DEL.ICIO.USMorrow moves houses to create retail district
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Morrow city leaders are taking “recycling” to a whole new level with a retail development unseen anywhere else in Georgia. They are recycling whole houses in a bid to create some small-town shopping district charm.
“In order to get the area to change, we’ve had to be creative,” said Michael Twomey, Morrow’s tourism director. “We have a good location, right off I-75, but Morrow has never had a downtown area, an historic district. So we are building one.”
Elissa Eubanks / eeubanks@ajc.com
But not from scratch. Morrow has rescued five pre-20th century houses from across the state and moved them to a 17-acre tract adjacent to Southlake Mall, where they will house small, independent shops. Once a sixth house is brought in, the village of Olde Morrow will be ready to be assembled. New construction will round out the rescued structures, which include one house listed on the National Register and another once owned by a Georgia governor.
Twomey said the charm transplant is being well-received with an exception or two. He said the houses, which were free, would have been destroyed if Morrow hadn’t agreed to move them. Once the first house was saved and word of the project got around, Morrow officials got calls about other houses.
Morrow’s population is about 5,500. I-75 dissects the Clayton County city north to south while a train track cuts east-west. The city’s biggest feature is Southlake Mall, built in 1976.
Olde Morrow, on a tract between the mall and I-75, is intended to offer a different shopping experience.
“We can put 10 independent businesses in one of these houses,” said LaWanda Calhoun, property manager for Morrow Development Authority. “We’re looking at the small retail shops that couldn’t exist inside a mall: tea rooms, boutiques, galleries.”
Calhoun said one house will give potential tenants an idea of what they can do with small retail spaces. She said it’s too early to say who might locate there.
“We’re going to stage the Chafin home to conduct tours to show business owners what can be done with 200 square feet,” she said.
Rent will be below mall rates, comparable to or below a strip center, City Manager John Lampl said, with an emphasis on attracting independent businesses.
Parking will be minimal, the idea being that pedestrians will come across a covered bridge walkway from the mall lot.
The village site is already visible from I-75, which Lampl said should attract the curious and passing tourists.
The project is backed by the mayor and City Council, Lampl said, adding that a 2001 survey showed that Morrow residents wanted an old-fashioned downtown.
Morrow paid $200,000 for the land, which has a potential commercial value in the millions, he said. Lampl said a group of investors agreed to sell so the vacant land could be put to good use.
That purchase, coupled with the cost of moving the free houses and infrastructure, has cost Morrow about $6 million. Bishop Brothers House Movers in Stockbridge wheeled the houses from their former homes to Morrow.
But Lampl said the price doesn’t tell the whole story.
“This is a phenomenal value to us,” he said. “To build from the ground up, this would be a $24 million project.”
Outside subdivisions, much of Morrow’s 2.5 square miles is commercial, industrial or retail. The neighborhood behind Southlake, largely rental homes with a transient population, is outside the city limits and in decline, Lampl said.
“We’d like to push for redevelopment of Southlake and revitalize the subdivision behind it,” he said.
Houses relocated to Olde Morrow:
• The Chafin House, from Chambers Road in McDonough.
According to tax records, the house was built in 1865. However, articles about the house report that it was built circa 1850. The house remained in the Chafin family until June 2000.
• The Price House, from Jodeco Road in Clayton County.
The house was built before the turn of the 20th century after the Civil War . Former residents believed the house had some extra “spirits.” The top and bottom floor had to be separated for the move to Morrow.
• The Napier House, from Macon.
Built in 1842 for Leroy Napier, the home was designed by Elias Carter. The 4,000 square foot house, which was Napier’s country home, was originally on 125 acres before it was moved in 1924 to Macon. The house originally had 26 rooms but was later turned into four apartments. The house was restored in 1948 by Buford Birdsey. In 1970, the Napier House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• The Palmetto House, from Palmetto in South Fulton County.
The house was built in the early 1900s and has 4,200 square feet. It was last owned by the First Baptist Church in Palmetto. Cranes were used to dismantle the house, which was moved to Morrow in two sections.
• The John B. Gordon House, from Reynolds, between Macon and Columbus.
Built in 1850 by John D. Mitchell, the house and 1,200 acres were bought in 1887 by Confederate Gen. John B. Gordon for $6,925. Gordon, who later became governor, named it Beechwood Plantation. The house was later bought by George Woodruff, of the Coca-Cola Woodruffs.
• The Smokehouse, also from Reynolds.
The Smokehouse, built in 1850, was originally on the property bought by Gordon . He kept the smokehouse as part of his Beechwood Plantation.
Source: City of Morrow
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