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The old Navy Supply Corps School will now be the national campus for training Old Navy store supply managers. Kudos to the Local Redevelopment Authority. But other commissioners weren’t ready to give up the vision of the neighborhood outlined in the county’s land-use plan: a walkable area where commercial uses are mixed with residential. borhood outlined in the county's land-use plan: a walkable area where commercial uses are mixed with residential. "We said that we are interested in mixed- design components in this community," Commissioner Kelly Girtz said, "design compo nents that encourage walking, that encourage a lifestyle in a neighborhood that didn't just involve sleeping somewhere and then leaving and going somewhere else for every other function in life." Nothing he's heard, Girtz said, has con vinced him that commercial uses can't succeed on Carr's Hill, as they have in other in-town resi dential areas, for example the Leathers Building or Big City Cafe. The area is close to downtown, and eventually the nearby greenway trail will continue southward along the river right beside the proposed development. (The county has already secured a 30-foot wide swath along the river, and Williams said he will give the county additional "multiple acres" if his development is approved.) Commissioners were sympathetic to the finan cial needs of the Boys & Girls Club, and of finan cially troubled ACTION (a nonprofit that adminis ters federal anti-poverty grants). Commissioners Kathy Hoard and Harry Sims said they have served on the boards of the respective organizations, and Maxwell said the children's club "is busting at the seams" and its planned Fourth Street facility will be closer to the children who need and use it. But county attorney Bill Berryman said com missioners aren't legally allowed to decide a zoning matter based on its financial benefits to those groups. The ACC Planning Commission has recommended denial of the Boys & Girls Ciub re quest (although no citizens spoke against it) and also denial of the ACTION request, which was op posed by local preservationists because it would necessitate tearing down the run-down but historic school building (most of the structure dates to the 1890s) on the site. The two zoning Adopt mo. .. ATHENS AREA HUMANE SOCIETY 399 Beaverdam Rd. • 706-353-2287 * athenshumanesociety.com He’s in the middle of an oh-so-good earscratching here. MacDonald is a big ’ol friendly kitten with endless reserves of love. Three amazingly mellow and sweet beauties below are each petite young girls looking for homes. Rainy Day is a silvery, gentle belle with eyes bright and golden. Fiona has prettify dark lined eyes (and lips) and loves attention. Gentle Fluffy has a luxurious coat, soft, cuddly nature, and is not averse to a diva lifestyle. 3* ATHENS AREA HUMANE SOCIETY 'STcta! Cars Reccved .8 Cats P'aced r 0 Aaoptab-e Cats Eutha- zed ACC ANIMAL CONTROL 24 Dogs Receded 24 Dogs Placed From March IS to March 21,2007 On Oconee Street Redevelopment in Limbo Although sympathetic to the financial needs of two local community organizations that want to sell their existing facilities on Oconee Street, Athens-Clarke County (ACC) Commissioners were divided last week on whether to allow zoning exemptions that would make their land worth more money. The two organizations—ACTION, Incorporated and the Boys & Girls Club of Athens—are located beside each other, and local developer Jon Williams is working with two sepa rate buyers who want to build 25 townhomes and 86 apartments on the 16 acres of the two sites. But while the land is zoned for commercial and "mixed use"—that is, residential mixed with retail stores or offices—Williams is more interested in building residential than commer cial spaces. "[Commercial] tenants just aren't going to rent in that location," Williams told Flagpole. Part of the land lies in the floodplain of the North Oconee River, so any office or retail spaces would have to face the portion of Oconee Street that runs up Carr's Hill and away from the main drag (which is technically Oak Street). That's not enough public exposure to attract commercial renters, Williams said. At their agenda-setting session on Mar. 22, some commissioners agreed. Even along the nearby commercial corridor, several businesses * have changed hands repeatedly. Commissioner George Maxwell said, like the former Wayne Edwards Pharmacy, and the restaurant that's now Mama's Boy. "These places would not be chang ing hands so much," he said, if the area were thriving commercially. "Instead of creating empty big-box [stores], we are creating empty little boxes," Maxwell said. But other commissioners weren't ready to give up the vision of the neigh- requests