'Pink Motel' Saved

Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019

Tifton, Georgia

478-227-7126 ~ www.tiftongrapevine.com

DEVELOPERS WITHDRAW OFFER

TO BUY, RAZE MOTEL

'PINK MOTEL' TO LIVE ANOTHER DAY

BUT ITS FUTURE REMAINS UNCERTAIN

One week after the Tifton Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) voted 5-1 approving a controversial plan to raze the Town Terrace Motel (the "Pink Motel" ) to allow the construction of upscale townhomes , the developers have withdrawn their offer to buy the property .

John Bowen of 31 North Real Estate Investors of Tifton confirmed to the Tifton Grapevine that his group has abandoned its plans to purchase the "Pink Motel" and construct townhomes there.

Bowen did not elaborate about the reasons behind the decision, but a public outcry followed the HPC's vote to allow the demolition of the 1940's motel on 12th Street in the Historic District . Some citizens used social media to begin organizing an appeal to Tifton City Council .

Council had scheduled an information meeting about the motel issue for Tuesday night before the developers pulled out of the project. The meeting was still held , and several residents spoke about the importance of saving Tifton's history . The motel is one of the few left in the region that was a stopping point for tourists traveling to and from Florida before the interstate highway.

Ironically, one of the buildings at the motel caught on fire Sunday morning ; the fire was contained to one room . A Tifton Police officer happened to be driving down the street at 11 a.m. Sunday and spotted the fire , which was quickly contained. The blaze was referred to the State Fire Marshal's office for investigation , and preliminary results are said to point to nothing suspicious about the fire's origins.

The "Pink Motel" is currently one of the filming locations for a movie , "The Tiger Rising," starring Queen Latifah and Dennis Quaid . The Town Terrace is being rebranded as the "Kentucky Star Motel" for the movie .

After the filming is expected to end in December , the future of the motel is uncertain . It has fallen into disrepair during the years. However, there is at least one party interested in rehabilitating the motel, contingent upon a formal structural engineering review .

TIFTON VETERANS MUSEUM OPENS DOWNTOWN

The Tifton Veterans Museum formally opened Monday – Veterans Day – at the Atlantic Coast Line Station at Tifton Gardens in Downtown Tifton .

Chris Parrott , museum president and a former Tifton city councilman , said the museum is currently open Fridays and Saturdays with no admission fee . It houses memorabilia from several wars and recognizes veterans from Tifton and Tift County .

In the video below, Parrott talks about the museum , which was about a decade in the making.

TIFTON Grapevine ~ Veterans Museum Opens

NATIVE PLANTS CERTIFICATE PROGRAM OFFERED AGAIN

Native plant and conservation enthusiasts say the second year of the Certificate in Native Plants for the Coastal Plain of Georgia will begin in January .

The program is a conservation outreach of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia and the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance .

The Certificate in Native Plants offers a series of short courses in identification, cultivation, propagation, ecology and conservation of native Georgia plants . The classes emphasize native plants and plant communities typical of the Coastal Plain, which includes areas of the state below the fall line (below a line from Columbus to Macon to Augusta ).

The program benefits from area educational resources, including UGA’s Tifton Campus, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Valdosta State University, South Georgia State College, the Jones Center , and Gaskins Forest Education Center.

Classes begin Jan. 11 with an elective, ethnobotany . The first core class, botany , is offered Feb. 1 . For information, visit the State Botanical Garden of Georgia’s website at www.botgarden.uga.edu or contact Sean Cameron at 706-542-6156 or cscamero@uga.edu

THE EAGLE

HAS LANDED

Dr. Larry Branch , a Tifton veterinarian , holds a special patient on Friday – a bald eagle that was found in Lake Park and brought to Quailwood Animal Hospital in Tifton .

A wildlife rescue organization picked up the bird, which may have been injured by a vehicle .

HONORING THOSE WHO SERVE: Annie Belle Clark Elementary 's fourth-grade program will honor military veterans and first responders at 9 a.m. this Friday, Nov. 15. ... GET OUT YER DANCIN' SHOES: Seniors Enjoying Life Forever , or "SELF," will recognize veterans at the group's monthly dance this Friday, Nov. 15 , at the Leroy Rogers Senior Center in Tifton. Bring a pot-luck dish. Doors open at 6 p.m. with the Fred Hand Band . ... LIGHT UP THE NIGHT: The Tifton Junior Woman's Club holds its annual "Glow Run" 5K and 1-mile fun run beginning at 6 p.m., Friday, Nov. 22, at Northside Baptist Church . The event benefits the club's scholarship fund and community service work. For information, email jessiebrooks17@gmail.com