FEATURE ARTICLE, MAY 2006

GOLDEN SPOT IN THE GOLDEN ISLES
Liberty Harbor, slated to get underway in June, will change the face of Brunswick and the Golden Isles.
Lara Fuller

Liberty Harbor in Brunswick, Georgia.

Liberty Point, where the 110-acre Liberty Harbor project will be located, was once home to the Jones Shipyards. The shipyards played an important role during World War II, as the Liberty and Victory ships that helped win the war were constructed and launched there. Soon, the former shipyards will be filled with more than 1,000 residences, a hotel, a club complex, a retail center and a marina. “It will be a traditional community on the waterfront within a beautiful, old and historic town,” says Paul Levine, manager of implementations with Liberty Harbor LLC, a subsidiary of Cleveland, Ohio-based WW Group Holdings. 

Brunswick was chosen as the site for this large-scale development for several reasons. Brunswick and the surrounding areas have more than 1.2 million visitors a year, making them a popular destination for people from across the Southeast. In addition, the site, which is bordered by the 2,500-foot long Sidney Lanier Bridge, was one of the few remaining waterfront properties in the region. The site is in close proximity to St. Simon’s Island and is only 8 miles from Interstate 95. “Brunswick was chosen not only because of its outstanding location, but also because in the midst of our then extensive search for a suitable location, we were introduced to Bryan Thompson, then head of Blueprint Brunswick, now mayor, who demonstrated the level of pre-planning already accomplished and who pledged complete support for realizing mutually acceptable results,” Levine says.

Blueprint Brunswick, a private non-profit development corporation, is helping design a master plan to bring Brunswick to the forefront of the region. The development of Liberty Harbor will help the city reach that goal. In addition to bringing in new business and visitors, the development will also enhance the local economy as well. “There are many major benefits that will accrue to the surrounding communities, [including] an increase in local tax revenues of more than 100 percent and new permanent employment of more than 1,000,” Levine says. “Construction employment for more than 4 years will add an additional 1,000-plus [jobs].” These numbers are documented by a study done by the New York University Real Estate Institute. It is evident that both the city and the project developers are putting in great effort to ensure that Liberty Harbor benefits the area. 

Liberty Harbor is being designed to fit in with its surroundings. The development and architecture team, which includes JHS Resort Architects, is taking note of the area’s existing architecture and planning accordingly. James Oglethorpe, one of Georgia’s founding fathers, designed the plan for the city of Brunswick, basing it on the plan he developed for Savannah, Georgia. Liberty Harbor, though designed in the new urbanism style, will feature the grid-like street layout, with public squares and green space, as dictated in Oglethorpe’s plan. Water and green space will play important roles in the project. In addition to being on the waterfront, there will be a number of lakes and rivers flowing through the development. Ample green space will also been seen throughout, with multiple public spaces and parks. The development will also provide access to the new Liberty Shipyard Park, which is being constructed as a monument to the World War II shipyards.

The residential component of Liberty Harbor will include condominiums and single-family residences. Originally, the plan called for 1,000 condominiums, but that number was recently increased to keep up with demand. “The extraordinary cooperation being demonstrated by the city of Brunswick and the overwhelming interest has already brought more than 1,000 advance reservations,” Levine says. Each condominium building will have a private concierge to help schedule events or make reservations. A range of one-, two-, and three-bedroom floor plans will be available.

The 300,000-square-foot retail component will be designed like a town center, with boutiques, entertainment venues, dining options and public space. The entertainment venues will include a performing arts center and amphitheater. Also included at the development will be a 210-room Hyatt Regency hotel, with spa, fitness center, and meeting and conference facilities.

On the waterfront there will be a 450-slip marina as well as a yacht club, beach club and boardwalk. The waterfront is a central focus of the development. The concierge at the Liberty Harbor Club will be available to help guests and residents set up trips including kayaking, canoeing, jet skiing, deep-sea fishing, diving, snorkeling, parasailing and cocktail cruises, to name a few. The boardwalk will provide a place for walking, biking and picnicking. The yacht club will offer wet and dry storage, rental facility for water sports gear, store and dining facilities.

The developers of Liberty Harbor hope that the project will help make Brunswick a destination in its own right. The combination of public and private areas will make Liberty Harbor a desirable spot for vacationers as well as for year-round residents. “It is unique because of the combination of high tech security within the private areas and extensive amenities within the public area,” Levine says. When complete, Liberty Harbor will be beneficial to both the city of Brunswick and the surrounding areas. The development might just change Brunswick from a gateway city to a getaway spot.

©2006 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.