Waters Avenue Corridor Continues to Evolve
After years, even decades, of neglect, the city has spent a long time trying to lure businesses back to Waters Avenue. The boarded-up buildings and dilapidated homes make Waters Avenue a ripe place for development.
"There seems to be a critical moment when something is ready to happen. We've been trying for a long time with Waters, but that time seems to be now," said District 2 Alderman Bill Durrence.
The city has finished a significant portion of the Waters Avenue project. The project improves sidewalks and adds landscaping to the road. The goal of the third phase of the project is to encourage this kind of investment.
There was some discussion in the budget process of cutting out a half-million-dollar contribution to the Waters project from the general fund. However, city council members decided to keep that in 2019's budget to supplement the SPLOST contribution for the project.
"This has been in the past, a very vibrant corridor," Durrence said. "I think it can be again."
