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Architect Hired for
Classic Center Project,
Rezoning Finalized
Supported by a large turnout of (mostly)
young professionals who work in downtown
hotels, bars, and the Classic Center, ACC com
missioners approved the selection of an archi
tect to design the Classic Center's expanded
exhibit hall at their Feb. 1 regular meeting.
They also funded a study for a proposed "river
district" expansion of downtown. Concerns
that the Classic Center expansion will require
closing Hancock Avenue were addressed by
requiring the architect—Smallwood, Reynolds,
Stewart, Stewart & Associates—to provide
a "conceptual plan" that doesn't close the
street, as well as one that cloes.
Many at last week's meeting made the" case
that downtown jobs depend on the Classic
Center. "We always know when conventions are
in town, because we get this burst of people
on a Tuesday," otherwise
a slow day for bars, said
Tray Alley, a former bar
worker now employed by
the Classic Center.
Others spoke of the
opportunities offered by
Athens' hospitality indus
try, including a Classic
Center "workforce development" program for
young people and adults who lack job skills.
"In the hospitality industry, you can start off
as a housekeeper and end up in management,"
said Angi Harben, the Classic Center's director
of marketing. Athens Area Hotel Association
President Mike Waldrip told commissioners
that "there are a lot of hotels in trouble" in
Athens (another speaker cited occupancy rates
oelow 50 percent). Classic Center Director Paul
Cramer had asked Waldrip to put the word out
to hospitality workers that "the commission
needs to hear from the hospitality commu
nity," Cramer told Flagpole.
A few speakers raised concerns about
the plan. "We've heard a lot from the Classic
Center. We have not heard from the citizens,"
warned Judy Johnston. "Lots of parking, lots
of blank walls" won't make the neighborhood
attractive to small businesses, said Emmanuel
Obie. Commissioner Ed Robinson criticized "a
rushed process" and voted against designating
the architect, but the other nine commission
ers supported a motion by Kelly Girtz that will
require the architects "to evaluate the visual
impact of the building mass from key points
of observation from the downtown area, and
the impact of the exterior design on the envi
ronment of the adjoining streets." Multiple
public-input meetings with citizens will also
be held.
Commissioner Harry Sims was dubious
about the idea of extending the downtown
street grid toward the river, noting that exist
ing apartments block an extension of Strong
or Hancock, and that crossing the CSX railroad
tracks could be difficult to negotiate. More
likely, he said, is a second, less-connected
grid on the other side of the tracks—and just
using a little imagina
tion could save jumping
through so many hoops,
he added.
Also approved: a
cancer-care center to be
built on Jefferson Road,
on a wooded site that
commissioners earlier
rejected for a supermarket. Many of the trees
presently along the back of the large lot will
be saved, to provide a buffer zone negotiated
by the developer with nearby homeowners,
county planner Gavin Hassemer told Flai le.
Bu f 'all those trees you see along Jefferson
Road probably will be gone," he said. Other
recent developments—the CVS Pharmacy on
Hawthorne and the Social Security office on
Prince—have also conspicuously removed
large trees along the street, despite ACC's
tree ordinance. Saving more large trees,
Hassemer said, would require "a change to
our ordinance and a change, I believe, to our
[comprehensive] plan"—which is based on
"New Urbanist" principles that include front
ing buildings close to the street to encourage
walkability. "The building's up front, or the
trees are up front. It's hard to do both," he
said.
A long-planned loop trail around Lake
Chapman at Sandy Creek park could be com
pleted within 18 months. Additional board
walks and a pedestrian bridge will connect the
two existing four-mile trails, closing the loop
across Sandy Creek and the adjacent wetlands
at the lake's inlet. The county will seek vol
unteers to help with trail improvements, but
the project will still cost $420,000 (including
$160,000 from an anonymous donor).
And while property owners affected by
the mass rezoning of more than 1,300 lots
lying between Commerce and DanielsviUe
roads—also approved by the commission at
last week's meeting—have been notified by
mail of the change, few have objected or
attended public meetings. The change was
made necessary by the commission's earlier
decision to ditch plans for sewer lines to serve
that area; in order to accommodate septic
tanks, lots must be larger than those served by
sewer pipes. Many of the rezoned lots already
have homes on them, making their rezoning
merely a technical matter; but other, unbuilt
lots were "upzoned" last week from duplex or
apartments to single-family. That could affect
the value of those lots. Commissioners Harry
Sims, George Maxwell and Doug Lowry opposed
the rezoning. "Once we vote on this, we'll
probably then have the outcry,." Sims said.
John Huie
“We always know when
conventions are in town,
because we get this burst
of people on a Tuesday.”
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