Officials are hoping to have all the residents of the Atlanta Street apartments moved by this fall, making way for a new 260-unit development to replace the nearly 60 year old development, which will be demolished.
Gainesville city council members have set a public hearing date for their regular voting meeting on Tuesday, May 3 to hear input from citizens on the 11.671-acre development, which will include low-income tax credit housing, public housing, senior housing and market rate housing.
"We expect at the beginning of 2017, (residents) will move forward with us to discuss the development process," said Matt Tate, Gainesville planning manager.
The new development will include five buildings, each three or four stories tall, with a fence circling the property. Approximately 90 of the units will be set aside for senior housing.
There will also be amenities on the property, such as a playground, fitness center, laundry room and community garden.
The majority of the funding is coming from the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program, and the new property will be built and managed by Walton Communities.
The Gainesville Planning and Appeals Board recommended approval of the application, which also comes with the condition of abandoning a portion of Atlanta Street between Chestnut Street and E.E. Butler Parkway.
"It's going to be a nice change for our city," said Mayor Danny Dunagan at Thursday morning's council work session.
COUNCIL MOVES FORWARD WITH GOLF COURSE RENOVATIONS
Council also opted to move forward with approximately $36,000 worth of renovatinos to the Chattahoochee Golf Course.
Namely, the restrooms in the clubhouse and on the course will be renovated, and a handicap ramp will be added to the rear entrance of the clubhouse.
Both the clubhouse and the restrooms were constructed in the 1970s, according to city documents, though the most recent renovations came to the clubhouse restrooms in the early 1990s.
City leaders decided to move this work furhter up their calendars, and did not have the funding set aside for this year's budget. The money, therefore, will come from the city's contingency fund.
"Those bathrooms are in rough shape," said Dunagan. "And that (handicap) ramp is needed."
