Recently an article came out in the Athens Banner Herald regarding proposed restrictions for future medical space to be built along Prince Avenue. (Here is the link for the article http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/100907/opinion_20071009024.shtml ). The commissioners of Clarke County have discussed adding a size restriction for future medical offices to be built along the Prince corridor by adding a size restriction to make Prince Avenue more "pedestrian friendly".
Does keeping a building small (less than 10,000 SF) make the area more pedestrian friendly? I think the answer is no. Scott Weinberg, a planning commissioner, threw in his two cents by approaching the process through design standards. I think this is a far better option than size restrictions. All of us can think of ugly little buildings and big beautiful buildings. I happen to own an office in The Georgian Hotel that is gorgeous and in one of the most pedestrian friendly parts of the Southeast. I think that the Commission and Planning Commission need to do some serious homework regarding the future of the medical industry before they restrict away at random. The medical industry is establishing partnerships between previously unlikely co-owners. The commission may regulate away some excellent medical facilities that may allow Athens become the other end of the bio-science research corridor that it desires to be.
Don't get me wrong, well thought out design standards give areas character and can make a town beautiful i.e. Charleston, Savannah, Madison, just to name a few that are close by, but it is through creativity, variety, and thoughtful design that buildings are built for posterity.
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