Smyrna residents continued to dig in this week against the city’s vision for a $6.7-million downtown redevelopment and criticized plans to sell city-owned property to a brewery.
But Mayor Derek Norton appeared undaunted by criticism about the city’s plan to sell land in the heart of Smyrna’s downtown to StillFire Brewing, which hopes to open a brewery there.
About 50 people turned out for a town hall meeting Wednesday night, focusing their questions on the city’s redevelopment plans; especially the brewery.
“I am hopeful and I think this would be a great thing for the city,” Norton told the crowd. “I make no bones about it, I think this would be fantastic.”
Council approved the concept for the redesign June 21 but since then have faced community opposition.
City leaders argue the makeover will make the downtown area pedestrian friendly and add more greenspace. They envision it as a way to lure more visitors to downtown and spark economic development.
The makeover calls for removal of a fountain and roundabout at Centennial Park at Village Green. In their place will be splash pads and a new park that extends from the community center south to Bank Street. King Street will be extended several blocks north along the east side of the community center. The city also plans to build a $4-million, three-story parking deck near the community center and future brewery that holds 250 spaces.
Smyrna leaders envision the brewery as a centerpiece of the downtown reboot. Detractors say the brewery was brought in with no discussion and has faced no competition to purchase the premium location. Opponents have staged rallies on the intended site of the brewery and plan to hold more protests this weekend.
“It just seems to me it’s a huge carrot. And it’s not been really put out there in a way that someone might actually take a bite of the carrot,” said Ray Vito, a downtown Smyrna resident. “It’s a very rare opportunity where someone’s building a parking deck very convenient to what the business is going to be. You’re building a park where people can play or gather. A brewery has to go there?”
A new Downtown Redesign Details Committee was created Tuesday to oversee the downtown redo. The eight-member committee will drill down on details such as the size of the new splash pad, landscaping, lighting fixtures and the width of sidewalks. They’ll make recommendations and the city will hold public hearings to present those recommendations. After making necessary adjustments, City Council will vote to finalize the refined redevelopment plans.
The committee is made up of the five council members who voted for the downtown redesign as well as three citizens with expertise in landscape architecture, building and marketing.
StillFire Brewing, a downtown Suwanee beer maker, hopes to construct a three-story brewery on an acre of undeveloped city-owned land along Atlanta Road near Powder Springs Street. The property sits next to the community center and just north of a church.
In response to questions from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Norton on Thursday said neither he nor councilmembers have a personal or financial stake in StillFire. He also said the city does not intend to give the brewery any tax breaks if it opens in Smyrna.
Some questioned whether the property is being sold too cheaply. City Council unanimously approved terms of sale of the acre of empty land to StillFire in June. A letter of intent listed the asking price at $600,000.
Norton said that price was based on what the city recently paid for land near the Reed House, which cost $600,000 per acre. Smyrna plans to build a $12-million aquatics, gymnastics, and family learning library on that property.
City officials said the final sale price has not been agreed upon with StillFire Brewing. Norton said the property is currently being appraised for value.
Speakers Wednesday night said the location isn’t a good one for a brewery. They worry it could lead to an uptick in DUIs and point out it’s too close to the nearby church and community center.
“There are other locations not too far from downtown that are in more need of something being developed like a brewery,” Smyrna resident Montserrat Knowlton said.
Addressing residents’ safety concerns, city officials argued the StillFire brewery is family friendly and doesn’t attract the same crowd as a bar. John Magnin, 32, said he supported the city’s plans and he and his wife are fans of breweries, places where they can take their dogs and have a drink or two.
“That’s what most brewery people do,” Magnin said. “They’re not going to drink for hours and hours. They’re going just to meet up with a few friends and have one or two beers. So the fact that people are linking this to more DUIs, I must say I don’t think that will happen from my experience.”
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