A new downtown

park planned for Fayetteville, called the "Village Green," now

has a financial green light since city officials have approved a contract

with the Georgia Department of Transportation.

The park will

be located between Ga. Highway 85 and Tiger Trail just north of Ga. Highway

54. The first phase of work calls for pedestrian improvements and a parking

lot, but the city has not yet purchased the property.

Councilman

Al Hovey-King said the city is still determining how much to pay for the

property, which is five acres in size and owned by two different landowners.

The project

is estimated to cost $1.81 million, but 80 percent of the cost will be

funded by a grant from the state's Liveable Centers Initiative program.

That leaves the city with a tab of just $361,000.

This is just

the first phase of the LCI plan for downtown, which involves creating

a mixed use development around the Village Green that would feature residential,

office and commercial uses.

But the Village

Green, envisioned as a place for passive recreation, will be the centerpiece

and linchpin to the success of the project which officials hope will revitalize

the downtown area.

"We're

trying to make the downtown area a more transportation friendly and pedestrian

environment," Hovey-King said.

The city plans

to have a park similar to that in Smyrna, which also serves as the centerpiece

to a mixed use development that includes specialty shops, Hovey-King said.

The developer of the Smyrna project is very interested in the plans Fayetteville

has in store and will definitely be considered by the city, he added.

The development

could create a vibrant downtown that could be the "wave of the future,"

Hovey-King said. And in conjunction with The Villages at LaFayette subdivision,

the downtown area will become a more habitable place for residents to

live, he added.

"It could

really provide a change for the better in downtown Fayetteville,"

Hovey-King said.

Back

to News Home Page |