ALBANY, GEORGIA
COMMUNITIES
Dorothy Hubbard – Mayor
Justin Strickland – Executive Director
of Economic Development
229-431-3234
www.albany.ga.us
ALBANY, GA
Growth and Stability
A Place
to Thrive
Albany’s business community is an impressive and diverse list of manufacturers,
distribution centers, government operations and healthcare providers. There are
84 manufacturing businesses making airplanes, paper towels, chemical additives
and more. The Marine Corps Logistics Base and Phoebe Putney Health System
are the largest employers in the community, along with the three institutions of
higher education. MillerCoors in Albany is the company’s third-largest brewery,
producing 14 different beers.
Growing with Albany is Procter & Gamble, which recently invested $75 million
in a major plant expansion. Plus Coats & Clark, which operates a large yarn and
crochet thread factory in the city, moved to consolidate several of its distribution
centers in the city.
Moreover, Albany is a community where businesses succeed and stay. Mars
Chocolate North America is celebrating its 50th year in Albany, while Sasco
Chemical Group celebrates 65 years of prosperity. Thrush Aircraft, world leader in
the manufacture of aircraft for agricultural spray operations, is a 40-year Albany
success story.
There is no doubt that Albany is a great place for businesses to call home.
FAST FACTS
ALBANY
POPULATION: 77,434
COUNTY: Dougherty – Population 94,565
UTILITIES: The Water, Gas and Light Commission serves approximately 45,000 residential and
commercial electric, natural gas, telecommunications and water customers.
TRANSPORTATION: Albany is served by three four-lane highways, 300, 82 and 19. Rail is
provided by Georgia & Florida Railway, Georgia Southwestern Railroad and Norfolk Southern
Railway. The regional airport offers commercial flights daily.
NOTABLE EMPLOYERS:
– Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital – healthcare
– Marine Corps Logistics Base – combat support services
– Procter and Gamble – paper towel and toilet paper production
– Coats & Clark – textile manufacture and distribution
– MillerCoors – beer brewery
– Mars Chocolate North America – food manufacturer
“Albany is the heart and soul of Southwest Georgia, and I invite
everyone to come and experience our marvelous city.”
•For native son and famous recording artist Ray Charles,
Albany honors his musical career with a large memorial
sculpture in the center of downtown on the Flint River
Walk. The Ray Charles Plaza sculpture features the
artist at his piano. The state of Georgia further honored
Charles by choosing his rendition of “Georgia on My
Mind” as the state song.
•The Flint RiverQuarium is a 175,000-gallon, 22-foot
deep Blue Hole aquarium filled with the plants, fish and
reptiles – including Albany’s celebrated river turtle –
found in the Flint River’s ecosystem.
– Mayor Dorothy Hubbard
•Sherwood Pictures, a Christian film production
company of Sherwood Baptist Church, has joined
numerous Hollywood production companies that
use Albany as a location for making films. Its 2008
production of Fireproof was the highest-grossing
independent film of the year.
•The City of Albany was awarded GMA’s 2012 Municipal
Trendsetter Award for establishing an information 311
calling center. Citizens are encouraged to call 311 to
report any concerns or issues.
FRESH IDEAS ON THE FLINT RIVER
Fresh ideas are taking root on the banks of the Flint River. The leadership of Albany, representatives from
the public and private sectors, are finding new ways to further their efforts for quality of life and community
development for this Southwest Georgia economic hub.
Top of the list for innovation is an initiative born of
Mayor Dorothy Hubbard’s vision for industrial growth,
a $30 million job creation investment fund. In economic
development circles it is called a deal closer. The fund
is sourced from a trust that Albany’s wholesale electric
supplier, MEAG Power, helped the city marshal over a
decade ago to hedge against potential electric industry
deregulation that never materialized. Eligible fund
candidates must create at least 100 jobs or invest at least
$10 million within the first three years of business. This
program guarantees that Albany is high on the radar of
start-up companies – those ready to relocate to Albany as
well as those existing industries considering expansions.
Looking for fresh ways to serve its business customers,
the city’s utility provider has sharpened its customer
service focus and will launch a new offering. The Water,
Gas & Light Commission will utilize its fiber optic network to provide Internet and telephone service in 2014.
The Commission already generates annual revenues of
approximately $120 million, which strategically support
the overall municipal operation.
Albany’s downtown district is experiencing renewal
with targeted initiatives. Old Northside, an historic
neighborhood, got a facelift with new streetscapes and
way-finding enhancements. The Flint RiverQuarium
continues to draw tourists to the banks of the river, and
private investments are also finding their way downtown
through small business owners.
Local banker and civic leader, Luke Flatt, explains that
community involvement is genetic in his family. “I was
taught by my grandfather, a long-time leader in our local
Chamber of Commerce, about the responsibility of community service,” Flatt says. Flatt has been instrumental
in encouraging local businesses to support annual fund
drives to enhance new business recruitment.
The Albany-Dougherty County Economic Development
Commission has put a fresh spin on a standard communication tool, touting Albany’s megastar business
roster. A visually arresting two-minute video invites
new business to join Albany’s ranks. With an innovative
eye, the project was shot entirely with the video feature
of an iPhone, creating a product easily shared through
Facebook, Twitter and other social media. The ease of
communicating trumps elaborate production value.
“One of our biggest success stories,” says Justin
Strickland, Interim Executive Director of Economic
Development, “is our Pecan Grove Industrial Park.” The
park is deemed “shovel ready” by the statewide Georgia
economic development team. That prized designation
means Albany leadership made sure park infrastructure
and preliminary permitting was complete, promising
any new prospect a fast-track start-up.
Albany is not afraid of trying something new for the
betterment of the city and its citizens. From the elected
leadership to homegrown movers and shakers, new
ideas are always taking hold.
Statue of the Flint River turtle and the Flint RiverQuarium
Ray Charles Plaza on River Walk
Albany Welcome Center in the historic Bridge House
Fishing on the Flint River
More About HOMETOWN
ALBANY
• In 1836 a land developer, Nelson Tift, arrived by the Flint River to the
fledgling community soon to be called Albany, named for another great
city on a river in New York. During the heyday of cotton, the Flint River
was key to moving product to market.
• The construction of a two-story bridge hall and the Flint River Bridge
were part of the transportation revolution of the time. Horace King, a
former slave considered to be one of the most respected bridge builders
of the 19th century in the South, conceived and built the 930-foot span
across the river and the bridge house.
• The bridge did not survive, but the restored circa 1858 Historic Bridge
House stands today and is now home to the Albany Convention &
Visitors Bureau.
• Albany’s heritage includes a tribe of Creek Indians, the Chiha or Chehaw
people, who befriended the early white settlers. A 700-acre conservation
and wild animal park is named for those native Americans who lived on
the Flint River. Artifacts such as arrowheads, tomahawks and cooking
utensils were discovered during the park development.