City of Jefferson | New Town Center Concept

City of

Jefferson NEW

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Credits Steering Committee Volunteer Members Jim Joiner, Chair Guy Dean Benson, Board of Education Member Joel Harbin, Downtown Development Authority Chair Debra Plott, Downtown Business Owner, Garden Club, Women’s Club Scott Thompson, Planning Commission Ryan Gurley, Downtown Business Owner C.D. Kidd, Former City Councilman Jana Cleveland, Board Chair, Crawford W. Long Museum Mark Starnes, Main Street Volunteer Shawn Watson, Downtown Business Owner Jimmy Bailey, Downtown Business Owner, Former City Councilman Angela Haun, Local Manager, Georgia Power Wade Johnson, Jackson Electric Membership Corporation Ad Hoc Members Roy Plott, Mayor Jerry Weitz, Jerry Weitz & Associates, Inc., Planning and Development Consultant Beth Laughinghouse, Main Street Manager Jon Herschell, City Manager The University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government Danny Bivins, Senior Public Service Associate, Principal Investigator Kaitlin Messich, Creative Design Specialist T. Clark Stancil, Landscape and Urban Designer Langford Holbrook, Public Service Associate Robert Hines, Student Assistant Dan Shinkle, Graduate Assistant Weiye Wang, Graduate Assistant Karen DeVivo, Editor Georgia Department of Community Affairs

Beth Eavenson, DCA Region 5 Representative Georgia Municipal Association / Georgia Cities Foundation Perry Hiott, Managing Director Chris Higdon, Manager, Community Development

New Town Center Concept

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repared for the mayor, Main Street director, and other local leaders, this special supplement to the Jefferson Renaissance Strategic

Vision and Plan outlines the potential of expanding the footprint of downtown by attracting mixed-use development to publicly owned parcels adjacent to the downtown core. Prepared by faculty and staff at the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government, this document includes a written summary of the proposed development in addition to conceptual designs, illustrative renderings, and basic estimates of costs, housing units, and retail square footage. The vision outlined in this proposal is only a possibility if all local development stakeholders come together as one entity to advocate for this bold expansion of downtown. Doing so helps to ensure a vibrant downtown that retains Jefferson’s cherished small town atmosphere and sense of place for decades to come.

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Introduction

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efferson, Georgia, is a city at a crossroads. Over the past decade and a half, the city has grown over 166%, expanding far beyond the original boundaries of the historic downtown. This

sprawling development pattern poses serious financial, social, transportation, and environmental threats for current and future residents, including further decentralization of economic and civic activity once housed in Jefferson’s bustling downtown. All told, the impact of haphazard growth imperils Jefferson’s beloved small town atmosphere and historic sense of place. With more growth on the horizon, Jefferson must make a commitment now to define what life will be like in the city for future generations.

Through the Renaissance Strategic Vision and Plan undertaken by the city in collaboration with the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government, a clear community vision for downtown Jefferson emerged. Through an extensive public input process that included interviews and conversations with dozens of community members, a town hall meeting, and a community-wide survey that received more than 800 responses, local residents expressed their desires for the downtown area. Jefferson citizens crave a vibrant downtown experience that retains the city’s small town charm. While preserving the city’s rich historic fabric and friendly atmosphere, locals want an attractive, walkable, connected, and accessible downtown full of life, entertainment, and activity.

If the city leaders act now, Jefferson can fully realize the city’s potential and fulfill residents’ demands for a vibrant downtown experience. By advocating partnerships among the Jefferson Downtown Development Authority, the Jackson County government, and the private sector, the plan included here works to preserve downtown Jefferson’s small town atmosphere and unique sense of place while creating the foundation for a vibrant, energetic future for the downtown core and surrounding community. The plan incorporates the downtown residences, retail options, and entertainment venues desired by the community and reflected in Georgia Power’s Retail MarketPlace Profile of the city. The plan outlined here provides a blueprint for developing underutilized, publicly owned property at the edge of downtown to expand its footprint. Within this plan, the

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top issues of Jefferson’s citizens are addressed by extending streetscaping improvements, better connecting downtown and the surrounding area with new roads and sidewalks, creating an outdoor venue and greenway trail connection to Curry Creek reservoir, and continuing to cultivate downtown Jefferson as a vibrant local destination by attracting appropriate infill development.

For this plan to be a success, city, civic, and business leaders must collaborate in a singular effort to compile the land, funds, and local support necessary to make this vision a reality. Successful development of these underutilized properties will require the unique financing tools available to the Downtown Development Authority in addition to the creation of a robust public-private partnership. While this process will demand significant time, energy, and resources from the city, DDA, and local partners, the benefits for downtown and the surrounding community could permanently reshape growth in Jefferson, attract young talent and entrepreneurs, and continue to improve the local economy for decades to come. Refocusing on growing downtown by creating the variety of downtown residential, entertainment, and retail development desired by the community would boost the city and county tax base, recentralize economic activity, create a local destination, and serve as a catalyst for further intown development. Working together to attract development, the city, county, DDA, and private partners should view their collaborative effort as akin to attracting a major industrial or manufacturing firm like Caterpillar in nearby Athens. By attracting more residents and economic activity, successful downtown infill should serve as a template for a more traditional development pattern throughout Jefferson that honors the city’s history and small town sense of place. By pivoting away from sprawling suburban development toward a more traditional downtown building pattern, the city has the opportunity to permanently preserve the qualities that make Jefferson a great place to live while charting a bold, vibrant future for the city.

