In September of 2017, Love’s Travel Stops entered into a contract with a local West Point family to purchase 20 acres of prime real estate, located adjacent to Exit 2 of I-85, with plans to build a new location on the site. The contract was contingent on Love’s meeting and passing all necessary city and Department of Transportation inspections, which took approximately one year to complete.

Now that Love’s has met the necessary obligations to build its new facility, the deal has been finalized and the multi-faceted truck stop giant will break ground in West Point in the spring of 2019.

Love’s arrival in West Point has now been expected for more than one year and the community has been waiting for the final conclusion of this agreement for some time.

That final conclusion has now arrived, as the land to build the new site has officially been purchased and all the necessary city and state hurdles have been cleared. This is an exciting step for West Point, and on a larger scale for all of Troup County.

Love’s brands itself as more than simply a pit-stop location on a road trip. The West Point location is expected to include a truck stop, restaurant, a Speedco and offer gourmet coffee in addition to other amenities. Love’s is expected to invest $20 million into building the new location, which will occupy approximately 12,000 square feet of space once completed. The locations are created with the intent to draw passersby in to stop, shop and relax.

As West Point and Troup County look to stimulate continued economic growth, one question facing the community, along with all communities that have access to a major thoroughfare, centers on how best to draw traffic from that major thoroughfare, in this case I-85, into the local communities. All areas with interstate access are consistently searching for motivating factors to help influence travelers to stop and spend money, which West Point and Troup County will now have.

Setting aside the tax revenue that will positively impact West Point, local business owners should expect an uptick in business once the site is completed in the fall of 2019. Love’s will serve as a tremendous open door for busy interstate travelers to access the local area.

With the help of a pristine, eye-catching roadside destination like Love’s coming to West Point, this could very well serve as an additional vehicle for continued economic growth for the entire area.