Douglas is taking another big step in becoming a regional retail destination. Next week, a new Publix is opening at the Douglas Square Shopping Center, giving the outlet another major retailer and further transforming the economic and quality of life landscape for the Douglas-Coffee County community.
Publix is opening at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, January 17, 2024. There will be no ribbon cutting or grand opening; at 7 a.m. Wednesday, the doors will simply open for business. Tuesday night, Publix will hold an invitation-only event at the store with Publix management and associates.
Publix arrives in Douglas during a time of unprecedented growth – the kind of growth that can reconstruct a community’s economy. Douglas has experienced this kind of economic growth in the past but it doesn’t come around very often. Most recently, the community felt an economic surge through the 1980s and early 1990s. That was the time that saw PCC, Walmart Distribution Center, Tecumseh which eventually became Southwire, and other industries come to town. Fleetwood and the expansion of various agribusiness enterprises added to the economic strength of the community.
But Douglas remained a local retail market. If people wanted to shop at retailers besides Walmart (or, for a time, K-Mart), they had to leave town. The weekend signaled a mass exodus of shoppers headed to Waycross, Valdosta, Tifton, Jacksonville, and other locations.
Breaking into that major retail market has been a tough egg to crack. The school board’s decision to sell the property that the old Coffee High School sat upon was revolutionary. It quickly became the most sought-after property in the county. In spite of its attractiveness, developing the property remained a daunting proposition.
Enter the tax allocation district. Four long years ago, the city announced plans to designate the site as a tax allocation district to encourage its development. Tax allocation districts come in several forms; for the most part, however, they use property taxes generated by a new development to finance costs related to the new construction.
Developers approached the city with the tax allocation district idea and officials thought it was a good idea. In the eyes of the public, it remained controversial and, to some degree, misunderstood. However, the city approved the TAD and, after a series of delays in large part due to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, construction finally began. In the years since, the shopping center and adjacent properties have turned into a thriving retail center.
The area has five restaurants, five national retailers, and several smaller businesses. That doesn’t include stores like Harbor Freight, located just down the road from Douglas Square. And more are coming.
From the start, Publix was a headliner. The citizens of Douglas wanted a Publix and questions about the grocery chain dominated the conversation as construction began. There were always plans for Publix to come to town; there were just a few details that had to be worked out. Two years ago, local leaders announced that Publix was in fact coming to town.
And now, it’s opening. This is a game-changer for Douglas and Coffee County. The current stores have already provided a breath of fresh economic air for the community, particularly in terms of SPLOST collections. Publix will only add to that.
Wednesday’s Publix opening isn’t the end of the retail boom for Coffee County – more businesses are coming. Soon, citizens of Douglas and Coffee County will have even more shopping and dining choices.
If you ride through Douglas, the entire town looks different. It has a different vibe, a different ambiance, a different appearance. It starts well north of Douglas Square, thanks in large part to the significant investments in downtown that several property owners have made in recent years, and continues south to the airport and beyond.
Yes, Wednesday is a big day for this community. The best part is that it won’t be the last such day Douglas will have.