Politics & Government

Citizens Head Committee to Promote Alpharetta City Center

Local residents will vote on a $29 million bond referendum needed to fund the City Hall, parking, town green and other infrastructure for the 22 acres of downtown land.

While empty strip centers can be spotted around Alpharetta and the area, a half empty downtown looks more distressing to city leaders and perhaps visitors to the city. The third incarnation of a City Center development has been proposed to revitalize downtown.

This time a bond referendum is planned to fund construction of a new , a town green, development of a 5-acre park and the parking deck needed for downtown. The parking deck is needed because the Alpharetta branch of the Atlanta-Fulton County Library will be built on the City Center site, with the provision that the city provides 125 parking spaces for it. Two major complaints are made about the : it's too small at 10,000 square feet and the 37 parking spaces aren't enough.

Fergal Brady, the co-chair of Citizens for Alpharetta City Center Bonds, sat down for a chat in The Coffee Pot in downtown Alpharetta, across from the City Center site, to discuss the project. He and Kyle Caswell were recruited by city officials to head the committee because, by state law, the city can't lobby for or against the bond referendum.

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They've been to homeowners' associations and local businesses. Several members of the Downtown Alpharetta Trade Association (DATA) are on the committee.

"Probably the most affected of the committee members will be the DATA businesses," he said, since their businesses are so close to the site.

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"We are basically a vehicle or channel to gathering as much information about the project as possible, Brady said.

The city helped by providing them with the latest renderings as they were created.

Brady said the committee had concerns about the project, chiefly about the accuracy of construction costs. "That was mitigated by the city," he said, when they brought in third-party cost handlers, who assured them the construction could be done within budget.

"I think the greatest point there is, you only ask for money once. Make sure you have enough in the bond referendum," he said.

Brady believes the construction could cost a lot less than the $29 million proposed in the bond referendum.

"But those addiontal dollars can be used to improve the downtown western side," he said, with approval needed once the City Center project is completed.

Any additional funds could be used to create a uniform style to both sides of Main Street so it doesn't look like a different community on each side of the road.

Another concern is the parking garage. Brady said the top of parking garage will be at ground level looking from Main Street because of the natural slope of the property. The other sides will be shielded by other buildings.

You've got to have the parking spaces, and that means either a parking garage with a small footprint, or large, open lots taking up many more acres of the site with pavement.

"The city gets to consolidate most of their lease space into one building. That saves them, makes them a lot more efficient government for the city and the residents," he said.

"You have the business owners on this [western] side, they benefit from increased traffic."

And the citizens of Alpharetta get a central destination that has more of a downtown square feel.

The timing is right for the city, too, as bond interest rates are low while the city's bond rating is high, which means repayments will be lower.

"If we don't create a new identity for Alpharetta, we are worried that a lot of that business will go other places," Brady said, citing Historic Crabapple and Roswell's Canton Street as two examples.

City Center Public Improvements

City Hall $12,182,400 Parks and Greenspace $3,013,308 Parking (on street, lot, garage)
$9,774,540 Sitework/Site Improvements $5,233,950 Current Appropriations (not in bond)
$1,204,198 General Obligation Bond (Referendum) $29,000,000


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