Mayor Scott Tigchelaar Says Senoia Is His Life’s Work

If you walk through downtown Senoia today — past the restaurants, shops, brick sidewalks and steady flow of visitors — much of what you see traces back to the work of one man.

Scott Tigchelaar, who took office as Senoia’s mayor in January, has spent the past two decades helping redevelop much of the town’s historic downtown.

The transformation was never meant to be a typical real estate development.

Instead, Tigchelaar describes it as “a labor of love.”

“It’s my only development project,” he said. “I have no aspirations beyond Senoia. It’s just something I care deeply about and wanted to see done right.”

From film studio to downtown redevelopment

Tigchelaar first came to Senoia in the early 1990s to work at his family’s movie studio just outside town. After several years in Canada, he returned in 2003 to take over management of the studio.

At the time, Senoia’s historic downtown was largely quiet.

“There were five businesses on Main Street,” Tigchelaar said. “There wasn’t much going on economically.”

Around that same time, Tigchelaar and his uncle purchased a large number of vacant parcels in downtown Senoia — about 22 lots.

Rather than treating the purchase as a short-term investment, Tigchelaar said he saw a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape how the town would grow.

“We wanted to stop it from being filled in with dollar stores or development that just didn’t fit a historic downtown,” he said.

Over time, Tigchelaar’s uncle retired and sold his interest. Today Tigchelaar’s redevelopment work in Senoia is done through Senoia Enterprises with a single partner — his brother-in-law.

Working with the architecture firm Historical Concepts, Tigchelaar and his partner began a long process of carefully designed infill development intended to blend seamlessly with the town’s historic character.

The result is a downtown that looks historic but, in many cases, was built within the last two decades.

Building Senoia’s downtown revival

Much of the retail and restaurant district that draws visitors to Senoia today grew out of that redevelopment effort.

Tigchelaar helped develop the courtyard area behind Main Street where businesses like The Lighting Studio and Bistro Hilary now operate, along with the surrounding Barn Street retail spaces.

He also developed the two three-story buildings in the center of downtown that now house businesses including Maguire’s Irish Pub.

The redevelopment also includes the Gin Property neighborhood, a residential development built on the site of the town’s historic cotton gin and known to many fans as one of the filming locations associated with The Walking Dead.

Some historic buildings were purchased and restored rather than replaced. Tigchelaar said that included the buildings now housing Nic & Norman’s and Borgo Italia, which were in severe disrepair when they were acquired.

“One of them had a tree growing out of the floor,” he said.

Today, downtown Senoia has more than 100 businesses.

“It’s taken 20 years to become an overnight success,” Tigchelaar said.

A community effort

While Tigchelaar played a major role in shaping the town’s redevelopment, he says the success of downtown Senoia belongs to the community that embraced it.

“There have been so many great people who have poured into making this town what it is today,” he said.

Community events now fill the calendar — from car shows and live music events to the weekly farmers market.

The Senoia Farmers Market has become one of the town’s central gathering places, and Tigchelaar’s family has been deeply involved in its operation for years. His son and daughter-in-law now help run the market, while Tigchelaar and his wife still volunteer regularly.

“It’s the Saturday morning social for the whole town,” he said. “That’s where everybody catches up.”

Why he ran for mayor

Despite his long involvement in Senoia’s growth, Tigchelaar says running for mayor was never part of his plan.

“I’ve never wanted to be in politics,” he said.

But concerns about how the city was being managed led him to run for mayor in 2024.

“As we were working to improve the town, we kept hearing there wasn’t money for basic things people wanted done,” he said.

Tigchelaar said those concerns ultimately pushed him to seek office with a focus on improving transparency and professional management within city government.

“My goal is to get things straightened out, put the right people in place, and make sure the town is set up well for the future,” he said.

He has said publicly he expects to serve just one term.

What comes next

Even after two decades of redevelopment, Tigchelaar says there are still a few projects left he hopes to complete.

One of the newest developments involves the historic buggy shop building in Senoia, which Tigchelaar recently purchased after it sat on the market in deteriorating condition.

He said the likely plan is to convert the building into an event space — something the growing town currently lacks.

“We want to save the building and give it a use that helps the community,” he said.

Tigchelaar also owns the former Senoia post office property and hopes to eventually partner with a hospitality developer to build an upscale boutique hotel there while keeping a retail post office presence in town.

A long-term investment

Unlike many developers who build projects and sell them within a few years, Tigchelaar says he has always viewed Senoia differently.

“This town is my 401(k),” he said. “It’s a lifetime investment.”

For Tigchelaar, the goal has never been simply development.

Instead, he says it has been about preserving the character that makes Senoia unique while allowing it to grow in a thoughtful way.

“This town is something special,” he said. “And the people here deserve to see it protected and cared for.”