Cobbham residents are asking the developer of a hotel behind the former UGA President’s House on Prince Avenue to reduce the size of the building by almost two-thirds. Gainesville-based Capstone Property Group has proposed an 88,000 square-foot, 116-room hotel on the five-acre property, with the historic house serving as a restaurant, bar and suite. The Historic Cobbham Foundation voted to support a hotel that’s about 30,000–38,000 square feet, in line with The Rivet House hotel at the ...| Flagpole
Earlier this month, Mayor Kelly Girtz announced that, for the first time, Athens had made it through half the year without a single murder. “This has been a team effort with ACCPD, every community support organization, and every resident,” he posted on social media. “We continue to strive for improvements, but this is a huge accomplishment.” That does not mean, however, that Athens no longer has a gun violence problem. From 2021–2024, there were 436 shootings in Athens, wounding or ...| Flagpole
Clarke Central High School student Noah Kilpatrick found a way to connect his passion for running to a community service project for the Eagle Scouts, resulting in a uniquely impactful opportunity that engages multiple communities within Athens. The Eagle Scout project is the last step in becoming a full Eagle Scout, and scouts submit a detailed proposal to the organization’s board for a project that benefits the community. Once approved, the scout works with a project coach and must show l...| Flagpole
The two organizations are unrelated, but the YWCO and YMCA share similar missions, play similar roles in the Athens community, and both are embarking on capital campaigns to expand and modernize their facilities. The YWCO recently sold a 22-acre parcel it had purchased in 2007, when a senior housing developer made an offer they couldn’t refuse for its Research Drive land. That project fell through, however, and the board of directors eventually realized they could not afford to maintain two...| Flagpole
Mayor Kelly Girtz introduced a $202 million general fund budget for Athens-Clarke County last week, down $2 million from the current fiscal year, keeping the property tax rate level at 12.45 mills. The budget includes pay raises for ACC employees but few new initiatives, adding just 12 positions to the county government workforce of 1,800. “I wanted to be extremely cautious,” Girtz told Flagpole, noting uncertainty about the national economy, potential federal budget cuts and a new floati...| Flagpole
The Athens-Clarke County Commission split along familiar lines in approving Commissioner Mike Hamby’s budget proposal that, in a novel juggling act, uses accumulated interest from sales tax collections to pay for a small property tax cut and a number of requested items, such as raises for sheriff’s deputies. Commissioner Carol Myers had proposed a budget that included a much smaller amount of SPLOST and TSPLOST interest—Hamby’s budget included $6.7 million and Myers’ $1.5 million—...| Flagpole
