The Smyrna City Council may be deciding Tuesday whether to approve spending $1.3 million to complete renovations at the Historic Reed House as an event center.

Of that amount, $300,000 will come from the Community Development Block Grant for the American Disabilities Act improvements.

In August 2015, Council voted 4-3 to hire Lyman Davidson Dooley Inc. of Marietta as the architect to provide a report on updating and stabilizing the 1910 house of 4,900 square feet on 3.55 acres at 3080 Atlanta Road.

Council voted in March 2015 to buy the house for $1.8 million.

Eddie Wade of Croy Engineering said, during an August work session, Peachtree Construction completed a full analysis of the house to determine what needed to be replaced and repaired, what met code and what additions were needed.

Next Peachtree Construction will be finalizing the Guaranteed Maximum Price in September with Council’s decision.

Most of the improvements needed are to make the house handicap accessible with ramps, stairways, chair lifts and handicapped bathrooms.

Wade said they are trying to keep as much of the original house as possible such as putting in planter boxes on the front of the house, so the rails can be saved.

The parking lot will be installed in the back of the property over the tennis courts.

A privacy fence and a 25-foot landscape buffer also are planned.

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A native of Columbus and a fine arts graduate of Clark Atlanta, Amy Sherald was chosen as the official portrait artist of former first lady Michelle Obama. On the same week that the portrait was unveiled at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, it was also announced that Sherald was awarded the High Museum's 2018 David C. Driskell Prize. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Credit: Andrew Harnik