The DDA was formed on October 13, 1995 to facilitate the transfer of the old Fayette County jail property from the county to the DDA to Noble Enterprises to build a hotel. The Holiday Inn Express, owned by Noble Enterprises, is modeled after the historic 1890 Burks Hotel.

Fayetteville was named as the county seat in 1823 and the present-day courthouse in the town square was built in 1825. It remains the oldest courthouse in Georgia and is still in municipal use.