THOMSON, Ga. (WJBF) – The only piece left of the White Columns Inn in Thomson is a platform where the statues were. But, new developments are on the way.

“This is a full drive-thru car wash. It’s called Tidal Wave, one of the biggest and newest, greatest things there is in car washes,” said Bobby Schoenfeld, the construction manager.

It’s being built on one of the three tracts of the roughly 7-acre lot.

The corner tract beside it has been sold and will be a retail business, and the real estate agent said the final tract has been purchased, but how the owner plans to use it hasn’t been released yet.

“It’s good for multiple reasons,” Schoenfeld said. “One, it’ll provide jobs for locals in this area. Two, it’s right off the interstate so there’s a lot of traffic that pull off here for food and whatnot in this area. So, anything else that gets built in here is just going to be more to help the people that are stopping through traveling, as well as people that live in the area.”

County leaders think it’s a good way to boost the local economy and workforce.

“Whether these jobs are for high school students, somebody looking for another step in their career for some other business, we’re thrilled to have that,” said Jason Smith, the Community Development Director for McDuffie County. “We have a vibrant workforce here, we work all the time to improve that workforce and try to meet the needs of businesses that are coming in. And that’s the kind of thing that communities thrive on, is growth.”

Smith hopes the businesses will enhance the growing area.

“We hope that their development of this is thoughtful, complementary to the community, and we’re looking forward to working with them as we all go forward,” he said.

The car wash is expected to be complete by mid-November. There isn’t a timeline set for the other properties.