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BRICKS AND MORTAR
The unemployment rate in Athens is 5.2 percent, down from
8.5 percent three years ago and almost two points lower than
Georgia's. Why is that?
"The construction industry is coming back," according to
Ryan Moore, director of the Athens-Clarke County Economic
Development Department, who cited downtown construction
projects like The Standard and Georgia Heights???in the old
SunTrust parking lot???as well as the new Bolton Dining Hall at
Lumpkin and Baxter streets and the veterinary hospital being
built out on College Station Road.
(Speaking of The Standard, crews are working around the
clock to finish the massive luxury student apartment complex
at the corner of Thomas Street and North Avenue. "We're still
on pace to move residents in Aug. 1," Landmark Properties CEO
Wes Rogers said. "The retail space won't be completed until
well after the students move in, but that's always been the
plan and won't impact residents moving in.")
The hundreds of millions of dollars spent on such projects
circulates throughout the local economy. "When you go into
restaurants for lunch, you see construction boots again," added
Moore's counterpart in Oconee County, Rusty Haygood.
Moore and Haygood spoke to the Athens GOP Monday, July
14 and painted a rosy picture of the area's economy. (Take it
with a grain of salt???economic development professionals are
paid to be chipper.)
While it's a bit alarming to hear that a construction boom
is responsible for Athens' economic uptick, given the events of
2007-2008, Moore is quick to note that the city has a diverse
economy. Not everyone is probably aware of this, since our
industrial areas are tucked away off Chase Street and Olympic
Drive outside the Loop???not to mention Caterpillar off Hwy.
78???but manufacturing employs 6,000 people, 10 percent of
the local workforce, and pays 40 percent higher-than-average
wages. And the Loop itself is responsible for a lot of that,
according to Moore. Once the new interchange at Peter Street
and Olympic Drive is finished, Athens will be the smallest city
in the country with a ring road, he said.
Athens is already home to Merial, Noramco, Ethicon
and other medical-industry manufacturers, with Baxter
Pharmaceuticals about to hire 1,500 people down the road in
Covington. Haygood hyped the 316 corridor as a future hub
for bioscience with the potential to become another Research
Triangle (although it won't happen overnight; North Carolina
has a 40-year head start). "We have a project opening up in
not too long in the life sciences vein," he said. "Hopefully,
you'll hear more about that as time goes on."
The development duo also addressed the pervasive fears/
gloating about Atlanta Highway retailers fleeing across the
county line to the new mall off the Oconee Connector. And
the exodus has nothing to do with ACC's perceived "business
unfriendliness," as we hear so often. Taxes???higher in Clarke
than unincorporated Oconee but lower than many cities???are
"one of many considerations," Moore said. Stores "are going to
go where the rooftops go," he said. "They're going to go where
the demographics make sense."
The crane, Atlanta???s most common native bird, has migrated to Athens.
As for what will happen on Atlanta Highway, "real estate
has a life-cycle," Moore said. "We're finding there's a transition
happening." But Georgia Square Mall is more than 90 percent
full, and owner CBL & Associates Properties obviously thinks
it's a good investment, or they wouldn't have bought it last
year, he said.
AIN???T NO PARTY LIKE A NONPARTISAN PARTY: Is Denson about
to pull a McKillip? She received not one, but two rounds of
applause from the room full of Republicans???one when her
presence was announced, and another when Haygood was dis
cussing Caterpillar. "There's a lady here in blue who deserves a
big pat of the back for that," Haygood said.
"You know I'm a Democrat," Denson said after the clapping
died down.
"You used to be a Democrat. Let's leave it at that," replied
state Sen. Frank Ginn (R-Danielsville), who endorsed her.
"I'm a nonpartisan mayor," Denson said.
???ESSENTIAL??? AIR SERVICE: Athens is likely to lose commercial
air service at the end of September, after the Federal Aviation
Administration cancels a $1.6 million annual subsidy.
The current recipient is SeaPort Airlines, which operates
daily flights between Athens-Ben Epps Airport and Nashville
under the Essential Air Service program, created in 1978 to
stop airlines from abandoning smaller, less profitable airports
after deregulation. It's just the most recent of several airlines
that have tried and failed to turn a profit flying out of Athens.
Airports must see a minimum of 10 commercial passengers
per day to qualify for the subsidy; Athens averages only six.
In addition, subsidies for airports within 210 miles of a hub
(such as Hartsfield-Jackson) can't exceed a subsidy of $200
per passenger, the U.S. Department of Transportation recently
informed ACC.
SeaPort will fly you to Nashville for $59. Taxpayers, on the
other hand, pay an average of $743 to fly you to Nashville.
Even though the ticket price only covers a small fraction of
the actual cost of the flight, it's still a service that only about
2,000 passengers took advantage of in 2013. And it's not just
SeaPort???previous airlines that flew to Charlotte and Atlanta
also struggled, even with the subsidy.
Sorry, anyone who flies SeaPort. For $743, we could rent a
limo to take you to Nashville.
The vast majority of Ben Epps' traffic is general-aviation
and charter flights, which losing the subsidy will not affect.
The airport handles more than 100 general-aviation and char
ter flights per day, and that is expected to increase after the
completion of a runway extension that allows 737s to take off
fully fueled.
As the county airport authority works to recruit a new air
line that won't be dependent on subsidies, ACC officials intend
to continue moving forward with a new $4.7 million commer
cial terminal funded by SPL0ST 2005. A commission vote on a
project concept is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 5.
The new commercial terminal could help handle increas
ing charter-jet traffic, Airport Authority Chairman Bob
Wigglesworth wrote in a letter to the mayor and commission.
In addition, airport officials believe that a new generation of
efficient regional jets, record airline profits, limited gate space
at Hartsfield-Jackson and other factors mean that Athens has
a "unique window of opportunity" to draw a regional carrier,
Wigglesworth wrote.
Blake Aued news@flagpole.com
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4 FLAGPOLE.COM ??? JULY 23, 2014
