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WHAT'S UP IN NEW DEVELOPMENT
I'd like to thank all of the 3,000 folks who have taken
the survey I helped create about downtown Athens. I'll be
the first to admit that that survey, developed with help from
Amy Johnson and Katie Goodrum, isn't a perfect one. It was
deployed online, which carries certain limitations, and the
audience it reached is a somewhat self-selecting group, as
are online commenters on daily paper websites, or forums, or
blogs. However, the intent of the survey wasn't to produce a
perfect set of statistics, but to start an informed conversa
tion about what Athens is and could be, and to give a voice
to the community that Selig—the Atlanta firm seeking to
anchor a mixed-use development on the Armstrong
& Dobbs property with a 100,000-square-foot
Walmart—has so intentionally and successfully
disenfranchised.
With those caveats out of the way, here's
some of what we learned. For one, the volume
of responses was impressive: again, some 3,000
in a week's time. Interestingly, 65 percent of
respondents were female. Eighty percent of those
surveyed said they visit downtown at least once a
week, and so are likely to have a fairly informed
take on downtown's strengths and weaknesses, the
opportunities and potential pitfalls.
Eighty percent, or approximately 2,400 of the
respondents, were Athens-Clarke County residents.
Attempts to downplay the People for a Better
Athens petition have focused on the fact th3t 40
percent of the signers are from out of town, sug
gesting that those folks, combined with a couple
of fake names, invalidate the signatures of 10,000
Athenians (about one in 10 local residents!).
Supporters of the project, whom I'll call People
for a Downtown Walmart, don't seem to have any
signatures collected, and haven't held any meet
ings open to the public, though project supporters
Mayor Nancy Denson and Chamber of Commerce
President Doc Eldridge, among others, did take an
illegal one that helped to facilitate the project.
Of course, the perspective of out-of-towners shouldn't be
counted out. Tourism is an important part of our local econ
omy, as evidenced by the substantial investment we re making
in the expansion of our Classic Center. If those out-of-town
folks are saying th;.t a Walmart will make them less likely to
visit, we ought to give that a closer look. Here's what they're
saying:
• "Athens is known as a distinctive town, but there still is
not as much tourism as there should be—as there is in other
Southern towns known to be distinctive. Putting a Walmart
jowntown could ruin any chance of us ever establishing a
tourism-drawing charm.”
• "Although I never lived in Athens, I have visited often
and enjoy the small-town atmosphere. I go to Athens to get
away from Corporate America—putting in a Walmart or other
big name big box store will simply detract from the charm and
grace that Athens exudes."
• "I have fallen in love with Athens and its vibrant down
town. I have now purchased a home in Athens and I hope to
retire here soon. If I'd heard about the sterile Walmart devel
opment, I'm not sure we'd have purchased this home!"
• "While I am not a current resident of Athens. I grew up
there, I own property there and I am a frequent visitor. The
charm of Athens has always been in its ability to produce
local talents whether in art, music or even football. We have
a Walmart in my town and we fought against it and lost. It
Is "quirky”
ing if local
giving way to “corporate" in downtown Athens 7 Will tourists and conventioneers
businesses give way to chains in the downtown?
agreed to a smaller square footage and 10 years later it is
now expanding to a supercenter. Local businesses have been
negatively impacted and the landscape has suffered. Walmart
is not a neighborhood store. It is a big box store. People shop
there and they do not go to other stores. [With] all the his
toric preservation that has occurred in Athens surrounding the
downtown area, it would be a shame to lose its center to big
box wholesalers."
When asked what they liked most about downtown
Athens residents and visitors were nearly unanimous:
• "Unique, small businesses!"
• The vibe and eclectic, unique group of shops, restaurants
and businesses."
• "The charming variety of independent small busi
nesses that makes Athens downtown very distinct and unlike
everywhere else, USA—Athens has a warm and inviting feel to
it and the downtown is the heart of it all."
• "The atmosphere. There are so many different person
alities, but it all blends together so well on those streets.
Strolling through the area, picking up a coffee, and browsing
all the unique, independent shops is so great on a weekend
afternoon."
• "The local flavor."
• "Local color, vibrant small town feel, safety, unique
shops."
• "The small town familiarity."
• "The local flavor. The historical appearance. The music,
food, and art."
• "The uniqueness of the town itself. There is no other
place in the South that has as much character and rich culture
as downtown Athens. This can only be attributed to the small
businesses and the customers that keep them going."
• "Its funky, local vibe."
Equally unequivocal were elements that were liked least:
• "The smells that emanate from the college
bars on Sunday morning."
• "The increasing number of chain restaurants
and businesses (Pita Pit, Starbucks, etc)."
• "Smell of bars being washed out. Amount of
panhandlers."
• "To be honest, the chain businesses. I grew
up in a bigger city with so many chain stores.
Having lived in Athens for five years now, the
privately owned businesses downtown are what
make Athens something special and original."
• "Traffic." "Parking." "Traffic and parking!"
• "The number of bars and the resulting
smells."
• "The filth and muck. Also—panhandlers
scare away potential paying customers."
• "Dirty sidewalks."
Other interesting results: When asked whether
they would "support a new county ordinance
that limits the square footage of retail stores
in the Downtown area to exclude 'big-box'-sized
stores," 88 percent of respondents said yes
keep com- and 7 percent said no. That backs up findings
from the ACC Planning Department in its recent
Oak-Oconee Corridor Study. Eighty-two percent
of respondents would prefer a grocery store smaller than the
current Alps Road Kroger for downtown. Perhaps commission
ers should listen to the people on that one.
Athens' favorite downtown building? The Georgia Theatre
was the most consistently chosen. It's an interesting com
parison, too, given that Selig is proposing the exact opposite
approach from the one taken by the Theatre's owner, Wilmot
Greene, after it burned. Rather than razing a building that
was in much worse shape than the National Register struc
tures on the Armstrong & Dobbs property, he chose to take
a risk and do something special. The result is broad com
munity support and national recognition If Selig followed
the Georgia Theatre's example, a renovated Dixie Canner or
Jittery Joe's Roaster could top the list for Favorite Building
in Athens in a couple of years.
Kevan Williams athensnsing@tlagpole com
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6 FLAGPOLE COM DECEMBER 14, 2011
