Killian partners in $200M Blue Collar project

Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, Larry the Cable Guy, Tony Orlando – and Bill Killian?

That’s right, the CEO of Springfield’s largest locally based general contracting firm has teamed with some entertainment heavyweights to develop plans for a $200 million retail and entertainment district in Foley, Ala.

The 500-acre district, dubbed Blue Collar Country, is supported by an estimated $70 million in public funds, according to Killian, whose Killian Construction Co. will serve as project general contractor.

Killian said plans have been in the works for about four years since he met with former client and longtime Branson entertainer Orlando to discuss the venture that draws on Killian’s development experience at Branson Landing. Killian, who spoke exclusively with Springfield Business Journal weeks ahead of the formal development announcement in Alabama, which is expected by September, described Blue Collar Country as a celebration of Americana that looks to capitalize on a relatively undeveloped Southern tourist destination in a city of 15,000.

“I knew Tony from building his theater for him in Branson back in the 1990s, and we had always stayed friends. I ran into him and we got reacquainted,” Killian said, adding Orlando told him right away about the Blue Collar Country concept. “I took it from there, and it has sprouted legs, I guess.”

Roughly 10 miles north of the Gulf Coast, Blue Collar Country is designed with five themed areas, three restaurants each fronted by the Blue Collar entertainers and two hotels totaling 300 rooms. Centered around a man-made lake, plans also call for a 100,000-square-foot sports and events center, a NASCAR-themed attraction, a 170-space RV park for campers, a dozen youth sports fields, 15 carnival-style rides and retail space, 45 percent of which is preleased. Killian declined to disclose the companies that have signed letters of intent, but said two hotels have committed.

Killian said Orlando is friends with Dan Whitney, aka Larry the Cable Guy, and knew or had worked with the other Blue Collar Comedy Tour entertainers. Orlando, a singer known for his tributes to veterans, thought the popular comedians would provide the right branding for a patriotic entertainment venue, Killian said.

The comedians are not partners in the project but have sold naming rights for an undisclosed amount to developers Killian, Orlando and Glen Bilbo, president of Tennessee-based Southern Venue Development, and the trio formally organized as Blue Collar Destinations. Killian and Bilbo worked together in 2007, when Killian Construction was lead contractor for Southern Venue’s $114 million Belle Island Village development in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

Killian said the Blue Collar crew is retaining some creative control; the restaurants are dubbed Worthy as a Fox steakhouse, Git-R-Done Ribs and Engvall’s Boathouse, which features seafood.

Orlando was not available for an interview by deadline, and SBJ’s calls and emails to representatives of the comedians were not returned.

Killian, whose company was one of two principal contractors on the $420 million Branson Landing outdoor retail center that opened in 2006 along Lake Taneycomo, said there are parallels between the Foley and Branson projects. In fact, one of the themed areas is named The Landing, and it comprises 263,000 square feet of attraction, retail and restaurant space. The 500-acre site – of which 240 acres is set aside for development – is also a short drive away from a 600,000-square-foot Tanger Outlet Mall that attracts 6 million visitors a year. Another Ozarks connection in Foley is Lambert’s Cafe, the only location outside of Missouri.

“I say it is like Branson Landing,” Killian said, noting Blue Collar Country also is a public-private venture. “It is going to have all of your typical government-financing strategies to help out.”

Foley Economic Development Director Jeff Rouzie said he’s been working with Killian, Orlando and Bilbo since early 2012. After becoming aware of the developers’ interest in land where the city planned an $8 million detention basin, he reached out to the group.

Though the developers were hesitant to meet, Rouzie said it soon became clear that Blue Collar Country could fill several local needs. Plans for the basin have morphed into Blue Collar’s 21-acre centerpiece lake.

“The city of Foley is very conservative. We wanted to make sure taxpayers were getting the most bang for their buck,” Rouzie said.

After the BP oil spill in 2010, Rouzie said the city determined a sports entertainment venue would help generate tourism.

“To make the numbers work, we needed more hotel rooms. Anyway, we got wind of the Blue Collar folks and thought that was a good match,” he said.

City officials and the developers commissioned a feasibility study that projected the entertainment destination would generate $120 million in annual sales, representing nearly $5 million in annual city tax revenue, Rouzie said.

He said the city of Foley is planning to invest $25 million on the entertainment complex and youth ball fields once 250 to 300 hotel rooms are committed to the project. In addition, he said a $12 million federal grant would fund infrastructure improvements and expand the highway that borders the property leading to the Gulf Coast. He said support from the state of Alabama also was available.

“We went to the state in the spring and actually got a bill passed that allowed large, destination entertainment centers to qualify for the same state incentives as a manufacturing plant coming into the state,” Rouzie said.

Besides the need for more sports tourism, Rouzie said the area has long had a void for entertainment destinations.

“That’s one of the things we really lack in our area. We have got beautiful beaches. We have a great climate, but we really just do not have any type of entertainment like Branson or Myrtle Beach or Panama City or Destin,” Rouzie said.

Killian Construction Marketing and Business Development Director Ken Coleman said Bilbo is serving as the leasing agent for the complex where construction is expected to begin by September and completed in two years. Killian said Blue Collar Destinations has an interest in building up to six similar developments across the country.

“We’ve had people already start to inquire, but Foley for us is what we call the mothership. It is the one we are concentrating on right now,” Killian said.[[In-content Ad]]