Downtown Development Authority beginning to focus on River District

The Latest Local News from the Rome News

Armed with the knowledge that a 10-year extension and expansion of Rome’s Business Improvement District is assured, the Downtown Development Authority is trying to determine how to approach redevelopment along North Fifth Avenue and West Third Street.

The DDA business development committee started a discussion of zoning in the River District on Friday morning. “I’d like to see it as flexible as possible,” said Harry Brock.

Rome Community Development Director Bekki Fox suggested that urban mixed use zoning relaxes parking and setback requirements.

DDA Director Ann Arnold said central business commercial zoning could be extended from the Broad Street corridor across the Oostanaula River, but she reminded the committee the River District might benefit from different zoning than the Broad Street corridor.

Arnold said one of the potential different uses could be an entertainment area, which Arnold said might not be as compatible with the focus of upper story residential development of Broad Street.

Another different use might involve completely new multi-family residential construction.

Brock cautioned the committee about new mixed-use construction, saying that in other communities across the Southeast, new construction has been successful at drawing residential tenants but not as successful attracting ground-floor commercial use.

Carol Hatch, a real estate agent with Hardy Realty, said some commercial development would be important to the River District.

Arnold also briefed the business development committee on plans for a Walking Loft Tour of downtown Rome set for Aug. 29. Tickets will be sold for the tour of residential units downtown, with proceeds designated for Cancer Navigators.

Source: Rome News

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