Avondale Estates Downtown Development Authority has set an ambitious schedule for developing the four city-owned acres downtown, mostly between Oak Street and Lake Street on North Avondale Road. Chairman Sam Collier said recently the city hopes to break ground on a project by year’s end.
During a work session earlier this month the city received 10 submissions of design plans, most if not all from local residents. Collier has said the city and the DDA plan to assimilate the best elements of each into a single overall design, which they hope to take to a developer by August or September.
The designs had many similarities. All had town green of varying sizes, some had buildings at four stories, while others didn’t want the height surpassing two stories. Some kept the old Peach State Credit Building for adaptive reuse, while others put a new building on that space.
“We believe that land is the soul and spiritual center of the city,” Collier said. “The main challenges are defining where the streets go and where the walk-able areas go. Also, where do you put buildings beside the town green, and how do people interact with the green.”
The city is still taking community suggestions through a survey posted at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/95NS8FY. The next work session regarding the four acres is July 18.
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