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, as well as the entire Greater Valley Area.

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 the Valley area look to stimulate continued economic growth, one of the more vexing questions that has faced the area for some time has centered on how best to draw traffic from I-85, a regional interstate moving from Montgomery through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and ending in Virginia, into the local communities. The area has sorely needed a motivating factor to help influence travelers to stop, which it 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 during the fall of 2019. Love’s will serve as a tremendous open door for busy interstate travelers to access the local area.

The Greater Valley Area is, to a large extent, waiting to be discovered by the outside world. With the help of a pristine, eye-catching roadside destination like Love’s coming to West Point, this could very well serve as the vehicle for that discovery to take place, which will help lead to more stimulated economic growth for the area as a whole.