From the Director
A Downtown Renaissance
by Ryan Moore
A
downtown office is one of the many perks that come along
with working for the Economic Development Department.
Sixty‐five different restaurants within walking distance, a
brewery across the street, and retail opportuni es right
outside my office. How lucky are those that have this amenity outside
their door? But things are changing, and depending on the observer, some
would contend that the changes are for the worse. I disagree, and here is
why.
The impending doom of the influx of students to our downtown is on
everyone’s mind and at the forefront of a lot of conversa on. There are
approximately 18,000 people within a ten minute walk of our downtown
today, and between the Uncommon, Georgia Heights, and The Mark, this
number could grow by 15% over a five year period. Although there is
legi mate concern that this will create more demand for bars and clubs,
these new residents will also create new demand for services and for
day me retail opera ons in downtown. There is a certain percentage of
the student popula on that will inhabit our downtown late at night;
moving a por on of this popula on downtown will not necessarily
increase demand for bars and clubs. In fact, it may reduce health and
safety issues associated with transpor ng these students between
downtown and home (since in theory the distance will now be walkable). I
would contend that the net impact of the increase in demand from these
residents for day me services and household wares should outweigh
increased demand for bars and clubs.
There is another interes ng side effect of student housing developments
that stems from this community’s efforts to increase density in our
downtown. With the adop on of the downtown commercial zoning code,
new student housing developments must have commercial uses on the
bo om floor. Between Uncommon Athens, The Mark, and Georgia
Heights, there will be over 100,000 foot of commercial space created in
downtown. If our absorp on rate does not change, this could take ten
14
years to fill! Simple economics would indicate that as this supply of space
is built to the point of surplus, cost for the space should go down, and we
are already seeing this effect.
So from a demand standpoint, we are expec ng tremendous popula on
growth in downtown over the next few years; on the supply side, we are
expec ng a surplus of space in our downtown. This is great news for
business! There will be more patrons in downtown for retail opera ons,
but more importantly, if you operate a business that could benefit from a
downtown loca on, rates for space in downtown are ge ng cheaper. As
businesses fight to remain relevant to the millennial genera on and to
a ract top level workforce, our downtown is poised to be the benefactor.
More professionals will move their opera ons to our downtown for the
walkability, built in ameni es, and economical rent.
As the student popula on increases and the demographics of the average
ci zen in downtown evolve over the next few years, we must be careful to
protect the diversity and history of our downtown. If we lose the
authen city of places like the Hot Corner, which is the historic African‐
American business district in Athens, or the Morton Theatre that hosted
Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, we will have missed the mark. A
student must feel comfortable walking home at midnight just as a
member of our minority community should feel comfortable walking to
the store for milk in the evening or to the pub for a drink.
The Economic Development Department is excited about working with
our partners such as the Downtown Development Authority to facilitate
the growth of businesses in downtown and to leverage the impending
doom of the student influx to create a downtown that is a rac ve to (and
filled with) a robust popula on of the young professional, crea ve class!
14 14
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT www.AthensBusiness.org 706-613-3233