Several major commercial developments are in the planningstages, but few are presently moving forward, said city and countyofficials.

Empire Trucks, a tractor truck sales and repair enterprise, willsoon begin construction on its sales center on Brookway Boulevardwest of Interstate 55, said Walter Temple, Brookhaven’s buildinginspector.

Owner Jerry Swanson obtained the building permit for the salescenter this week and a contractor has been hired, Temple said.However, he cautioned that obtaining the permit does notnecessarily mean construction will begin immediately.

“That doesn’t mean they’re going to start in the next week orso,” he said.

Progress also appears to be on horizon for a development ofrental housing units on Virginia Avenue. Although officialsestimate the project as 90 percent complete, the investor’sbankruptcy proceedings had delayed its completion.

Temple is optimistic, however, that it may see completionsoon.

“Somebody picked up the notes and is carrying on with that,” hesaid. “I don’t know who bought them.”

A private housing development on Brookwood Lane is still in theplanning stages, Temple said. Brookwood Place would offer 30 housesfor private ownership when completed.

Also still in the planning stages is a strip mall on BrookwayBoulevard. Land was cleared for Brookhaven Village months ago, butconstruction has been delayed while developers seek occupants forthe stores, he said.

“There’s been no movement on that,” Temple said.

In other projects, construction continues on a $12 millionKing’s Daughters Medical Center expansion while work on aseven-field baseball complex at the Lincoln County Multi-PurposeComplex has been placed on hold.

Construction on the hospital’s renovation and expansion projectbegan last month. It will create a new emergency department,intensive care unit, pharmacy and 10 new patient rooms. The projectalso adds a helipad and renovates existing patient rooms whileincreasing safety with expanded fire suppression systems.

Work to prepare land for the future construction of a baseballcomplex at the multi-purpose complex has stalled after BrookhavenYouth Sports officers learned that “in-kind” work done before agrant is approved cannot be applied to matching portion of a grant.In-kind work includes land preparation conducted by contractors orvolunteers and is often used to help offset local match moneyrequired by many state and federal grants.

Brookhaven Youth Sports and the county LCMPC committee areworking together on the project. Under a proposal presently beingfinalized, the sports group would lease property behind themulti-purpose complex, construct the fields and operate andmaintain the baseball complex.

Much of the funding for the project will be done through grants,placing added value on the “in-kind” work.