The West District, a new downtown development project, will consist of many new businesses and residential areas.

The owner of Whitfield Signs, Josh Whitfield, said that Delan Gaines, Brian Kent and himself are the three business partners overseeing West District, and that construction in West District started in fall 2017.

“West District is a work live play development that makes use in rebuilding an existing site that has a lot of historical value to it,” Whitfield said. “So we’ve, on the footprint of the foundation of that, rebuilt and placed Whitfield Signs here and we’ll have build-ready pad sites for other businesses to come, whether it’s technology, retail, restaurants, lofts. Trying to bring the jobs and the people downtown to encourage more growth along the Blue Mile.”

On Jan. 10 there was an unveiling of West District and a ribbon cutting ceremony for Whitfield Signs, a new graphic design business located in West District, and the event was catered by local vendors such as Three Tree Coffee Roasters, Big Boy Cookies and Chazito’s Latin Cuisine, according to the West District Facebook page.

West District was built with Georgia Southern students in mind, Whitfield said.

“For Georgia Southern students, it really gives a place, that, if they choose to stay in Statesboro, can work in an environment that competes with any big city or any other corporate environment,” Whitfield said. “That’s really why we moved here, because we have so much great talent at Georgia Southern.”

There are already businesses that are under contract in West District.

“We have three [businesses] under contract that I can’t, until they close, I can’t say specifically, but it is a range from retail to office and technology,” Whitfield said.

Executive director of downtown development Allen Muldrew says that the West District will positively impact the Statesboro downtown area.

“We consider [West District] an integral component to our whole downtown experience,” Muldrew said.

Whitfield made sure to keep the same historical-downtown feel as the surrounding areas, opting for brick buildings and vintage signage.

Muldrew said that West District will bring in employment opportunities and residential housing.

The George-Anne will provide updates as they become available.

Elizabeth Gross, The George-Anne News Reporter, ganewsed@georgiasouthern.edu