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DOWNTOWN JEFFERSON

Conceptual Masterplan

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he infill development proposed just south of the downtown core would be constructed primarily on underutilized parcels owned by the Jefferson DDA and the Jackson County Board of Com-

missioners. This development has the potential to rejuvenate the local economy long into the future.

The proposed expansion of downtown addresses all of the top issues emphasized by Jefferson citizens during the extensive RSVP public engagement process. The plan enhances connectivity through new roads and sidewalks, includes both on-street parking and subterranean lots, creates a centerpiece for the arts along the restored tributary of Curry Creek, and introduces the variety of downtown living, dining, lodging, retail, and entertainment options desired by the community. All proposed infill buildings are designed to complement the existing scale of downtown, with a maximum of three stories above ground level. These developments also take advantage of the sloping topography of the site to incorporate subterranean parking in selected anchor structures. To encourage street life and the vibrant, walkable experience desired by the community, the ground floors of all buildings are designed to accommodate first floor retail outlets and restaurants. Upper floors throughout the development are devoted to downtown lofts, condominiums, and housing units in addition to office space.

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Downtown Conceptual Masterplan, Perspective View

Imagined from above the Rev. V.S. Hughey Park, this aerial view of the proposed development illustrates the appropriate scale and massing of the proposed infill structures in addition to proposed sidewalks and trails, eastwest connector road, outdoor amphitheater, and ecologically restored tributary.

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West Block / Board of Commissioners Site: The plan proposes developing two anchor

buildings at the intersection of Athens Street and the new East-West Connector at the current site of the soonto-be vacated Jackson County Administration Building. These anchor structures would include three aboveground levels, with ground floor retail and upper story residential lofts or condominiums. Each structure occupies a floor area of approximately 20,000 square feet. Both anchor buildings utilize the existing topography of the site to incorporate subterranean parking in addition to the 29 new angled spaces along Athens Street and 33 on-street spaces in the interior of the west block. Streetscaping improvements from the downtown square have been incorporated along this major corridor, creating an attractive gateway into town and a cohesive appearance.

West Block / Connector Street & Green Space: Moving to the interior of the

west block, the plan envisions a series of four three-story mixed-use buildings on the site of the former Jackson County Administration Building and adjacent parking lots. Like the anchor buildings along Athens Street, these infill structures would include ground level retail and upper story residences. Constructed around a “daylighted” tributary currently piped beneath the Administration Building’s parking lot, the plan celebrates the tributary and proposes a landscaped greenway along the creek bank connecting downtown with Big Curry Creek Park. The restored stream and bucolic surroundings would serve as a community amenity, an extension of the adjacent Rev. V.S. Hughey Park, and a valuable stormwater mitigation feature eligible for potential grant funding.

West Block / DDA Regions Site: The Jefferson New Town Center Concept proposes a

three-story mixed-use building at the site of the underutilized parking lot along Gordon Street. The building would mirror the scale of the adjacent Regions Bank. This proposed development eliminates an awkward semicircular surface parking lot and eight poorly situated parking spaces to introduce a new downtown building with more than 4,000 square feet of retail space and 10 downtown housing units. New parking on the east side of Gordon Street and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the owners of the adjacent parking lot compensate for parking lost to the new building.

East Block /Amphitheater Site: The two buildings comprising the east block of the development occupy parcels currently owned by the Jefferson DDA. They are located just south of the downtown core

and overlook the proposed amphitheater and greenway trail along the restored tributary of Curry Creek. These parcels have a scenic view into the proposed amphitheater, providing a fine location for destination dining and entertainment outlets. A central plaza incorporates large existing trees while connecting the amphitheater and surrounding development to the downtown core. Improved existing parking and new on-street spaces support the development and surrounding downtown businesses.

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AFTER

Athens Street Infill, Before

Currently occupied by the Jackson County Board of Commissioners, this parcel could soon become available for development. Rambling offices and oddly configured parking here block connections through downtown and do not contribute to the vitality and economic activity of the area.

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BEFORE

Athens Street Infill, After

This perspective illustrates a stretch of Athens Street following the development of the proposed mixed-use housing and retail complex on the site of the Jackson County Administration Building. New shops, street trees, planted medians, crosswalks, and easily accessible angled street parking activate this corridor and welcome people to Jefferson’s downtown.

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New Development, Perspective View

The rendering above shows a view looking towards Gordon Street with mixed-use infill, landscaped green spaces, a continuation of downtown’s street lighting, and paved sidewalks.

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Back of Building Cleanup

AFTER

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Before

The property shown in the rendering below on the left is owned by the DDA and currently houses Regions Bank and a rear parking and service area. Activating the oddly configured parking area could encourage further downtown development.

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Amphitheater / Music Venue

The rendering above shows what the new ampitheater could look like. Trees are planted on grass steps to provide shade, and context-appropropriate mixed-use infill can be seen in the background.

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Envision Tomorrow Cost Estimates

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sing Envision Tomorrow software developed by Fregonese Associates of Portland, Oregon, researchers at the Institute of Government developed rough estimates of the potential impact of

each of the proposed infill development buildings included in the Downtown Jefferson Masterplan.

Critical components of this effort include construction cost estimates, future housing units, potential retail square footage, estimated necessary parking according to Jefferson’s existing codes, and more.

The research team used regional estimates of costs wherever possible to help ensure more accurate results. However, if local officials desire to proceed with proposed infill development, more thorough estimates of costs should be developed by a construction professional.

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