'Family fun' bowling complex coming to Bluffton (Update: Open)

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Update January 7: The Station 300 bowling center, restaurant, arcade is now open.

WTOC 11 has a short video showing the new spot (see it here) or learn more about the center on their website.

Update November 23: Well, many months on the "family entertainment center" is getting closer to reality — and they're hiring.

Specifically, they're looking to "fill 40 to 50 part-time positions prior to an early January opening" along with a few full-time gigs.

Here's more details from a release:

Station 300 will be hosting a Recruitment Day on Tuesday, Nov 29 from 10am-4pm at the Lord of Life Lutheran Church at 351 Buckwalter Parkway in Bluffton. Members of the public are asked to download the job application from Station300Bluffton.com and bring the completed application with them.

Job openings include Customer Service/Control Counter, Birthday Party Hosts/Hostesses, Lane Attendants/Porter/Arcade, Bowling Mechanics, Arcade Machine Technicians, Bartenders, Wait Staff, Line Cooks, Prep Cooks, Dishwashers and Janitorial.

Station 300 will be a complete family entertainment facility that will include: 24 lanes of bowling, a VIP area, an arcade with the most popular games, a full service restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating, a bar with live entertainment throughout the week and 2 party rooms. The facility is scheduled to open in January of 2012.

Station 300, located in Buckwalter Place, will be 33,000 square feet on a site that will cover 4.26 acres, has 150 parking spaces, and can accommodate up to several hundred guests at a time. 

First reporting: If you're itching to diversify your bowling options, you may have a new option even if it will mean a 38-minute drive down to Bluffton.

A $7 million "family entertainment complex" with 24-lanes of bowling is coming to the Buckwalter Place development and its aimed at being a keystone for a "Family Entertainment Center."

The bowling center will feature "the latest in electronic scoring, online lane reservations, and dynamic video and lighting effects. A number of the lanes can be made private for group and party functions." The Center also will include a restaurant, sports lounge, snack bar, several party/conference rooms and a courtyard with outdoor seating. There will be a large game arcade and other entertainment attractions as well, all open seven days a week.

The project will be located on Innovation Drive in the 94 acre Buckwalter Place development near the intersection of Buckwalter and Bluffton parkways. The Center will join Publix and six other retailers, the CareCoreNational office complex and the new Bluffton Law Enforcement Center that are already in Buckwalter Place.

More assorted details from a press release are below:

"We are very pleased and excited to bring this project to reality after almost five years of study and work to obtain the right partners, financing and location. We believe this will be not only a great facility for locals but also become a ’must-see’ destination for tourists,” said Gary Brust, COO and co-founder of 2G.

Carolina First a trade name of TD Bank, N.A., has committed to finance the transaction.
"The Center will use state-of-the-art digital technology in every area of the operation, including software developed by 2G to enable innovative marketing and operation of the entertainment venues in the facility. Our goal is to establish our corporate headquarters here, continue developing the software, and eventually take it to market" added Gary Trimm, CEO of 2G. In the future, the company intends to replicate the Family Entertainment Center (“FEC”) concept in other locations in the country.

Bluffton-based Fraser Construction will design/build the project in conjunction with FEC experts Scheirman andAssociates of Dallas and Bluffton-based Court Atkins, which has developed the initial plans. A development application has been filed with the Town of Bluffton and construction is expected to begin some time in spring 2011.

“We are excited that this team of experienced individuals and industry experts has selected Buckwalter Placeto be the home for their FEC Project,” said Tom Zinn of Buckwalter Place. Matt Green of Buckwalter Place added, “This first-class entertainment venue will greatly enhance our efforts for Buckwalter Place to help create an economically sustainable community for Bluffton and the region. The area will benefit substantially by having a state-of-the-art venuefor families to enjoy and will provide critical technology and software development activities to help diversify oureconomy and create much needed knowledge-based jobs. We also feel that Buckwalter Place is now even betterpositioned to capture other exciting opportunities that are expected to soon follow.”

To follow project progress please visit www.buckwalterplace.com/blog in addition to a project website that soonwill be launched and announced.