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September 16, 2007
from l-5pm
at The Classic Center
Athens, Georgia
Tickets: 706.357.4444
$8 in advance
$10 day of show
presented by:
more info: www.athensweddingprofessionals.com
and magical
dding giveaways!
The University of Georgia
is interested in finding the best ways for couples to keep
their relationships strong and is recruiting couples to
participate in two research programs.
Program for Strong for African American Marriages (ProSAAM)
and Promoting Strong Families (ProSAAF) is looking for
African American adults at least 21 years of age who:
• Have a mate (of any or race) who is also willing to participate
• Are legally married and living with the mate or
planning to marry within the next 12 months
• Are willing to participate in an educational program.
All interviews
are completely
confidential.
Couples are
paia of least
$300 for their
participation.
For more information:
Call LaTrena Stokes at (706) 542-2204 or 1-866-910-0359
Email: prosaam@uga.edu
WHAT'S UP IN NEW DEVELOPMENT
This column's last installment looked at what
has occurred in-town in Athens since the last up
date of the Comprehensive Plan. This week, we'll
look a bit further out, where the seeds of new
"Main Streets" are growing in different neigh
borhoods around Athens. Normaltown and Five
Points are the two older traditional neighbor
hoods which these newbies aspire to emulate.
> Changing Corridors: Baxter Street and Gaines
School Road are the two corridors that really
stand out as candidates to become as great as
Five Points. Both of these areas are experienc
ing growth of a more urban form which in a few
years could create a walkable shopping and living
experience. Unfortunately, presented with the
opportunity to rebuild schools (Alps and Gaines
School) in these two blossoming areas, the
Clarke County School District really dropped the
ball and produced two bland suburban schools
with parking lots out front. It was a golden op
portunity, and in the future, I hope the school
district does a better job when they build new
schools. Something
more like Chase Street
Elementary or the lost
College Avenue building
would have been more
appropriate. Still, public
investment really paid
off for Baxter Street;
streetscape work and
a police station have
helped draw new invest
ment to the area. The
new Baxter Street Lofts
are under construction,
joining several smaller
stores along Baxter's
western end.
On the Gaines School
Road corridor (from
Lexington Highway down
almost to Whitehall
Road), there are several
projects creating a new main-street feel, includ
ing Ansonborough, Tower Place, Cedar Pointe,
and the under-construction commercial struc
tures at Pinecrest. Not far from that corridor is
the Lakewood development that's been started
off Barnett Shoals Road. The rebuilding of the
Georgetown Shopping Center presented an op
portunity for something exciting, but we'll have
to wait another 20 years before they tear it down
again to ask for a more creative and pedestrian-
oriented shopping center there. (As for that
shopping-oriented stretch of Barnett Shoals be
tween Gaines School and College Station roads,
there was widespread disappointment when the
city reworked it several years ago, leaving it
very pedestrian-unfriendly.) In the meantime,
the former Winn Dixie site near Lexington Road
could make a great gateway to a walkable Gaines
School Corridor.
At the moment it might not look like much,
and it's easy to see projects as unsuccessful when
they stand alone or are the first in a changing
area (like the oft-cited Ansonborough). But
these pioneers will soon be joined by more. Not
overnight, but maybe in a decade or two, these
areas could be equally as cherished as Five Points
or Normaltown.
Elsewhere: One more interesting node of de
velopment is at Timothy Road and Epps Bridge
Parkway. The Village Park at Timothy is the
second mixed-use community there, joining the
Terraces. These include offices and residential
development. While the two examples above are
areas that are primarily commercial, Timothy is
a mainly residential area. Whether more projects
will follow and bring retail remains to be seen.
Keep it in Mind: Transferable Development
Rights are going to finally get on the table in
the near future, and these types of mixed-use
developments are the kind that might be brought,
to areas receiving density under such a program.
North Avenue and South Milledge Avenue are two
possible receiving zones, among many that have
been discussed. It's hard to say what will hap
pen with a TDRs program, but more than likely
it would accelerate the process of establishing a
mixed-use center by making it more profitable.
South Milledge recently got some new retail, and
infill housing is sprouting up along Davis Street.
What's the Plan?: The goals of the current
Comprehensive Plan emphasize denser mixed-
use development at in-town commercial cen
ters (and in conservation subdivisions) while
preserving a greenbelt and greenways, and
that's certainly what we're getting now. The
Comprehensive Plan is not light reading (400
pages!), but comparing what's happening now
with the maps in that document, it looks like the
plan works. I recommend reading the sections
related to the "Guiding Principles" and strate
gies for implementing them. Those have been
followea pretty well, and as we either reaffirm,
adjust or alter these principles, it's good to know
that they do have tangible effects, and we really
can shape the way Athens grows.
Upcoming: On the agenda for the Planning
Commission meeting on Thursday, Sept. 6 is
1360 Newton Bridge Rd., a 264-acre development
which would include 425 single-family homes
and approximately 51,000 square feet of com
mercial space. This project was already proposed
once, back in July, but was pulled before the
Planning Commission meeting at that time. (The
plans have been resubmitted unchanged.) The
site is currently zoned AR, and the developer
has requested it be rezoned to CN (PD) and RS-8
(PD), with 144 acres left as open space. Utility
easements and stream buffers constitute much
of the land set aside, but it does seem as though
effort has been made to thoughtfully preserve
the land, rather than simply meeting the legal
requirements. This area is currently designated in
the Comprehensive Plan as part of the greenbelt.
Also on the agenda that night is North Creek
Village (655 Freeman Dr.). The proposal there
includes a 20-bed assisted living facility as well
as 20 attached and detached units. Interestingly,
this project includes a small mixed-use element
and room for classrooms. With Athens ranked
< s a good place to retire by magazines like
Fortune and Money, we may see more projects of
this nature proposed in the future. In addition
to its New Urbanist design with a small main
street, the project (which abuts Cook's Trail) also
includes approximately five acres of open space
to be either donated to the county or contained
within a conservation easement.
Kevan Williams
Depending on your perspective. Baxter Street already is looking like a remade part ot town.
6 FLAGPOLE.COM-SEPTEMBER 5,2007
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KEVAN WILLIAMS