Couple of things
- Yesterday I mentioned the fact there will be a TDR committee meeting at the Planning Department today at 5:30 p.m. Also today will be a question-and-answer session with Rep. Keith Heard (D-Athens) and Rep. Doug McKillip (D-Athens) at 6:30 p.m. at the Athens-Clarke County Library. For more information, call 770.314.2487.
- Jane Kidd has launched a blog detailing her bid for the DPG chair, as well as some of her ideas for the party. There's a forum this Saturday in Atlanta where all of the candidates for chair will participate. I believe Georgia Podcast Network is involved with this event.
- Thanks to a tag by Paul, I put up dream jobs.
- Alluded to earlier here, but Barack Obama has taken the first step by forming an exploratory committee.
- Economic growth is a good thing, but I'm not entirely sure building an entirely new shopping center for this Target is the best idea. Aren't there plenty of empty big-box shopping centers around here? Why not move the store into the vacated Winn-Dixie Marketplace at the corner of Gaines School and Lexington Highway? Why build another shopping center which will, inevitably, be left to die within 10 years as Target wants to find the 'new' site to set up shop on?
- Happy Birthday Champ.
- Matthew Yglesias talks about some of the odditites of the American health care system.
- Jane Kidd has launched a blog detailing her bid for the DPG chair, as well as some of her ideas for the party. There's a forum this Saturday in Atlanta where all of the candidates for chair will participate. I believe Georgia Podcast Network is involved with this event.
- Thanks to a tag by Paul, I put up dream jobs.
- Alluded to earlier here, but Barack Obama has taken the first step by forming an exploratory committee.
- Economic growth is a good thing, but I'm not entirely sure building an entirely new shopping center for this Target is the best idea. Aren't there plenty of empty big-box shopping centers around here? Why not move the store into the vacated Winn-Dixie Marketplace at the corner of Gaines School and Lexington Highway? Why build another shopping center which will, inevitably, be left to die within 10 years as Target wants to find the 'new' site to set up shop on?
- Happy Birthday Champ.
- Matthew Yglesias talks about some of the odditites of the American health care system.
posted by Jmac at 7:48 AM
12 Comments:
I'd love to see Target take over the Winn-Dixie shopping center, but it probably won't happen. Multiple ownership of the out-parcels, and difficulty getting various owners to the table and agreeing will continue to hold up the redevelopment of that center. It's easier, and cheaper for Target to buy "fresh" land and build new. To our detriment, unfortunately . . .
-dave_in_athens (couldn't get my log-in to work)
It is less costly to simply build a new center. I'd like to see the state and the local government set up some sort of incentive package which encourages the redevelopment of these big box retailers. There's still a good number of open slots sitting out there.
Isn't the Southern Foods Market closed? The one that was across from that Winn Dixie?
I'd like to see Target go to the old Winn Dixie on the eastside and something like a Whole Foods or Fresh Market go across the street in the old Southern Foods. Those places would draw some business.
If only, JMac. That would be some positive use of those properties, and a reasonable (if longish) walk from the house for me.
Darren
Wait, sorry. I was confused. I thought you were talking about the Winn Dixie in Homewood (clearly I was thrown off by your absolutely clear term "eastside").
Darren
I think that is the best, most logical use of a TDR program in Athens. RE-Development incentives that outweigh the cost benefits of building new big-box retail centers. TDR's could sweeten the deal enough to encourage a developer to jump through all the myriad hoops that are preventing re-use of Willowood, etc. I don't see any other positive uses at the moment for a TDR program. We're overbuilt in office/retail, and WAY overbuilt in condo/residential. The last thing we need TDR's doing is encouraging MORE development of $300K condo developments that don't sell.
Whole Foods, or maybe a Trader Joe's! I don't know if Southern Family is still open - crazy, since I live like .5 miles away. It's days are numbered anyways with the new Publix coming in. A competitive, high quality grocery retailer in Athens like Whole Foods would clean up . . .
-dave
Darren - I've heard a Fresh Market over there, which would absolutely rock seeing how it's, like, five minutes from my house.
And Trader Joe's ... excellent call. That's where Paula Deen shops at ... and yes, I do watch that show.
Fresh Market sounds good. Whereabouts do you live over there? Sounds like we can't be too far apart.
Darren
Hampton Park ... off Oglethorpe Avenue.
why not bring in a costco? they give to progressive candidates, pay their employees well, and on and on and on... why target, who as part of federated department stores is a short leap from wal mart's treatment of their employees, meaning that we as tax payers pay for their basic needs, like medical care, food stamps, housing and daycare subsidies, etc. Costco actually takes care of their employees.
aquariusrizing
Actually, turns out we're not going to be recording the event Saturday. The place has no sound system. Instead someone is supposedly going to tape parts of it and put it on YouTube. (?)
re: Costco
Good point but it kinda misses something - we (meaning neither the citizens nor their government) get to decide to "bring in" anybody. The decisions to become interested in opening a store in a certain location come only from those companies. We only get to have input once they declare their intentions.
Sure, we could begin contacting and petitioning and courting Costco but, it's not like Costco doesn't know we exist. In fact, we could be on their radar at this very moment and not know about it because large retailers don't let anybody know that they're looking at various locations until very late in the game and when they have pretty well decided and plan to open within a few months.
Al's right that we don't get to choose who is interested in doing business in ACC. But our shiny new TAD program, and the future possibilty of TDR development credits can go a long way towards dangling the proverbial carrot . . . especially when it comes to specific areas that the community decides they want to see redeveloped in a positive way.
As to COSTCO, there is no way it would ever fit on the Willowood site. Their stores are the size of Sam's. If we want a Costco, it's gonna be new-construction.
Dave
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