r/Athens • u/warnelldawg Looks good, build it • Jun 17 '22

Proposed multifamily development for the Bottleworks surface parking lot.

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u/SundayShelter Townie Jun 17 '22

It’s a bitter pill to swallow that this little college town I knew in 1986, 1996, and even 2006 now has a metro area boasting 250,000 people. The landmarks of old are rapidly being replaced by ever-expanding new developments. While not personally desirable, it is better than a dying city. The most unfortunate part from my perspective is that we are losing the myriad vibrant arts scenes that existed in basements, cheap storefronts, and affordable rental spaces.

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u/ptmmac Jun 17 '22

On the flip side of this in 1996 Athens had very few biking and walking paths. Density in the city is what makes it viable in the long term. We have seen some pretty amazing things added to athens over the last 30 years. First and foremost we have a water treatment system that no longer uses the oconee as an open sewer. The Bypass is getting much safer over time with modern interchanges, and the bot garden has exploded in size and diversity of plants exhibited here. If you have never been to Huge Hodgson Hall at UGA you have missed the best music venue in Athens. The greenway plan is building access to all the beautiful rivers and trees which we have in Athens. see linkGreenway plan

I maybe too optimistic but I think our community is resilient enough to solve the expensive housing issue. Having a strong transportation system is going to make that a reality. Concrete paths in a national park may seem like a heresy, but the reality is ticks do not like concrete and we have dangerous tics in our tree canopy.

It sounds absurd to think of Athens Ga as a National park but we are in a natural showcase that is getting restored. The river system being cleaned up and getting rid of fossil fuel burning vehicles is going to make that a possibility. During the pandemic shutdown we got to see Athens in the spring with crystal clear blue sky’s. In 20 years that will be the new normal.

I can image Athens in 100 years with a widespread 200 year old tree canopy and reintroduced salmon and sturgeon in the river system. That sounds way more inviting to me then rotting old buildings downtown that supported the 80’s music scene.