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WHAT'S UP IN NEW DEVELOPMENT
A Bad Economy and a New Trend: Judging
from the way things are going lately, it seems
as though the best way to hedge against
a bad housing market is to bet on elderly
people; they aren't getting any younger. A few
months ago, we saw a residential develop
ment called Twin Shoals come through with
a proposal to retool it with a nursing home,
and other units catering specifically to the
elderly. The proposed
North Creek Village
off Freeman Drive has
had a similar angle,
in at least a portion
of the project, since
its outset.
The next project
to ride this wave
is Summerville on
Jennings Mill Road,
originally a mixed-
use commercial and
residential develop
ment which has been
redesigned to include
a nursing home and
an assisted living
facility. Single-family
lots, townhomes and
mixed-use lofts are fewer in the new plans
there, with so-called "mansion flats" filling
some of that space. Mansion flats are typi
cally three-story structures with an elevator
and at least six apartments. They are designed
to look like one big house, though. These
units are typically marketed for people who
don't need much space or a yard to maintain,
and are thus popular with the older crowd.
Ansonborough on the Eastside has a pair of
these which sold out, while the townhomes
there aren't going as quickly. (Don't read that
as a critique of Ansonborough—I think it's a
great project). A final note on the Summerville
site plan is that a future extension of
Jennings Mill Parkway will bridge the bypass
and run through the development, with a right
turn onto another existing piece of the road.
How that issue will affect that corridor's abil
ity to relieve congestion on Atlanta Highway
is going to be interesting to watch.
Questions for the Future: The question that
this trend raises is how many elderly resi
dents Athens is going to be attracting; that's
certainly been mentioned as a strategy with
potential for future economic develop
ment. In thinking ahead, though, it's worth
remembering that some apartment com
plexes are now essentially student ghettos;
will entire areas of the city one day be filled
Drive and Ruth Drive are back again, after
those designs were tabled several times. This
go-round there's a plan that looks like it
might just get the job done; the structures
adequately address the street, with parking
hidden inside the block. Past iterations had
buildings which ignored the street, and had
parking visible from the approach on MLK. This
version's site plan also includes walks from the
street, so that Athens might get something
that functions like a proper rowhouse. This will
be a welcome change for the area, since so
many projects in that part of town have done
moratorium will last until Aug. 8, 2008 (unless
it is extended, like the one for Milledge
Avenue has been). A demolition moratorium
is a common practice when an area will soon
be locally designated as historic, but this
one might be seen to have particular impact
after Kappa Alpha fraternity's development
arm demolished two houses this spring which
would have been a part of the district.
In other news, there's still not much public
talk of any sort of district or guidelines for
Milledge Avenue, which is well into its six-
month moratorium extension.
Will the Urban Flats yet get it right when they join the building boom near Ruth St?
with retirees in a similar way? It's all hypothet
ical at this point, but there are a few things to
bear in mind when it comes to economics.
First off, elderly people pay property taxes
yet typically don't have any kids in the school
district, which might help things a good
bit in that department. Secondly, Athens is
improving its status as a regional healthcare
center. Having a large population of people
needing medical services might help to draw
further healthcare jobs to the area. Although
nursing home residents won't necessarily be
contributing heavily to retail sales, an influx
of more able-bodied retirees might contribute
an amount of disposable income comparable
to students', if not greater. It's worth con
sidering, though, how land-use planning and
development will be affected by a real demo
graphic change along these lines.
Elsewhere in Town: Another note right now is
that the Urban Flats at Martin Luther King
Lot of lots for sale—and a plan on the table to shift gears and cater to retirees
—at Summerville on the west side.
a terrible job. As always, we'll have to wait
and see what the end product looks like before
deciding if it's truly a good project.
Church News: One more note is that St.
Joseph's Catholic Church has revised plans
for its new home on Epps Bridge Parkway
again, this time pushing the buildings around
a bit, but without any drastic changes. The
plans leave a good buffer along McNutt's
Creek, as well as between the new structures
and the adjacent neighborhood. The new
Mission Revival sanctuary sitting on the hill
over Epps Bridge Parkway will certainly make
for an interesting gateway into Athens. While
on the topic of churches, it is worth noting
that two much smaller churches have submit
ted plans, one on Oglethorpe Avenue and one
on Townon Drive.
No Demo: Athens-Clarke has now put in place
a demolition moratorium for the proposed
Reese Street Historic District, which totals
about four blocks in area and is roughly
centered on Reese and Pope streets. The
Conflict of Interests:
Out at Athens-Clarke
County's Holland Youth
Sports Complex on
Newton Bridge Road,
there are plans for
a new baseball field
to be donated to the
park; the only catch
is that if it is built,
it will require more
trees to be planted in
the park. The question
isn't whether or not
to build the field, but
how to work with the
local tree ordinance to
allow this particular
plan to work. There
are a few options, the
first being for the city to simply grant itself
a variance. Variances are given when there
are extenuating circumstances and if there
is a public benefit; a donated new field for
kids sounds like a great reason for a variance.
Other possibilities include a deal wherein the
necessary trees are planted offsite, perhaps
as street trees in a neighborhood, on a major
thoroughfare, or in the playground of a local
elementary school.
One Last Note: The rumor around town—as yet
unconfirmed by Flagpole despite several unre
turned phone calls—is that the management of
the Georgia Traditions highrise on East Broad
Street is considering turning a couple of floors
of that building into hotel space, rather than
selling those units as condominiums as origi
nally planned. Unfortunately, further details on
that project so far are hard to come by.
Kevan Williams
Contact Kevan Williams at athensrising@
flagpole.com.
Republic
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