By: Liam Real
(Photo Courtesy/Liam Real)
On March 7, Mayor Kelly Girtz and the Athens-Clarke County Commission will have a final vote on the plans to redevelop the Georgia Square Mall.
The March 7 meeting to vote on the plan will be the last chance for it to move forward. If it fails, then Girtz said they will have to restart the entire process.
The mayor held a news conference at the University of Georgia on Friday to discuss the plan’s details. Girtz said it will be about 75 acres worth of land that will be used to redevelop the Georgia Square Mall.
Girtz said that he wants the new plans to create a “radically positive place ultimately for the people who live there,” and for the entire community.
Girtz wants to create a dynamic environment where people will want to visit. He wants it to be similar to the downtown Athens experience. The site will incorporate businesses, eateries and communal housing. The mayor recognizes Athens’ housing challenges and hopes that this new property will help to alleviate them.
According to The Red & Black, the median rent in Athens has been going up recently and is well over the fair market value. The plan will include approximately 1200 homes with 10% of rentals being permanently affordable. That would make 120 homes permanently affordable.
In an official Athens-Clarke County study, only families earning at least 50%-80% of the median area family income would be able to afford to buy a home at the average sales price over the last five years.
When asked how much it will help the housing crisis, the mayor said, “No one project is going to get you everything you need in any regard around housing.” But Girtz did go on to say there are other plans being made to help housing including “15 acres on Boulevard and 20 acres on Barnett Shoals.”
The Georgia Square Mall redevelopment proposal will cost around $189 million. If approved, building will begin in 2025. Mayor Girtz is sure that the final vote on March 7 will be successful, resulting in the addition of a new exciting site to the city of Athens.
“And that’s really what this is about, is creating a better version, a stronger version and a healthier version of Athens,” said Mayor Kelly Girtz.
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Kelly Girtz
(706) 613-3010