When my neighbors and I heard that a hotel was planned for the UGA President’s House, we were genuinely excited, envisioning a boutique hotel that would preserve the historic home and gardens. (The back garden is considered a significant historical resource as well.)
Unfortunately, the developer plans to shoehorn an inappropriately sized and incredibly intense commercial activity into a narrow strip of land that cuts deeply into the historic Boulevard neighborhood. With all of the talk about short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods, this is like a short-term rental on steroids. A proposal of this scale blatantly dismisses the negative effects on the residential properties that would share a common boundary, the Boulevard and Cobbham neighborhoods, and everyone who uses Prince Avenue.
At about 88,000 square feet, the proposed addition is eight times the size of the existing structure. The only structure anywhere close in size on Prince Avenue is Piedmont Athens Regional’s new Prince Tower at about 125,000 square feet—and that’s in a commercial district.
This is a unique property that, while having commercial frontage on Prince Avenue, backs up to 22 residential properties. The narrative submitted to the Athens-Clarke County Planning Department on Aug. 1 cites comparable commercial-neighborhood (C-N) zoning of adjacent North Pope Street properties, then seeks a waiver from C-N’s 10,000 square-foot limitation on hotel size to allow a hotel of 88,000 square feet. Regardless of the outrageous waiver request, the 10,000 square-foot maximum is intended specifically to protect residential areas from developments of this scale. In addition, using only the Pope Street boundary for zoning comparison ignores the adjacent multifamily zoned properties on Grady Avenue. Not to mention the precedent of such a waiver—every neighborhood in Athens would be at risk if this waiver is granted.
The planned underground parking garage, which is touted as a plus, is actually an indicator of a project that is too big for the site. Even with underground and offsite parking at 784 Prince Ave., the project still does not meet the parking requirements for the 116 rooms, restaurant and event space. Overflow vehicles will be pushed into neighborhoods, creating conflict with other properties.
While the project would generate increased tax revenue, any private use gets the property back on the tax roll and would likely generate sales taxes. The key consideration here is the costs to the community.
In the short term, consider the cost associated with excavation for the parking deck. Using conservative estimates, the parking structure alone will require 1,500-plus dump trucks of dirt to be removed. That’s over 3,000 trips, and doesn’t include excavation for utilities, widening the driveway, relocating sewer infrastructure of surrounding properties, or concrete trucks to pour the parking structure. And we haven’t even gotten to construction of the hotel or kitchen.
As to the preservation aspect, is there precedent wherein such a massive addition to a historic residence can be considered preservation? The Boulevard neighborhood is more valuable as a historic resource than the President’s House serving as a facade to a misplaced commercial development of this scale.
We understand that the use of this property will change, but there must be a balance between change and the stability and livability of two of Athens’ adjacent (and oldest) residential neighborhoods. The high cost of building out this project, both to the developer and to the community at large, can be attributed to the fact that a project of this scale just doesn’t fit.
Full disclosure: I own a home adjacent to this property. While I applaud the Arcollab team for the effort and the pretty picture they’ve painted, I ask that you consider how a corporate-run hotel of this size will drastically alter the character of this section of Prince Avenue—currently a mix of residential and small, locally owned businesses. This proposal is the antithesis of that. It just doesn’t fit.
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Proposed Hotel at UGA President’s House Is Too Big for Prince Avenue
When my neighbors and I heard that a hotel was planned for the UGA President’s House, we were genuinely excited, envisioning a boutique hotel that would preserve the historic home and gardens. (The back garden is considered a significant historical resource as well.)
Unfortunately, the developer plans to shoehorn an inappropriately sized and incredibly intense commercial activity into a narrow strip of land that cuts deeply into the historic Boulevard neighborhood. With all of the talk about short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods, this is like a short-term rental on steroids. A proposal of this scale blatantly dismisses the negative effects on the residential properties that would share a common boundary, the Boulevard and Cobbham neighborhoods, and everyone who uses Prince Avenue.
At about 88,000 square feet, the proposed addition is eight times the size of the existing structure. The only structure anywhere close in size on Prince Avenue is Piedmont Athens Regional’s new Prince Tower at about 125,000 square feet—and that’s in a commercial district.
This is a unique property that, while having commercial frontage on Prince Avenue, backs up to 22 residential properties. The narrative submitted to the Athens-Clarke County Planning Department on Aug. 1 cites comparable commercial-neighborhood (C-N) zoning of adjacent North Pope Street properties, then seeks a waiver from C-N’s 10,000 square-foot limitation on hotel size to allow a hotel of 88,000 square feet. Regardless of the outrageous waiver request, the 10,000 square-foot maximum is intended specifically to protect residential areas from developments of this scale. In addition, using only the Pope Street boundary for zoning comparison ignores the adjacent multifamily zoned properties on Grady Avenue. Not to mention the precedent of such a waiver—every neighborhood in Athens would be at risk if this waiver is granted.
The planned underground parking garage, which is touted as a plus, is actually an indicator of a project that is too big for the site. Even with underground and offsite parking at 784 Prince Ave., the project still does not meet the parking requirements for the 116 rooms, restaurant and event space. Overflow vehicles will be pushed into neighborhoods, creating conflict with other properties.
While the project would generate increased tax revenue, any private use gets the property back on the tax roll and would likely generate sales taxes. The key consideration here is the costs to the community.
In the short term, consider the cost associated with excavation for the parking deck. Using conservative estimates, the parking structure alone will require 1,500-plus dump trucks of dirt to be removed. That’s over 3,000 trips, and doesn’t include excavation for utilities, widening the driveway, relocating sewer infrastructure of surrounding properties, or concrete trucks to pour the parking structure. And we haven’t even gotten to construction of the hotel or kitchen.
As to the preservation aspect, is there precedent wherein such a massive addition to a historic residence can be considered preservation? The Boulevard neighborhood is more valuable as a historic resource than the President’s House serving as a facade to a misplaced commercial development of this scale.
We understand that the use of this property will change, but there must be a balance between change and the stability and livability of two of Athens’ adjacent (and oldest) residential neighborhoods. The high cost of building out this project, both to the developer and to the community at large, can be attributed to the fact that a project of this scale just doesn’t fit.
Full disclosure: I own a home adjacent to this property. While I applaud the Arcollab team for the effort and the pretty picture they’ve painted, I ask that you consider how a corporate-run hotel of this size will drastically alter the character of this section of Prince Avenue—currently a mix of residential and small, locally owned businesses. This proposal is the antithesis of that. It just doesn’t fit.
Like what you just read? Support Flagpole by making a donation today. Every dollar you give helps fund our ongoing mission to provide Athens with quality, independent journalism.
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