Even though it is written by NY Times, Madison is not that different from Watkinsville
New York Times
May 21, 2006
NATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
Honoring a Rich Past While Moving Forward
By ANNE BERRYMAN
Madison, Ga.
DURING the Civil War, Maj. Gen. Henry Warner Slocum ordered his troops to spare Madison from destruction. He did so at the pleading of the mayor, Joshua Hill, a former congressman who opposed secession and who resigned when the Confederate States of America seceded from the Union. Today, the leaders of this city of 3,781, with its array of well-maintained Greek Revival, Victorian and Craftsman-style houses, continue to fend off any challenge to its historic character.
"We're threatened by growth," said Michael J. Naples, a Madison city councilman who moved here six years ago from Egg Harbor Township, N.J., where, he said, "the builders descended upon us like locusts" after changes in zoning.
Mr. Naples said he shudders to think of Madison developing as rapidly. "There's a certain beauty to this town," he said. "There's a pace of life here. You can get on your bicycle and go just a couple of blocks and you're in the country." The question is: "Can we control the growth to the extent that we want? I would like to see this town retain its look, its character and in some way try to control the density that is obviously moving east."
Controlled growth is foremost in local minds as suburban sprawl pushes in from Atlanta, some 60 miles west. The population has grown in adjacent counties as well as in Morgan County, where Madison is the county seat. If all the developments now awaiting approval are built in the county, the population of 17,500 could eventually double, according to Chuck Jarrell, director of the county planning department.
Robert T. Prior, a real estate lawyer whose family has been in the area since the 1700's and who is the chairman of the county's Board of Education, is planning a mixed-use development, to be built over 10 years on 200 acres that were once his grandfather's farm. The land is near Interstate 20, about two miles south of the center of Madison, in an area that has been designated for such development in a master plan created by the city and the county. Mr. Prior, who owns the property with other relatives, said they considered selling it outright, but changed their minds.
"We're going to be sure if something happens, it happens the right way," he said. "If we sell it, we lose control of what happens to Madison."
The Prior family has worked with city planners to dedicate park space, walking trails and sidewalks within the development. "It will be accessible from the city, and it will look like the city," Mr. Prior said. It will even offer some affordable housing starting at $140,000, a need identified by the City Council.
Through its Downtown Development Authority, the city acts as a developer itself. In one project, the city sold, at cost, seven small houses that were designed to look like 1920's bungalows and 1890's central-hall cottages, said Monica Callahan, Madison's planning director.
Now, two blocks west of Main Street, the authority has another project taking shape. The focus is a grassy two-acre rectangle that will soon "become our version of Central Park," Ms. Callahan said, shaded with oaks, elms and sycamores and featuring a gazebo, a pavilion, a studio to be run by an artists' guild, and a fountain reproduced from an original 1908 design.
The park is drawing some $20 million in further development, all of which will be in keeping with the character of the historic district, Ms. Callahan said. On one side of the park, a row of one- and two-story buildings has risen, each in various styles popular a century ago and all appearing as if they had been built over time. Shops occupy the first floor, with lofts and rooftop gardens above.
On another side of the park, a warehouse, known as the Icehouse, built in the early 1900's, has been converted into lofts and office and retail space. In three years, the lofts have appreciated by a third, the developer, Mike Hutchins, said. Two-bedroom, two-bath units now sell for $330,000.
On the third side of the park, a three-story boutique hotel is under construction. So far, the city's efforts to control growth seem to face an uphill battle. Tourism now rivals the once-dominant beef and dairy cattle industry in the county, said Madison's mayor, Tom E. DuPree Jr.
Real estate agents say that it's not uncommon for visitors from as far away as New York or California to drop by their offices to go house hunting and eventually to buy a place in Madison.
But Judy Gilbert, a broker and co-owner at Madison Realty, said, "Actually, there are not many of those big old houses for sale." One day earlier this month, only two of the historic houses — that is, houses more than 100 years old and larger than 4,000 square feet — were on the market.
Roxanne Jones, an agent and an appraiser with Baldwin Realty, said, "The market in the historic district ranges from small cottages valued at about $250,000 up to antebellum homes valued at $2.5 million."
But she added, "You can't put a value on a history that goes with a home." Even the prices of new houses have risen. Mr. Naples, the city councilman, said a broker recently told him that his house, a reproduction of an antebellum home, which was built in 1987, would sell for about $650,000, more than double what he paid for it six years ago.
In 1981, Kathy and David Duffy bought a five-bedroom antebellum house, believed to be at least 175 years old, with a sweeping front porch, on Main Street. But now that their two children are grown, the Duffys have put the house on the market for $799,000.
As they discussed the history of their house, which was once owned by a couple in the early 1900's whose parties were legend in Madison, Mr. Duffy said he had "some second thoughts about selling it."
Mrs. Duffy added, "You just feel the romance of all that happened here. Sometimes we sit back and think of all the people and all the history — like the house was used as a hospital in the Civil War — and all the struggles that the people went through who lived here. It's hard for me to find the words to say how much it has meant to us."
Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company
May 21, 2006
NATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
Honoring a Rich Past While Moving Forward
By ANNE BERRYMAN
Madison, Ga.
DURING the Civil War, Maj. Gen. Henry Warner Slocum ordered his troops to spare Madison from destruction. He did so at the pleading of the mayor, Joshua Hill, a former congressman who opposed secession and who resigned when the Confederate States of America seceded from the Union. Today, the leaders of this city of 3,781, with its array of well-maintained Greek Revival, Victorian and Craftsman-style houses, continue to fend off any challenge to its historic character.
"We're threatened by growth," said Michael J. Naples, a Madison city councilman who moved here six years ago from Egg Harbor Township, N.J., where, he said, "the builders descended upon us like locusts" after changes in zoning.
Mr. Naples said he shudders to think of Madison developing as rapidly. "There's a certain beauty to this town," he said. "There's a pace of life here. You can get on your bicycle and go just a couple of blocks and you're in the country." The question is: "Can we control the growth to the extent that we want? I would like to see this town retain its look, its character and in some way try to control the density that is obviously moving east."
Controlled growth is foremost in local minds as suburban sprawl pushes in from Atlanta, some 60 miles west. The population has grown in adjacent counties as well as in Morgan County, where Madison is the county seat. If all the developments now awaiting approval are built in the county, the population of 17,500 could eventually double, according to Chuck Jarrell, director of the county planning department.
Robert T. Prior, a real estate lawyer whose family has been in the area since the 1700's and who is the chairman of the county's Board of Education, is planning a mixed-use development, to be built over 10 years on 200 acres that were once his grandfather's farm. The land is near Interstate 20, about two miles south of the center of Madison, in an area that has been designated for such development in a master plan created by the city and the county. Mr. Prior, who owns the property with other relatives, said they considered selling it outright, but changed their minds.
"We're going to be sure if something happens, it happens the right way," he said. "If we sell it, we lose control of what happens to Madison."
The Prior family has worked with city planners to dedicate park space, walking trails and sidewalks within the development. "It will be accessible from the city, and it will look like the city," Mr. Prior said. It will even offer some affordable housing starting at $140,000, a need identified by the City Council.
Through its Downtown Development Authority, the city acts as a developer itself. In one project, the city sold, at cost, seven small houses that were designed to look like 1920's bungalows and 1890's central-hall cottages, said Monica Callahan, Madison's planning director.
Now, two blocks west of Main Street, the authority has another project taking shape. The focus is a grassy two-acre rectangle that will soon "become our version of Central Park," Ms. Callahan said, shaded with oaks, elms and sycamores and featuring a gazebo, a pavilion, a studio to be run by an artists' guild, and a fountain reproduced from an original 1908 design.
The park is drawing some $20 million in further development, all of which will be in keeping with the character of the historic district, Ms. Callahan said. On one side of the park, a row of one- and two-story buildings has risen, each in various styles popular a century ago and all appearing as if they had been built over time. Shops occupy the first floor, with lofts and rooftop gardens above.
On another side of the park, a warehouse, known as the Icehouse, built in the early 1900's, has been converted into lofts and office and retail space. In three years, the lofts have appreciated by a third, the developer, Mike Hutchins, said. Two-bedroom, two-bath units now sell for $330,000.
On the third side of the park, a three-story boutique hotel is under construction. So far, the city's efforts to control growth seem to face an uphill battle. Tourism now rivals the once-dominant beef and dairy cattle industry in the county, said Madison's mayor, Tom E. DuPree Jr.
Real estate agents say that it's not uncommon for visitors from as far away as New York or California to drop by their offices to go house hunting and eventually to buy a place in Madison.
But Judy Gilbert, a broker and co-owner at Madison Realty, said, "Actually, there are not many of those big old houses for sale." One day earlier this month, only two of the historic houses — that is, houses more than 100 years old and larger than 4,000 square feet — were on the market.
Roxanne Jones, an agent and an appraiser with Baldwin Realty, said, "The market in the historic district ranges from small cottages valued at about $250,000 up to antebellum homes valued at $2.5 million."
But she added, "You can't put a value on a history that goes with a home." Even the prices of new houses have risen. Mr. Naples, the city councilman, said a broker recently told him that his house, a reproduction of an antebellum home, which was built in 1987, would sell for about $650,000, more than double what he paid for it six years ago.
In 1981, Kathy and David Duffy bought a five-bedroom antebellum house, believed to be at least 175 years old, with a sweeping front porch, on Main Street. But now that their two children are grown, the Duffys have put the house on the market for $799,000.
As they discussed the history of their house, which was once owned by a couple in the early 1900's whose parties were legend in Madison, Mr. Duffy said he had "some second thoughts about selling it."
Mrs. Duffy added, "You just feel the romance of all that happened here. Sometimes we sit back and think of all the people and all the history — like the house was used as a hospital in the Civil War — and all the struggles that the people went through who lived here. It's hard for me to find the words to say how much it has meant to us."
Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company
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