After years of starts and stops, rumors and just wishful thinking, Publix, finally, is coming back to Statesboro.

About 20 years after Publix closed its Statesboro store in the strip mall now fronted by Wendy’s on Northside Drive, Darin Van Tassell announced Wednesday afternoon during the groundbreaking for the Tormenta soccer stadium that Publix will build a grocery store at the intersection of Veterans Memorial Parkway (the bypass) and Old Register Road. Van Tassell is the president and an owner of Tormenta.

The Statesboro store is projected to be slightly less than 52,000 square feet and includes three outparcels. The 12.20 acre development will be a key component of the larger 225-acre development surrounding Tormenta FC's soccer stadium and The Clubhouse.

Both projects fall inside the corridors of the Old Register Road Tax Allocation District, which was unanimously approved by the City of Statesboro, Bulloch County and the board of education in August 2018.

Infrastructure improvements to the area include the widening of Old Register Road, the construction of a new road connecting Old Register Road to the Akins Boulevard extension and the re-working of these interactions with new traffic signals.

The soccer stadium is anticipated to be ready for the 2020 USL League One season, which begins in March, and Publix looks forward to opening its door to Statesboro as soon as possible.

Come back to statesboroherald.com for more details as they become available and read Thursday’s Statesboro Herald for the complete story.