Fayetteville officials are

taking a big step toward giving the downtown area a major facelift.

After completing a study financed

Commission, the City Council has decided to follow the recommendation

of that study and apply for funding to develop a park just off the square

that would anchor a new multiuse complex between Ga. Highway 85 and the

Villages at LaFayette.

A public hearing to further

lay out the plan is scheduled for tomorrow at 6 p.m. in the council chambers

at City Hall.

The 23-acre block between LaFayette

Avenue and hwys. 54 and 85, off the northwest corner of the square, has

been conceived as the Fayetteville Village Green, which the Atlanta consulting

firm Urban Collage called "a new centerpiece and catalyst for downtown

development and reinvestment."

Included in the plan is the

preservation of two historic houses fronting Hwy. 85. Most of the property

on this block is already for sale, according to officials, and having

it develop under a single plan would make it easier to keep the design

characteristics in line with the Main Street District.

The commercial portion of the

mixed-use center would ideally consist of small downtown businesses rather

than anything that would compete with the Fayette Pavilion and other retail

centers, according to the report. The multi-storied buildings would also

contain residential space on the upper floors.

But the first step in the project

would be a public plaza or park that could be used for public events such

as the arts festivals and summer gatherings already held each year in

Fayetteville. The city hopes to get a little more than $2 million from

the ARC to fund the implementation of the plan.

About $500,000 in matching

local funds would be needed, an Urban Collage official estimated. This

money is available, City Manager Joe Morton said last week, through the

Downtown Development Authority, which set aside funds over the past few

years for the revitalization of property in the area as needed.

applying for implementation funds from the ARC, the council is not yet

committing to a specific plan for the entire development. It is possible

that the city could only get a portion of the amount requested and be

forced to reprioritize, the consultants pointed out.

The city is not looking to

develop the entire area, but rather to get the ball rolling so that private

developers will see the attractiveness of the site and move in on their

own. Council members believe that the park project and the overall Village

Green concept represent a move in the right direction.

"We should not get in

the development business," Councilman Bill Talley said, but he then

added, "The best thing we can do is keep people living downtown.

We don't want a ghost town that people just drive through on their way

to Senoia."

Mayor Kenneth Steele agreed.

"This is a mechanism to bring tax dollars