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A preliminary design sketch for the redevelopment of the Jack R. Wells property, which features a large, flat
public square, appears to fail to account.for the site's actual topography. Should the project’s plans be vetted
more carefully before the county commits to an infrastructure investment?
If the AHA is passing the hat, looking for
a million and a half dollars, perhaps a less
garish design would be appropriate: one, for
instance, that doesn't attempt to put apart
ments in a very expensive bridge over the
entry drive or a flat Savannah-style town
square on a steep hillside As yet, the draw
ings seem untested by tne realities of budget
or site. If these are indeed as preliminary
as they feel, then a public meeting with the
Mayor and Commission seems a strange place
to show them off.
I do appreciate the Housing Authority's
ambition in transforming this "project" into a
real community, but the design solutions pro
posed thus far need a great deal more inves
tigation, especially if the count/s taxpayers
are going to be on the hook for it A grand
gateway does not a neighborhood make. It's
even stranger given that these sorts of "gate
way" moments in urban design are more often
touted in single-entry, auto-oriented subdivi
sions than real neighborhoods where folks are
walking, biking and busing in many different
directions. A real community is a combination
of many more nuanced factors than a couple
of off-the-shelf New Urbanism-lite design fea
tures. The goals of this project are good, and
AHA's headed in the right direction, but their
design isn't at the same level, and I hope they
get it there.
Part of the Housing Authority's argument
for the county's investment in this project
is that it will pay for itself over time, as the
market-rate and subsidized units that will
supplement the public housing there will
be on the tax rolls. This isn't the first road
als, but of the fabric of neighborhood streets,
be they residential, industrial or commercial
in their orientation. That role has long been
filled by the developers of the various sub
urban versions of those land uses, and we'll
likely see more of this type of project locally
as the greater real estate market turns back
toward the city. The question, then, becomes:
will the city, asked to finance this infra
structure, assert its own values in the plan
ning and design of these places? If not, the
.suggestion is simply that the county govern
ment is there to provide free roads for whom
ever would increase the tax base in a timely
enough manner to "pay back" the investment.
Of course, there are presumed external ben
efits to the infrastructure for these projects—
high-paying jobs in the case of Caterpillar;
workforce housing with AHA—but that doesn't
preclude the broader investigation of the
planning and design of these county-financed
areas. If the city is now responsible for paying
for streets, then it seems like the platting and
planning should be their prerogative, as well,
with other priorities, such as a more walkable
and bike-able grid, management of on-street
parking and provision of open space all
becoming very public concerns. If this public
planning and financing were carried out on
a large scale, we might see a reversal of the
disconnected character that plagues suburban
parts of the county.
It happened before, and we have places
like downtown as a result. Maybe it could hap
pen again.
K8van Williams athensrising@flagpole.com
WHAT'S UP IN NEW DEVELOPMENT
I was a little surprised to see that the
drawings produced by Columbia Residential's
architectural team as they sequestered them
selves from the frenetic fieldwork of U6A ‘
landscape architecture students and faculty at
last fall's chanrette on the reconstruction of
the Tack R. Wells Homes public housing proj
ect—commonly known as Pauldoe—remained
unchanged in a recent presentation by the
Athens Housing Authority to the Athens-Clarke
County Commission. The AHA would like the
county to chip in to finance some of the infra
structure for the redevelopment (to the tune
of $700,000 or $1.4 million). The hope is that
the county match will sweeten the applica
tion that they're putting forward to the state
Department of Community Affairs for federal
tax credits to subsidize the project.
project ACC has been asked to get involved
in lately, with the Orkin tact's service roads
also being a county-financed incentive for
Caterpillar and its suppliers. The Selig team
has also suggested to at least a few locals in
its off-the-record and unaccountable meetings
that it would expect the county to be involved
in paying for some of the upgrades to Oconee
Street and other corridors that its proposed
development would necessitate. It has more
generally and consistently made the argument
that its project, because of a substantial aug
mentation of the property tax base, deserves
to be approved.
These are interesting decisions to consider,
in that they could bring the local government
back to a role that it hasn't had in at least a
generation: the construction not just of arteri-
-
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