05.08.2005
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One of the first signs of development at Oakland Plantation will surface Thursday when Oakcrest Academy conducts its official groundbreaking.
Site preparation work is already underway at the southern tip of Oakland Plantation for the 14,000-square-foot child development center. The business, owned by Randi Burson, will be located in the same vicinity as the proposed new home for First Baptist Church.
Burson says the center will have about 25 staffers with the capacity to serve about 160 children. The center will accommodate infant through pre-K, after school through middle school and summer camp programs.
Burson previously served as a director in the Lee County Health Department and has experience in other child-parenting services. Burson says she has traveled throughout the South for the past two years researching products and programs for the academy.
Construction is expected to be complete in the fall, Burson said.
Meantime, other activity is expected to begin soon at Oakland Plantation, the 5,750-acre former hunting plantation, which was purchased by several local investors in 2003.
First Baptist Church in Albany has voted to move to the site. Also, the first phase of residential construction is expected to begin soon. Fifty of 52 lots have been sold to local contractors for housing from 2,400 square feet and larger.
When the plantation was purchased, developers said the property had the potential to accommodate up to 7,000 housing units over a 25-year period. Long-range plans also call for commercial development and the possibility of a public school in the neighborhood.
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