Jim Fowler Brings Wildlife
to Coastal Georgia

With negotiations completed, Jim Fowler’s Wildlife Resort for Animals and People is officially in process. Jim Fowler of Mutual of Omaha’s “Wild Kingdom” fame, along with his partnership, Parks and Wildlife Services (PAWS), chose Glynn County, Georgia as the site for his new 3,000-acre family entertainment park. At this wildlife park, however, the people will be in “cages,” while the animals roam free.

The animals brought to the park will not be taken from the wild, however. Instead they will be zoo orphans, those recovering from injuries, or animals “confiscated” by government agencies. The US Drug Enforcement Agency and the Internal Revenue Service, for example, sometimes seize rare animals during raids.

"Local, state and federal agencies formed a unique alliance with private-sector interests to realize a major economic development project with a capital investment of approximately $84 million — a project compatible with the environment. The end result will be an entity, which will eventually be one of the top five employers in Glynn County. It will recruit many people from surrounding counties and also generate substantial revenues for local businesses and governments," Vernon Martin, Executive Director of Coastal Georgia RDC

The park will be divided into three sections: an aquarium; a 700-acre segment devoted to animals indigenous to the area; and 2,000 acres that will be home to large, exotic animals like tigers and lions, elephants and giraffes. This $16 million animal park will be a piece of a larger 7,800-acre tract of land slated to become Gateway Center, a multi-use development, which will feature retail stores, health care facilities, residential housing, office complexes, apartments, schools, churches, public buildings and a golf course.

The Coastal Georgia Regional Development Center, an Economic Development Administration (EDA) funded district in Brunswick, was instrumental in helping Glynn County obtain a $1.5 million infrastructure grant from EDA for extension of water and sewer service to accommodate the wildlife park.

Executive Director Vernon Martin explained, "Local, state and federal agencies formed a unique alliance with private-sector interests to realize a major economic development project with a capital investment of approximately $84 million — a project compatible with the environment. The end result will be an entity, which will eventually be one of the top five employers in Glynn County. It will recruit many people from surrounding counties and also generate substantial revenues for local businesses and governments."

The economic impacts of this park, to be opened in May 2001, will be felt far and wide. Beginning with construction activities, the new park will generate considerable economic impact in the region. With a capital investment of $84 million inside the park, PAWS will create 1,077 construction jobs over a seven-year period. In addition, investments in facilities directly related to the park on land adjacent to the park will total an estimated $50 million and generate an additional 650 construction jobs over seven years.

Once built, permanent employment is projected to be 1,087 jobs. Outside the wildlife park in facilities built as a direct result of the park, an additional 650 permanent jobs will be created, with the total annual income impact projected to be $42.5 million.

Visitors to the park will generate hotel demand, approximately one-third of which will be satisfied at hotel facilities elsewhere on the Brunswick mainland or on surrounding islands. Additional hotel construction demand is estimated at $8 million, to occur over a ten-year period. Related development in the form of services and retailing is anticipated. Property taxes of $759,000 annually after the first phase of the development and $1,463,000 annually by project completion will be generated to the local taxing authority.

When asked why he chose Glynn County for his park, Jim Fowler explains that it was because of the availability of a large tract of land near an interstate, plus the region’s reputation as a tourist destination.

For more information, contact Vernon Martin of Coastal Georgia RDC at (912) 264-7363 or by email at vmartin@gwins.campuscwix.net.

By Melissa Levy, NADO Digest Managing Editor

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