Auditorium plans to go before PTC voters; church campus eyed for community center

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

A new project has sprouted out of a movement to "finish off" Peachtree City's recreation facilities.

A brand new 350-seat civic auditorium will be proposed to voters as a part of the planned bond referendum for the November general election, Mayor Bob Lenox said recently. The facility would likely be built adjacent to another proposed bond project: the multipurpose community center.

The community center likely won't be built from scratch, however. City officials are looking to acquire the Braelinn Baptist Church campus, Lenox confirmed. The site, located on Robinson Road near Crosstown Road, could cost in the neighborhood of $2.5 million to acquire in its present condition, the mayor said recently.

The campus has 27 classrooms which could be used to expand the recreation department's current programs and add more programming, said Randy Gaddo, city director of leisure services. Another plus is the church's current sanctuary which was designed as a multipurpose space, Gaddo said.

The sanctuary can hold 600 people, but "we were there recently for an event where they had a sit-down dinner for 300 people," Gaddo said. "It's the ultimate multipurpose area. We probably couldn't have designed a community center much better than this one. This would be a definite asset to the city."

Currently, there are a number of programs the department offers which could be expanded at the center, including martial arts, arts and crafts, aerobics, gardening and cooking classes, Gaddo said.

"The possibilities are endless," Gaddo said. "It could take us years to implement them all."

While he stressed the ideas are not finalized, Gaddo said the center's areas would also be available for rent to increase the facility's revenues.

"It is going to have pretty considerable operating costs," he added.

City employees have been working diligently to investigate the costs of running the new facilities, Lenox said. Those studies won't likely be ready for another month, he estimated.

Barring any shocking information in those reports, Lenox said he plans to support all four bond issue initiatives, including the refinancing of existing city debt and a package of smaller recreation projects such as the expansion of the Kedron Fieldhouse and improvements to Drake Field. The new facilities will dramatically increase property values while costing the average homeowner approximately three or four dollars a month, Lenox said. This is particularly true now that the city is reaching its build-out stage and the only way to get into Peachtree City in the future will be to buy an existing house, he added.

"It makes our city that much more attractive," Lenox said.

Also, the initial cost for the Braelinn Baptist property "is a bargain at that price," Lenox noted.

At an estimated cost of $3.1 million, the performing arts facility will be listed as a separate bond issue question, Lenox said. But since the original estimates for the community center were in the ballpark of $5 million, that would leave some funds left over to cover the civic auditorium

Keeping the community center and civic auditorium separate questions on the ballot is a fair way to present the matter to voters, he added.

"It's a legitimate community decision," Lenox said.

Back to News Home Page | Back to the top of the page