It is not robust or overflowing, but commercial development is taking place along some areas of Spout Springs Road in South Hall County.

Health-related business seems to be the trend, particularly in the Braselton side of Spout Springs, with the development of Spout Springs Professional Park and The Oaks at Braselton Senior Living.

But that's no surprise to some, as the Northeast Georgia Health System is moving toward planting a hospital off Thompson Mill Road, in the area of a planned, newly widened Ga. 347.

"I think that, even as the first real dig in the ground (takes place on the hospital), there'll be even more interest," said Kit Dunlap, Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce's president and CEO. "The word has spread."

Jennifer Dees, Braselton's town manager, said, "I think the closer we get (to the hospital opening), the more development we'll see in everything related to health care — drug stores, florists, gift shops, all those."

An orthodontic office closer to Flowery Branch also is in construction, as well as a single-story building at Williams Road leasing 1,250-12,500 square feet of space. In Braselton, a bank is being built near the new Publix-anchored shopping center off Friendship Road.

The Oaks Senior Living determined through a marketing analysis that Braselton was a good place to build its 86-unit center, which is just off Spout Springs and near the Duncan Corners intersection, said Linda Smith, vice president for sales and marketing.

Location was a key factor in the decision, as the development is close to interstates 85 and 985, shopping and health care.

"It's a great area," Smith said.

Dunlap said she believes that health care development should help spawn more retail growth.

"And, at some point in the future, more housing," she said.

The Spout Springs area, at one time, was a major residential area, with subdivisions lining much of the road, including the 1,000-acre Sterling on the Lake, which is experiencing some housing growth.

Flowery Branch and Braselton ends of the road then experienced a burst of commercial and retail growth, such as with Stonebridge Village near I-985.

That has slowed somewhat during the economic downturn, but new businesses continue to emerge.

Upcoming and future transportation projects focusing on the area also could keep it on developers' radar.

"Anytime you create a new transportation corridor, all the land along that corridor really does take on a whole new light for people looking to build," Dees said.

Hall County officials are pushing to widen Spout Springs from Hog Mountain Road in Flowery Branch to the Gwinnett County line.

They have contracted with STV/Ralph Whitehead Associates, which has offices nationwide, including Duluth, as the design consultant on the project. And a meeting was held last week to discuss the future of the project.

"It's an eight-year process ... on its current funding," Dees said.

The project is proposed to get funding under the state's 1 percent transportation tax, which goes to voters next year. If the referendum passes, "the time frame would speed up."

Also, the Georgia Department of Transportation could go out for bids in the spring on widening Ga. 347 between McEver Road and Ga. 211/Old Winder Highway, crossing Spout Springs Road.