Newspaper Page Text
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| ~ Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation
presents
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A« Aaekorof Arc4»itcci«re in Atkcn*
SPRING HOME TOUR
SATURDAY,
MAY 3, 2008
10 a.m. - 4 p.m. .
Tour tickets: $15/$20
Patron's Party, Hardeman-Sams House, May
3, 6:30-9 p.m., Tickets S50
For more information or to order tickets
online, visit www.achfonline.org.
Questions? Call 706-353-1801 or e-mail
achftours@bellsouth.net.
In April, view the Fred J. Orr, Architect Exhibit
at Circle Gallery, Caldwell Hall, UGA. Call
706.542.8292 for hours.
v.
Corporate Sponsors:
• Athens Banner Herald
• Aurum Studios Ltd.
• Barber Creek Design
• Georgia Power
• R.E.M.
• Southern Broadcasting Companies
Event Sponsors:
• AT&T
• Edward Jones/Todd Emily
• Flagpole
• M Print Design Studio
• Suntrust
• Hardeman-Sams House
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May S’* Abbey Road LIVE! f Beatles Cover Bondi
May 19' The Last Walt2 Ensemble [ Music of Bob Dylan A The Band /
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June 2"* Packway Handle Band iBiuegrass]
June 16" Tribute to Billie Holiday / Leslie Hetpeit's jazz Vocals J
.
July 4 l " (Friday) Rack of spam { Rhythm & Blues l
July 21“ The Highballs / 70s A SOs Retro Pop J
August V Grogus / Latin jazz / Saha I
August 18 Delta Moon / Southern Roots A Blues J
September 1“ (Labor Day) Dirk Howell Band 160s-Style R&B/ Beach Music ]
September 15 Randall Bramblett Band I Southern Americana J
October 6' Modern Skirts / Harmony Driven Indie Pop ]
October 20 Soul Connection / Soul: Motown I
Gates open at 6pm; Concerts from 7-9pm
Adutts: il2 Children under 12; tS Children under 6: FREE
Athens Rrst
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Bring blankets, lawn chairs, picnics
and your favorite beyerages -
enjoy live music under the stars.
Preorder your picnic supper from
Oonderos- Kitchen: 706 399.T955
www.donderosidtchenLCom . , 4^
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Visit our website tor band bios, schedule
updates, and Inclement*! weather Info.
Concerts Hotline: 706.7693427
www.ambeclandbreafcfast.com .
ashfordmanortPcharter.net
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%
WHAT'S UP IN NEW DEVELOPMENT
Things have been relatively quiet on the devel
opment front lately, with only a few major
projects to share with you, although I've heard
that activity could heat up very soon with
summer approaching. A lot of the projects pro
posed in the last year seem to be dead in the
water. Some, however, are rolling along. On
Martin Luther King Drive, work at the former
Ultramod Compound site is going full steam
ahead, as are two developments in Five Points,
one at Woodrow Street and one at Pinecrest
Drive. Developers at the project known as
Clearwater Creek, on Barnett Shoals Road
near Research Drive, have put up one model
home and more than a few retaining walls.
On the Eastside: Speaking of Barnett Shoals
Road, a new sewer line project is in the
works, running from Shadybrook Drive off of
Lexington Road to the sewer treatment plant
on Bailey Street and the new proposed sec
tion of the greenway that will run near there.
This will pass right through the Lakewood
mixed-use development. There's been some
talk from the public about requesting a green
way to run along that easement, allowing for
a completely off-road bike connection across
the Eastside and into town. If another trail
connection was included north along Barnett
Shoals to the rail-trail,
it'd be a great loop trail, |
which is what the green
way lacks for recreation.
Filling In: Along the
future rail-trail. High
Point (at 357 Peter
Street) is a proposal
for 10 attached and
detached units on two
acres, immediately
adjacent to the CSX
rail right-of-way, which
is 100 feet wide. The
plans as submitted show
the houses as close
as setbacks will allow
to the right-of-way,
unfortunately with back
patios. What if these
houses were instead
oriented toward this
pedestrian amenity,
allowing people to walk
out their door and onto
the trail? This development would be a great
place to really take advantage of the rail-trail;
let's hope the view from the trail is of front
porches and not palisade privacy fences. Also
worth noting is the creek that runs through
the back of the site, and what looks like a
concrete detention pond planned adjacent to
the stream buffer.
Craftsmen Ahoy: At Ruth Street and Lake
Street, there's a new project proposed called
the Cottages at Hilltop. This is for 31 houses
on seven acres, although there seems to be
an acre or two of open space conserved at
the rear of the site. The proposal is just at
the preliminary plat stage, so we don't know
what the buildings will look like, but from the
name, it sounds like more "neo-craftsman"
cottages, similar to the Retreat nearby. Here's
to hoping for no more pastel houses, and
something a bit more interesting.
Still Evolving: I've looked before at 655
Freeman Drive, a proposal called North Creek
Village, and the plans have come back again
with some adjustments, although the general
spirit of having a few mixed-use buildings near
the entrance, with single-family lots beyond
in the interior of the site is still there. What's
worth noting is that this drawing hints at a
future phase. The phase currently proposed is
on 15.2 acres of a 35-acre piece of land, which
ultimately backs up to Cook's Trail. The current
phase includes a 24-bed assisted-living facil
ity, as well as 29 single-family units.
Uptown: The new Athens First Bank build
ing is getting its brick-and-tan pasted on,
joining every other new building downtown—
and most of UGA's new construction—in
that particular look. At this point, we in
the community need to think long and hard
about whether or not this brick look needs
to continue downtown. The building at 412
Thomas, yet to be constructed, is to be clad
in a similar style. As more of these brick high-
rises go in, which look way too much like UGA
buildings, the line between town and gown is
getting a little hard to see.
Current design standards for downtown
have certain rules about fenestration and hori
zontal and vertical elements, but would a glass
modernist highrise, or something postmodern
While new construction downtown goes whole hog for the brick-and-tan look
(example: the almost-complete Athens First Bank building on Hancock Avenue),
more and more new construction just outside downtown has a funkier look, like
the buildings going up at the site of the former Ultramod Compound, above
with some curves, be that bad for Athens? As
a matter of fact, the new construction at the
former Ultramod really is ultramod in appear
ance, and it's part of a trend of new mid-rise
buildings just outside downtown that have
varied modernist exteriors: the Urban Lofts
not far away, the new building at the bottom
of the hill on Baxter Street, and potentially
945 College, though it might have more of
a warehouse look. At any rate, simply at the
level of aesthetics, these buildings seem to
contribute more to a downtown aesthetic than
the latest things built downtown do.
Other questions raised at the Athens First
building are how that parking deck will play
out for street-level life, and what the future
of Dougherty Street is. More and more,
Dougherty seems like Athens' back alley,
even though it could be so much more, with
the Boulevard and Pulaski Heights neighbor
hoods meeting downtown so much closer to
Dougherty than to Broad Street.
Kevan Williams
NEWS & FEATURES 1 CALENDAR I MOVIES I A&E I MUSIC I COMICS & ADVICE I CLASSIFIEDS
8 FLAGPOLE.COM APRIL 30,2008
KtVAN WIlllAVS