Large downtown development agreement draws praise and requests for more review; commissioners ask for public work session

The Athens-Clarke County mayor and commission on Oct. 21 held an extended agenda discussion of a proposed development agreement with Core Spaces and the Athens Downtown Development Authority to redevelop multiple parcels around 295 East Dougherty Street (item 18 on the agenda). The agreement formalizes terms described in an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) previously approved in June and adds detailed legal documents and easements.

Manager Cowell and staff summarized key provisions of the negotiated development agreement and the public benefits the developer proposes to deliver. Major elements described by staff and developer representatives include:

- Sewer improvements: the developer is responsible for roughly $2.5 million in public sewer upgrades to increase capacity for the site. The IGA envisioned partial credit (a 30% waiver figure staff estimated at about $702,000) in recognition that the upgrades would expand sewer capacity in downtown beyond the project’s direct needs.

- Inclusionary-Zoning payment-in-lieu: Under the project’s inclusionary-zoning option the development team projects about $7.8 million in payment-in-lieu revenue. Staff said the proposal splits that sum into $3.9 million reserved for specific census tracts in East Athens and $3.9 million for funding gap financing for future Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects or similar affordable-housing tools.

- Playground and park provisions: The existing playground footprint at or near the park will be replaced on a smaller footprint on the developer’s property (maintained privately with public access easement) and the developer will provide $275,000 toward construction of a larger replacement playground on the Lake Park parcel (Leipark); county leisure services would match or supplement that amount to build an appropriately scaled playground.

- Parking: The agreement envisions a 425-space public parking deck to be constructed and managed by the ADDA, supported in part by a developer loan to ADDA and expected parking revenues. The developer would build a separate private garage to serve residents of the new housing (reported in discussion as approximately 650 spaces for the private project and 425 spaces for the public deck). ADDA would manage the public garage, with revenue modeling relying in part on shifting some proceeds currently used to pay Washington Street garage debt when that debt retires.

- Historic preservation: A façade easement covering the Foundry building on site would protect the structure’s exterior; the interior of the Foundry would be unencumbered.

- Hoyt House relocation: The historic Hoyt House must be relocated at the developer’s expense. Staff and Historic Athens discussed possible reuse sites; the agreement requires relocation but does not fix a single permanent site in the text as negotiated. Staff said relocation must be funded by the developer and the parties are evaluating candidate locations.

- Tax-increment and revenue modeling: Staff asked the tax assessor’s office to provide an early estimate of new property value. Staff summarized an estimated increase of taxable value from about $24 million for the existing assemblage to $175 million after buildout; that first-year incremental taxes were estimated at roughly $2.2 million combined across taxing entities, including about $820,000 annually for the East Downtown TAD and about $1.3 million for schools. Staff noted those are early estimates and will change with final assessments.

Public commenters and commissioners expressed both support and concern. Supporters — including Andy Savoy of Core Spaces and David Ellison — summarized public benefits, noting public plazas, permanent public easements over plazas and murals, a playground funding commitment, historic façade easement and sewer capacity that could unlock other downtown projects. Opponents and skeptics — including neighborhood commenters — asked for more time to review the 500-plus-page agreement and raised concerns about impacts to Leigh (Leipark) Park programming and parking, the scale of student housing in downtown, fiscal assumptions and the timing of approvals. Several speakers urged commissioners to read the full documents and to obtain additional analysis before final approval.

Commissioners asked staff to clarify multiple items, including the developer’s projected bedroom count (discussed during the meeting as roughly 1,400 bedrooms across the project), how the parking decks would be funded and operated, how the inclusionary-zoning payments would be used, the role of HUD (staff described prior HUD covenants for the property and said HUD staff indicated they would release a historical covenant upon review of the final agreement), the timing and sequencing of required rezoning actions, and the park and playground operations after the redevelopment.

Multiple commissioners requested a public work session or additional public hearings so the commission and the public could review key terms in detail and receive staff responses to written questions; staff and some commissioners proposed a drop-in information session and extended follow-up conversations. Manager Cowell and legal staff said the development agreement binds the parties to the items negotiated in June and that the 500-plus pages were intended to present the full set of documents and protections, including performance and payment bonds that secure developer obligations.

No final action on the development agreement occurred at the Oct. 21 agenda-setting meeting. Commissioners signaled a range of views; several said they wanted more time or a public work session, while others said they supported the project’s public benefits and urged timely action. Staff said they would provide follow-up briefings and that the item is scheduled for consideration at the upcoming voting session unless the commission requests additional time.