A $7 million renovation for Downtown Athens, coming in the winter of 2026, is still being discussed by the city’s mayor and commissioners.
For decades, Athens residents have debated what to do with College Square. According to David Lynn, director of planning and outreach, the idea of closing the square to traffic dates back to the 1970s.
The space was last renovated in 1981, but it wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic that the city took a serious look at transforming it into a pedestrian-only plaza. With social distancing in place, the square was temporarily closed, and Lynn said that is when the city commissioners realized how much they liked the idea.
“We want to encourage tourism, and we want to provide a place for social and cultural intersections,” Lynn said.
The idea of this new renovation, which was discussed in the most recent Mayor and Commissioners meeting, was first brought up during a dinner with city commissioners in March 2024.
On Nov. 6, 2024, the mayor and commission officially approved the SPG Planning + Engineers design to make that vision a reality.
Since then, the project has continued to move forward. There hasn’t been a lot of public pushback, but there are concerns about the project.
In the work session on April 8, commissioners addressed pavement concerns and how they are striving for a diversity of activities.
The issue of homelessness is a challenge that Lynn says he and the Athens Downtown Development Authority (ADDA) continue to keep in mind while building out this project. They work with the Advantage Behavioral Health System and pay for a team to work with the unhoused downtown.
“We understand that homelessness is Downtown’s No. 1 issue, and we have been working toward lessening that for the past several years,” Lynn said.
Additionally, the city is looking at ways to improve trash pickup, another ongoing issue for Downtown Athens.
The Athens Downtown Development Authority (ADDA) has set three key goals to guide the development: improve connectivity, enhance character and identity, and promote street life.
The budget for this transformation is estimated to be just under $7 million, with a portion of that coming from the TSPLOST 2023 budget. Approximately $490,000 of the funds will go toward the design phase.
To finance the project, the mayor and commission have agreed on a $7 million bank loan. City officials hope to break ground by the winter of 2026, and they are aiming to finish the project before the following football season.
They will discuss the project again in their May meeting.
Alanna Jacob is a senior studying journalism at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.
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