Georgia Grown is planting seeds for future crops of entrepreneurs in downtown Albany

ALBANY – Albany is at the hub of agricultural life in southwest Georgia, and that position is being recognized with its selection as the site of a Georgia Grown Resource Center slated to open in the fall.

The location on North Front Street will be the second Georgia Grown site in the state, coming six years after the opening of the Georgia Grown Innovation Center in Metter. It will be located adjacent to the 4C on Front Street business, which provides space for students to work and sell their products.

“It’s providing opportunities for farm families and entrepreneurs who are looking to expand opportunities in agriculture,” Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, who was on hand on Thursday to celebrate the launch event held across the street from the buildings being renovated, said. “It will bring resources in Albany for them to be able to access, somewhere to go and help them build out their ideas. It will bring opportunities to incubate or further expand their business, especially those related to agriculture.”

The center is designed to connect producers, processors, food manufacturers, agritourism operators, and other agriculture-related businesses and bring resources to help increase visibility, expand market access and give long-term support.

“The resource center will bring together all the resources and contacts they need,” Harper said. “I tell folks, as agriculture goes, so goes our state, so goes our nation, so goes our communities.

“The opportunity to put this center in this part of the state was something I think was an easy decision to make.”

Agriculture is the largest industry in the state by far, contributing more than $80 billion to the state’s economy, and Harper said that southwest Georgia’s contribution is about 20% of the total agricultural value. Among the top crops in the state grown in the region are cotton, peanuts and pecans.

“When you look at the role agriculture plays, it is important that we promote it,” Harper said. “The work we do is crucial to our nation’s national security. We’re excited about this opportunity to grow agriculture and for this center to play a role in this.”

The 100 block of North Front Street is the eastern border on a key portion of the city’s effort to revitalize downtown, Albany Mayor Bo Dorough said. The opening of the Georgia Grown Resource Center and the Commodore Conyers College and Career Academy (4C) facility will help move those plans forward in an area where other projects are ongoing, including the relocation of the Albany Museum of Art, an apartment development in the former Davis Exchange Building and the recent opening of the renovated St. Nicholas Hotel nearby.

“The (downtown master plan) encourages the city to focus on this block on which we are now standing,” Dorough said. “It was identified as a priority in our master plan.

“How many of us have driven down Front Street without wondering how much it would take to revitalize these buildings to their former glory?”

The city of Albany, the 4C Academy and the Albany-Dougherty Inner City Authority are investing about $1 million in the project. The renovation work is expected to be completed in August, 4C CEO Chris Hatcher said.

The academy will bring fresh vegetables grown by Dougherty County students, as well as other food items prepared by students, and jewelry, clothing and other student-made products to the location.

The facility will provide an entrepreneurial environment for students to learn and help boost the community’s economy, the CEO said.

“We are excited about our partnership with the Georgia Grown Resource Center and look forward to sharing resources and being a great neighbor in downtown Albany,” Hatcher said. “Agriculture is Georgia’s No. 1 industry, and having the Georgia Grown Center located next to 4C on Front’s fresh market and retail space will be great for our community and region.”