By Thomas Sellers Jr.
The leadership at Astoria Development want the current and future residents of Millington to know Flag City is not just undergoing a housing boom.
At the returning Millington Area Chamber of Commerce Luncheon March 23 in the Hampton Inns and Suites, the team at Astoria made it clear Flag City is under a residential boom. Since the construction of Beckham Place off Wilkinsville Road in 2019-20, eyes have been on Millington’s residential development scene.
At the Chamber Luncheon Paul Frazier, Michaelle Terhune, Jeff King and Roxanne King were on hand to give an update on future homes coming to Flag City like Centennial Park (across from the Millington YMCA on Navy Road), Windstone Subdivision (near the Hampton Inns and Suite) and Huntington Estates.
“The relationship with Millington had been absolutely great. Mr. (Ed) Haley has been hands down fantastic to work with in bringing Millington new development. That (Beckham Place) was 50 lots that the development has been built and houses have been built in a two-year time frame.”
Astoria Development is the combination of Pro Site Construction and Meridian Premiere Homes after a 10 year partnership. Both companies have been able to take a raw piece of land and build it from the ground to the roof top with infrastructure.
Starting with Beckham Place, Astoria is preparing for the 500-unit Centennial Park project. But first it’s off to Shelby Road and Quito for Huntington Estates. Then down the line will be Windstone off Shipp Road with 40 lots. The groundbreaking is expected in early or mid April.
“The town has been very welcoming to us,” Terhune noted. “The Chamber of Commerce, City of Millington, Industrial Development Board, everybody has been real welcoming to us. We get this feeling they want us here and that’s a wonderful feeling.”
Jeff King said the encouragement from city leaders and those involved with laying the foundation for development has been inspiring. He said investing in Millington’s residential boom will benefit industry, commerce, government, athletics and most importantly education.
“We want to see Millington thriving and desirable place to live with all kinds of commercial and residential growth,” he concluded. “I want it to bring the tax base to better the schools and way of life.” Longtime Millington business owners Victor and Crystal Alston have finally united as entreupureurs.
On Feb. 25, the married couple launched Dis&Dat Unique Designs, a gift shop located at 5104 Easley Street. For 30 years Crystal has operated right next door to her new business venture with Crystal’s Hair Salon located at 7941 Leroy Boatwright Street.
Right down the road, Victor has been the owner of Inside Out located at 5427 Navy Road for nearly 30 years. The past 30 days the Alston’s have been running their third business Dis&Dat.
“We wanted to open something that wasn’t already in Millington,” Crystal said. “We wanted something like a gift shop with everything, a big genre, big variety for men, women and children. Our main goal is a big variety.”
Ran by manager Tiffany Carter, Dis&Dat offers a wide range of items like games, clothes, candles, shampoo, gadgets, blutooth, jewelry and more.
“The people of Millington want something different,” Crystal said, “something with more variety. You can come in this store and find just about anything you want.
A quick glance of the store certain items will jump out like backwards clock, oversized 4-in-row game, cornhole set and designer jewelry.
“It’s a little bit of this and a little bit of that,” Crystal said. “Victor and I wanted to come in together doing something that represents a little bit of him and a little bit of me. It’s what he likes and what I like. We want to cover from top to bottom from babies to veterans.”
Crystal and Victor are veterans at running a business. She noted a key to success is listening to the consumer.
“What do we want this to become,” she asked rehtorically. “It has room for growth and we’re listening to our customers about what they want. We want diveristy. We want all people to come in and get ‘dis and dat.’”
Dis&Dat is located at 5104 Easley Street and is opened Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. To 6 p.m. For more information, call 872-2895.
