Statesboro — Now you’re in business.
Statesboro’s Downtown is the business hub and consumer heartbeat of the city. The 2010 census named Statesboro the sixth fastest-growing city of our type in the nation and with a city population that now tops 29,000, Georgia Southern University adding more than 20,000 students and growing, and the surrounding Bulloch county, one of the 50 fastest growing counties in the country with an additional population of over 72,000, Downtown is perfectly placed to suit every resident’s needs. At the center of a region primed for growth thanks to local facilities of Fortune 500 companies, a burgeoning University campus, and healthy agribusiness, Downtown Statesboro’s potential is clear.
With that impressive big picture in mind, now we zoom into the close-up.
Traffic counts show 25,000 cars through our Main Street intersection every day. Statesboro’s government offices, all located downtown, are surrounded by a thriving core of finance, entertainment and retail. Clothing shops, music stores, restaurants, bakeries, antique malls, salons, law offices, banks, and business services of all kinds line the streets of Downtown Statesboro as thousands drive past their storefronts every day.
The City Center, an extension of Georgia Southern University, is another downtown resource. It houses the Entrepreneurship Center colloquially called the E-Zone, an incubator for entrepreneurial start-ups, that is complete with support from University staff and Fellows. It is also a gathering place for business leaders thanks to established lunch-and-learn programs and a large business resource library. In addition, it is also a popular event venue, offering state-of-the-art technology and several meeting spaces from an executive boardroom to a classroom setting.
Business Incentives: Programs that grow business and community.
Downtown Statesboro Development Authority– District Map
To fund store front renovation and improvements to qualified buildings, business owners in the Downtown Statesboro Incentive District can apply for a matching grant from the DSDA. Contact us to find out more.
Incentive Package for New Businesses
Low-Interest Loans
The DSDA has the ability to offer low-interest loans at below market rates to qualified borrowers in the Downtown Statesboro Incentive District. Contact us to find out more.
Housing Rehabilitation Program
For more information www.statesboroga.gov/housingrehabilitation
Downtown Statesboro Master Plan
What’s next for Downtown and the Blue Mile?
The City of Statesboro prepared a Master Plan to chart a course for the future of Downtown and the Blue Mile. The plan looks at how to attract new businesses and residents, make it easier to walk and find a parking space, encourage appropriate new development, improve greenspaces, and create a true gathering place for the heart of our community.
For more information and the final Master Plan go to the following website
www.downtownstatesboromasterplan.com.
Unified Development Code
The City of Statesboro is embarking on a process to update its zoning and other development regulations and combine them into a Unified Development Code that will regulate all new construction in the city. The process is being facilitated by Atlanta-based consultants TSW and is expected to run through mid-2023.
Over the course of the next year, several community meetings will be held to gather input from residents, business owners, and anyone else with an interest in development in Statesboro. The first of these meetings is scheduled for Monday, July 18, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. in the City Hall council chambers. The meeting presentation will also be streamed online on the City’s Facebook page, with opportunities for online input for those who prefer not to attend in person.
For more information and the final Master Plan go to the following website
www.downtownstatesboromasterplan.com.