Michael Goethe

Current zoning reflects the fact that these empty Normaltown parcels face Prince Avenue on one side and a neighborhood on the other, but does that mean a compatible development will necessarily result?

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The News from Normaltown: A new medical office building has been proposed for Normaltown, on the former site of Allen’s Hamburgers and adjacent lots. This development would pass straight through the block, presenting a four-story office building to Prince Avenue and a three-story parking deck to Yonah Avenue. This is the second instance of a parking deck being proposed next to an intown neighborhood in as many weeks, with the proposed Emily building including a two-story deck between Pound Street and Sylvia Circle, just a stone’s throw away on Prince. Combined with Athens Regional Medical Center’s four-story building on Talmadge Drive (where site preparation and foundation work have just begun), and the 1140 Prince Avenue site (which is quiet for now, but which was being looked at for a large medical office building just a few years ago), it’s obvious that Normaltown is in a tight spot.

Dialogue’s Not Happening: Both the Emily project and the new medical office on the site of Allen’s (still owned by Billy Slaughter) comply with existing zoning, meaning they don’t need much in the way of city approval before being built, as long as their plans are up to code. Todd Emily’s property is currently zoned Commercial-Office, while Slaughter’s is zoned Commercial-Neighborhood. In case you were out of the loop, CAPPA, the Community Approach to Planning Prince Avenue, was a charrette process from a few years back designed to provide proactive rather than reactionary measures for the corridor. Unfortunately, not many of those recommendations were put in place, giving the community little opportunity for input. It’s up to the property owners, be they private developers, Navy School redevelopment committees or hospital authorities, to respect the recommendations of CAPPA. Obviously, that’s not happening.

According to Matt Elliott, current chairman of the Historic Boulevard Neighborhood Association, “We requested through [District 5 ACC Commissioner] David Lynn an opportunity to meet with [Emily] to discuss neighborhood concerns, and he said he was not interested in meeting with us.” The neighborhood is still interested in working with Emily, says Elliott, but “it doesn’t look good.”

Details at Allen’s: The project on the Allen’s site seems very similar to the 1140 Prince proposal from a few years ago. The proposal calls for a four-story medical office (plus a basement), in this case 41,000 square feet in all, with a three-story deck behind it, looming large over the neighborhood. The building is going to be over 50 feet tall, according to submitted documents. The parking deck will have 180 spaces, and be set back 10 feet from the Yonah Avenue right-of-way. The building is only required to have 119 parking spaces, or two-thirds of the number proposed - so it sounds like they could take off the top floor of that deck and still meet their parking requirements. The project creates two curb cuts on Yonah and one new one on Prince, in addition to the curb cut at the existing alley between the P&M Army-Navy store and the old Allen’s footprint.

How will four stories fit in with Normaltown, where building heights currently max out at around two stories?

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One suggestion from CAPPA had been to manage parking in this part of Normaltown through some shared system or structure, utilizing the existing alley and extending it through to Yonah Avenue. Having all the car circulation for the building happening on the alley would cut down on the number of curb cuts for both Prince and Yonah, and help to establish shared circulation on the alley.

In the Scheme of Things: Overall, this is another case of the one-size-fits-all zoning not necessarily meeting the needs of distinct neighborhoods with their own unique identities. Does the Commercial-Neighborhood designation - with setback requirements for side yards and a maximum height of 65 feet - necessarily work for Normaltown, where Normal Hardware, for example, is two stories high, and where buildings are placed right next to each other in a typical “Main Street” style? Is there a vehicle for the neighborhood concerns, or a way that a positive community vision such as CAPPA can be given some teeth, so that future development meets the standards that the public articulated? It’s hard to say, but until then there will be a continual cycle of projects being proposed and then fought by neighborhoods. When the only opportunity for community input is criticism - since it’s too late in the design process to make positive suggestions - it will be hard for anyone involved to have a productive conversation.

Kevan Williams

Contact Kevan Williams at athensrising@flagpole.com.