The GEO group will be bringing their business to Milledgeville, and that means more jobs for Baldwin county residents.

Over 200 construction positions, as well as 300 permanent full time jobs will be created along with the Riverbend private correctional facility.

Monday’s ground braking means big things for Baldwin County as The GEO group begins it’s partnership with Middle Georgia. The privately financed facility won’t require any local taxes, and is expected to boost the economy significantly.

“As you can imagine, with over 2000 people out of work right now, there are a lot of people eager for this job. This is a community that has always embraced correctional jobs, so we are fully prepared and trained to take on this facility when they open.” –Angie Gheesling/Executive Director of Milledgeville/Baldwin County Development

Two years ago, Baldwin County was home to five prisons. Now it only has one, while the community is full of people who have all the knowledge necessary to run one. Governor Sonny Perdue says the eight million dollar investment couldn’t be placed in a better location.

“This part of the world in Georgia has done more than it's share in corrections and mental health and we'll continue to do that, but some of the facilities are outdated, and some of the facilities are unsafe, and we have to address that in a utilization of our personnel and this company's going to help us do that.”

The prison will be built over an eighteen month period, and house state prisoners per diem. After a drop in state jobs in Baldwin County, the prison will bring strong economic development to the region and significantly increase local expenditures. The GEO Group President Wayne Calabrese said picking the location was an easy decision to make.

“It was a great group of people that met us and told us about the community and the enthusiasm for the employee base here for the prison, the familiarity with prisons here in the community, and for so many reasons, it felt like a good fit.” –Wayne Calabrese/Vice Chairman and President of GEO group

Making a permanent local impact on Baldwin County, and keeping the region safe, in Milledgeville, I’m Kimberly Newman for News Central.