Page 14 - Brunswick Chamber - The Anchor

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“It (the dust) actually helped to preserve the heart pine
floors,” Piazza said.
Today, the building known as Port City Lofts features
studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments for rent and
retail and restaurant space on the ground floor.
“I saw the incredible potential Brunswick had, and
continues to have,” Piazza said.
Piazza and his wife Elizabeth moved to the Golden Isles
four years ago with an entrepreneurial spirit and expertise
from other markets in real estate, art, and community
building. They found a city that offered all the help they
needed to see their vision to fruition.
Indeed, with the renovation of the Leotis building, they
were the first to complete a project in the city of Brunswick
using the federal Opportunity Zone program, state and
federal historic preservation tax credits, and the city’s
Enterprise Zone program. They have also restored the old
Bijou Theater a couple of blocks away and transformed
an abandoned parking lot into a community green space
and private event venue, Port City Park. Plans call for 170
apartment units on a long-vacant lot near the intersection of
Gloucester Street and U.S. Highway 17.
Those programs and others are one reason Travis Stegall
said the city has seen more than $200 million in investment
city-wide since he assumed his role as Brunswick’s Economic
and Community Development Director.
“We’re lucky to have people who eat, sleep, live here,”
Stegall said. “This is their family. This is their personal
investment. We are extra lucky with this group of investors.”
14 Brunswick-Golden Isles Community Magazine • The Anchor • BrunswickGoldenislesChamber.com
The next step for Stegall is to continue to foster positive
public-private relationships that lead to more investment in
middle-market housing, job creation, and maintaining the tax
base. To do that, he ensures investors know the incentives
available, works with officials to ensure local infrastructure is
attractive and robust, and stays out of the way of investors
as much as possible.
“As government, we have to make sure we are amenable,
and then to step out of the way,” Stegall said.
Michael Torras, marina manager at Brunswick Landing
Marina, is the grandson of the marina’s founder. In the 1970s
people thought his grandfather, Bob Torras, was crazy to
open a marina in downtown. At the time, Michael Torras said,
there were sunken shrimp boats in the water and trash piled
up on the roughly 100 acres surrounding the facility. Now, 40
years later, there are more than 400 boats at the marina that
recently expanded to accommodate yachts up to 240 feet.
“There are a multitude of programs
available from the federal, state, and
city governments to incentivize smart
and thoughtful growth.”
The energy buzzing with the revitalization in downtown has
prompted Torras to invest further in the district.
“You have all these new people coming in and revitalizing
everything. It’s a breath of fresh air,” he said. “If it weren’t
for downtown Brunswick, our marina wouldn’t be nearly
as attractive.”
Torras has plans for a mixed-use development in a 24-acre
tract between the waterfront and Newcastle Street that he
says will nearly double the size of the district. Along with
Torras, Piazza, the Princes, Kaufman, and McGraw all have
plans for more developments and renovations that include a
boutique hotel, and more retail, restaurant, and living space.
All are optimistic and excited about Brunswick’s future.
“Some of the things community leaders have done to
bring us through these difficult times should really be a
blueprint for the rest of the country,” Piazza said. “ We want
to show Georgia that Brunswick is open for business.