Blog – W.H Gross Construction

07 May

‘Bryant Landing’ developer plans to turn old JPB campus into a senior community

The developer in the process of buying a majority of the old Julia P. Bryant Elementary School campus proposes to make it a senior community called Bryant Landing and create 51 apartments in Phase I, keeping and transforming three of the former school buildings in the process.

Those three buildings would be renovated to provide 11 two-bedroom apartments, 13 one-bedroom apartments, one efficiency apartment, and a community space for residents. Additionally, three new structures would be built, including two along the Stockyard Road side of the property containing eight two-bedroom apartments each and one building along Donnie Simmons Way containing 10 one-bedroom apartments.

That would be Phase 1 and could cost $9 million or $10 million from land acquisition to final buildout, said Bill Gross, whose W.H. Gross Construction Company, based at Kingsland, is a leading developer of tax credit-financed senior housing in southeastern Georgia. In some of his projects, he repurposes historic structures such as former schools, with one showcase example being the Romana Riley Lofts in Savannah. Spread-out, single-story former Julia P. Bryant Elementary is not as quaint as the three-story,circa-1909 Romana Riley School, but Gross still wants to recapture some old-school appeal.

Read the full story at: https://www.statesboroherald.com/local/bryant-landing-developer-plans-to-turn-old-jpb-campus-into-senior-community/

12 Dec

Perry Place groundbreaking sets the stage for construction

More than just a new affordable housing complex, the city, state, and federal officials consider Perry Place to be a victory of intergovernmental cooperation, public-private partnership, and the beginning of a true revival in the city of Brunswick.

The project represents a $12.9 million investment in Brunswick by the city, a federal disaster relief grant, state tax credits, and W.H. Gross Construction Co., developer of the complex. It’s one of several major investments in development in the city limits this year that add up to around $30 million, said Brunswick Economic and Community Development Director Travis Stegall.

When it’s finished, 57 families will be able to find affordable homes at 2435 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Read the full story at: https://thebrunswicknews.com/news/local_news/perry-place-groundbreaking-sets-stage-for-construction/article_af0f54b5-77ff-5beb-887d-a35c0c3562cc.html

07 Oct

Coronavirus could make rural living more attractive to virus-wary Georgians

ATLANTA — The coronavirus pandemic represents an economic development opportunity for rural Georgia, local business and government leaders said Wednesday during a conference sponsored by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.

The highly contagious invisible virus has made Americans wary of living in close proximity to each other in urban settings, Larry Hanson, executive director of the Georgia Municipal Association, told in-person and online audiences at the chamber’s fourth annual Rural Prosperity Summit in Tifton.

“Density is what the coronavirus loves,” Hanson said.

“People are wanting to leave metro areas,” added Bill Gross, owner, and president of W.H. Gross Construction Co. in Kingsland. “Rural Georgia is in a phenomenal spot right now.”

Read the full story here: https://www.augustachronicle.com/story/news/coronavirus/2020/10/07/coronavirus-could-make-rural-living-more-attractive-to-virus-wary-georgians/43055083/

11 Nov

Distinguished Service Award Given to Coastal Pines Technical College Partner

The Trustees of the Coastal Pines Technical College (CPTC) Foundation recognized William H. Gross as the recipient of the 2019 Distinguished Service Award at the recent Technical College Foundation Association of Georgia yearly Leadership meeting held recently in Savannah.

Mr. Gross has a passion for developing his community as seen evident by his very kind donation to Coastal Pines Technical College. For many years Mr. Gross has been an advocate for technical education. Realizing the need for a more educated workforce in Camden County, Mr. Gross was one of the first community leaders to promote a partnership between Coastal Pines Technical College and Camden County High School in an effort to build one of the largest dual enrollment programs in South Georgia. In 2017, the Gross family donated 20 acres off Exit #3 near Interstate I-95 for the construction of a Coastal Pines Technical College campus to enable dual enrollment students to continue their technical education after high school graduation.

Read the full story: http://www.coastalpines.edu/distinguished-service-award-given-to-coastal-pines-technical-college-partner/

31 Jan

Construction to begin on Kingsland sports complex

KINGSLAND — The groundbreaking on the first phase of a sports complex will be held in coming weeks in Kingsland that developer Bill Gross says could draw as many as 3 million visitors a year.

Epic Adventures, a 480-acre sports entertainment complex, will feature 10 fields where baseball, lacrosse, and soccer can be played, a handicap-access stadium, water park, RV park, mini-golf, restaurants, a market featuring Georgia produce, and many other features.

“The state wants this to be as much about Georgia as possible,” he said.

Construction of the first phase, a 219-space RV park, will begin soon, with the entire complex expected to be completed within five years, Gross said.

“We think this is a great nucleus to get this going,” he said.

The complex, which will create an estimated 1,180 full-time jobs and more than 400 part-time positions, was originally planned as an amusement park but the developers backed out when the economy tanked a decade ago.

“I didn’t dream this up. It was an evolution of events,” Gross said. “This is not an amusement park.”

Gross said he believes the complex will be a success because of the location off Interstate 95 at Exit 3. An estimated one of every seven of the 58,000 vehicles traveling through Camden County on the interstate each day get off at Exit 3.

Read the full story here: https://thebrunswicknews.com/sports/local_sports/construction-to-begin-on-kingsland-sports-complex/article_b3e980d4-841e-5493-8cbb-f162a297f549.html

14 Nov

W.H. “Bill” Gross Recognized for His Community Service and Commitment to Building a Better Georgia

W.H. “Bill” Gross of Kingsland, Ga., was presented the Frederick B. Kerr Service Award on Friday, Nov. 4, at Leadership Georgia’s annual gala and awards ceremony held at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. He is congratulated on behalf of Southeast Georgia Health System by Michael D. Scherneck, President & CEO, and Rose Andrews, board secretary, Southeast Georgia Health System, Inc., and a member of the Camden Advisory Committee.

The award is given to a member who has demonstrated enthusiastic and active support of Leadership Georgia, a non-partisan organization affiliated with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. The owner of W.H. Gross Construction and a graduate of the Leadership Georgia class of 2009, Gross currently serves on the board of directors of Southeast Georgia Health System Foundation and Cooperative Healthcare Services, Inc. Previously, he was a long-standing member of the Health System’s Camden Advisory Committee and served as chair for 11 years.

Read the full story: https://www.sghs.org/News-Center/2016/November/W-H-Bill-Gross-Recognized-for-His-Community-Serv.aspx

16 Jan

The 82-year-old hotel gets new life in Waycross

WAYCROSS – Bill Gross is fascinated by history.

So as a general contractor working on the renovation of the Ware County Hotel, Gross views his latest project as a labor of love.

“I look at this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Gross, whose Kingsland-based company, W.H. Gross Construction, is overseeing the reconstruction of the historic seven-story building in downtown Waycross. “I’m a history buff. That’s my passion. So to have the chance to uncover the intent of the original architect and to restore the architecture of that day is really exciting to me.”

The original hotel was finished in time for a gala opening in February 1929. It first served as a popular destination for locomotive engineers and travelers who spent the night in Waycross before boarding a train to their next destination when the railroad was a major form of transportation and the South Georgia city was settling into its role as a hub for train traffic.

Once the hotel is finished, it will include a display of the hotel’s history. Among the collection is a black and white photo of the Duke of Windsor and his wife, a commoner for whom he abdicated the British throne. They are shown in rocking chairs in front of the hotel during World War II.

Read the full story at: https://www.jacksonville.com/article/20110116/NEWS/801259071