Sep. 22--Pete Liakakis conditioned himself over the years to avert his eyes as he drove past the 1,500-acre plot of land that is the Pooler megasite.

The Chatham County Commission chairman also serves as chair of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia's economic development and transportation committee. And the committee's meetings, held in Atlanta, have taken him past the vacant megasite property countless times in the seven years since it was cleared and prepped for development.

"Driving by on (Interstate) 16 and seeing this empty site through the trees was a real concern to me," Liakakis said. "Now everyone will see everything we did out here was worthwhile."

Many local public officials and businessmen shared Liakakis' "about time" attitude Monday following the announcement that Mitsubishi Power Systems will become the megasite's first tenant.

The site's development, originally done to accommodate a van assembly plant for DaimlerChrysler, contributed to tremendous growth in western Chatham County earlier this decade. And along with the port of Savannah's increased shipping traffic, added industry promised to take Savannah's economy beyond its tourism base.

But DaimlerChrysler backed out, several other potential tenants decided to build elsewhere, and then the recession hit. The megasite became a mega-reminder of what might have been.

Until Monday.

"It's been a long time, but it couldn't have come at a better time," said state Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, who was that city's mayor during the site's development for DaimlerChrsyler. "With one out of every 10 Georgians out of work, it couldn't come at a better time."

Timing seemed at the forefront of many minds at the announcement, made in a party tent in front of where Mitsubishi's plant will be constructed.

Among the factors mentioned following the ceremony:

-- The recession is easing, with economic analysts predicting its end in the coming months.

-- The port of Savannah is poised for exponential growth with the expansion of the Panama Canal and the proposed Savannah Harbor deepening.

-- The local housing market is hinting at a rebound, with plenty of inventory near the megasite in western Chatham as well as in Bryan and Effingham counties.

"Lots of little things can add up to big things," said Rick Winger, president of the Savannah Economic and Development Authority. "It's exciting to think about where we could go from here."

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