to utilizing the park-like design of the grounds to bring more community events and to enhance the quality of life for downtown and the entire city.”

The CVDA and the city propose to use this project as an opportunity to also address parking in the downtown area. In the near future, public comment meetings will be held by the CVDA and the city to gain public input from the downtown property owners and businesses, as well as from the entire community. This will include the consideration of a parking structure, surface parking, or some combination of the two at one or more locations. The discussion of the preferred location(s) for additional parking will drive the decision to best meet the needs of citizens, customers, property owners, tenants and the many individuals who now reside downtown.

“The City of Valdosta is pleased to announce this project and looks forward to the positive impact on our local economy” said City Manager Larry Hanson. “The new development will fill a niche downtown and is expected to spur additional downtown development by providing much-needed jobs and other opportunities.”

The project will include a new location for the city’s Customer Service Center to replace the facility that currently exists in the McKey Street parking lot. The new Customer Service Center will be built and open before the city vacates the existing facility.

“This project is another positive sign that economic development is strong in Valdosta,” said Mayor John Gayle. “We expect this new project to have a positive impact on the people who live and work in the heart of our city, as well as those who enjoy everything that downtown Valdosta has to offer.”