The City of Fayetteville has been named a 2023 Visionary Cities Award recipient by the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) and Georgia Trend Magazine. City leaders were presented with the award at the recent GMA Cities United Summit held January 26-29 in Atlanta.
Fayetteville’s award was earned by the City Hall & City Center Park project, which judges said was “a testament to the City’s dedication to community enhancement and civic engagement.”
Both the new City Hall building and the City Center Park space opened in June 2021. The renovated bus barn and gym buildings, which are now home to restaurants, event space, and a church congregation, opened later that year. The adjacent Walton Fayetteville mixed-use development opened in 2023.
One of the most successful aspects of the City Hall & City Center Park project was the public engagement campaign that helped to inform and guide the project over the course of several years leading up to 2021.
The City of Fayetteville has been listening to residents, who for years have been asking for more high-quality restaurants, entertainment venues, parks, and other community gathering spaces. Fayetteville formalized the listening process with surveys, charettes, town hall meetings, and numerous other public engagement events, capturing and studying this public sentiment.
“The Visionary City Awards celebrate the proactive and innovative spirit of cities like Fayetteville,” said GMA Executive Director and CEO Larry Hanson. “Their City Hall & City Center Park project is a prime example of how cities can transform their communities through strategic development and citizen involvement.”
“This award recognizes the leadership of our City staff and our City Council,” said Mayor Ed Johnson. “We are very proud of that.” — Story provided by the city of Fayetteville.
