The Capstone Property Group of Gainesville released updated plans for the former University of Georgia President’s House in early December. Previously, the developers had proposed an 88,000 square foot hotel in the historic manor’s backyard. After public outcry, local historic preservation nonprofit Historic Athens withheld an endorsement of the project.
New plans show a hotel footprint about half the size of the one originally proposed. The plans also offer onsite surface parking and more detailed plans for historic preservation of the mansion and its outbuildings.
However, many neighbors of the Prince Avenue manor remain opposed to the plans. Bertis Downs is a member of Keep Athens Local, an organization that represents the property’s neighbors as well as others concerned with maintaining Athens’ historic neighborhoods. He is a resident of the Cobbham District and says that in addition to the development still being too large, it would cause traffic in surrounding neighborhoods.
“There’s only one access point on and out, one driveway onto a major thoroughfare like Prince Avenue,” Downs said. “If you know anything about this part of town, you know that you’ve immediately got some congestion issues, some traffic issues, there’s not adequate parking onsite.”
Downs and other members of the neighborhood group maintain that a better use for the site would be a smaller hotel or other project.
“The group that I’m working with are all certainly realizing that this is likely to be developed,” Downs said. “If it’s not going to be a private residence as it’s zoned for now, if that doesn’t appear to be in the cards, it needs to be something that will better fit the neighborhood.”
In a statement, Capstone Property Group said that the new plans offer a way to generate revenue to pay for the historic mansion’s repairs and preservation while also respecting neighbors’ wishes for a smaller hotel. The group also says that a traffic study it ordered shows the hotel will create “no significant impact on Prince Avenue.”
A request to rezone the property will be reviewed by the Athens-Clarke County Planning Commission on January 8th.