are on the agenda for the commission's voting meeting Tuesday, Apr. 3. John Huie jphuie@alhens.net Beer From Here Terrapin to Brew in Athens Athens' own Terrapin Beer Company an nounced last week that its beers will finally be brewed locally within the year. Terrapin, which introduced its Rye Pate Ale at Athens' Classic City Brew Fest in the spring of 2002, started small but quickly won national acclaim. Back then, found ers Brian "Spike" Buckowski and John Cochran had the hope and the intention, but not the money, to brew their beer locally. For the past five years, the company has operated as a con tract brewery, using other breweries' equipment in Atlanta and in Frederick, MD. (And for those who don't know, the name has nothing to do with Maryland or with the University of Maryland mas cot, the terrapin. The guys are from around here and the company's always been based in Athens; the name is a Grateful Dead reference.) But Terrapin reported with some excitement last week that the company has signed a lease on a 45,000 square-foot building at 255 Newton Bridge Rd. The building formerly provided both office and warehouse space to local non-profit Kelley Diversified, Inc., and before that served as a distribution point for a jeans maker. Its size will allow Terrapin's brewing operation to grow, and the company is excited that the building's layout will make it easy to hold tast ings and eventually host parties, concerts and other events. Terrapin Sales and Marketing Vice- President Dustin Watts tells Flagpole, "We're go ing to do a lot of stuff with the community that we haven't been able to do so far." When it moves in, hopefully this summer, Terrapin plans to be able to brew 20,000 barrels of beer per year at the new brewery. What's more, Watts says, Brewmaster Buckowski will likely be able to do create more styles than he's been able to so far, even to the point of brewing single UGA Professor Andy Herod won the Mar. 20 special election for the 8th District seat on the ACC Commission with 720 votes (61 percent) to opponent David Hamilton's 456 (39 percent). Voter turnout was at a lower than expected 20.5 percent batches for special events. "We can get more and more creative with beer," Watts says. "Let's make a neat beer for June. Why not?" Buckowski's first idea, which will celebrate the new brewery, will be an India Brown Ale combining the mellow, calm flavor of a brown ale with the strong, hoppy backing of an India Pale Ale and some of the vigor that Terrapin is known for. "The number of beers that we have ideas to do—the list is pretty long," Watts says. "It's exciting, you know?" The equity group that came together to fund the new brewery includes local real estate devel opers Wes Rogers and James Whitley of Landmark Properties, developer Russ Crump, and attorney Spence Johnson. Local investment advisor Derek Imes helped with the deal, too. The company currently has 10 employees and, according to cofounder John Cochran, might employ 20 or 30 within a few years as its brewing output grows to 40-50,000 barrels per year. The company's size—and its local origins—make it a perfect example of the kind of locally-grown economic development that has been emphasized more and more in recent civic discussions, from last year's election campaigns to the Partners for a Prosperous Athens initiative to a push that's cur rently in progress for Athens to earn the state's "entrepreneur-friendly" designation. "It's just good all the way around," .says Athens Economic Development Foundation President Drew Page. And for Terrapin, the step is a big one. Says Watts, "The game's about to start." Ben Emanuel ben@tlagpole.com Energy & Emissions Checking Up on UGA More stringent federal air pollution rules for industrial boilers are prompting UGA to install a "scrubber" to reduce acid gases released from its coal-fired boiler. UGA's physical plant uses four boilers—one coal and three natural gas—to produce steam that's piped to heat most campus buildings, for cooking at dining halls, and to produce hot water. That's more energy-efficient than having separate heating units in each building, UGA Associate Vice President Ralph Johnson said at a public hearing Mar. 20. The newer East Campus buildings do have separate heating units, UGA's Ken Crowe told Flagpole, but might eventually have steam piped to them, too. And being able to burn both coal and gas makes the system more reliable. For example, gas sup plies were lost after Hurricane Katrina, so only coal could be used. And while thermostat settings are now de termined by people in each building, "we are >• continued on next page IN THE 8th NEWS & FEATURES I ARTS & EVENTS I MOVIES I MUSIC I COMICS & ADVICE I CLASSIFIEDS MARCH 28, 2007 • FlAGP0LE.C0M 5 APRIL F001E