Business and community planners, county and municipal elected officials got a look at a growth-filled future Tuesday at the South Fulton Development Outlook 2005.
Held at the Georgia International Convention Center in College Park, the packed ballroom audience heard remarks on growth and development in South Fulton by public and private developers, economists and Fulton County commissioners.
Southpoint Partners, Ltd. Managing Partner Tennyson Williams beamed as he told the audience that the retail industry in south Fulton is hot and going to get hotter in 2005. That kind of growth, he said, is also indicative of the investment real estate market.
If youre worse off now, everything is about to get a whole lot better, he remarked. And if youre better off now, everything is about to get a lot better.
Mirroring Williams outlook for South Fulton, Kennesaw State University economist Roger Tutterow said South Fulton has seen significant revitalization in the past few years. And with offering affordable prices, keeping better traffic patterns in place and being close to the airport, South Fulton has the opportunity to do things right. Forward thinking management can tackle the consequences of rapid growth, including the infrastructure challenges in education and other areas.
For the long term, South Fulton is a tremendous place of opportunity. Thats why people will move here and businesses will locate here, he said.
Fulton County District 7 Commissioner William Bill Edwards told the audience that the goals for 2005 and beyond include expanding the existing office space, constructing new office space and providing both affordable and high-end housing to meet the areas increasing growth in business and residential populations. The South Fulton area is a natural draw for growth, he said, given its proximity to a good interstate highway system and the worlds busiest airport.
Edwards said the way to accomplish the goals specific to South Fulton requires a view of the future that holds cooperation among all parties in high regard.
The lines of jurisdiction and egos have been holding us back for years, he said, emphasizing that positive outcomes are more likely when the interested parties in South Fulton work in concert rather than separately. It needs to be we as a community.
Edwards also referenced the land conservation work at Chattahoochee Hill Country, in southwest Fulton. He said the groups efforts to provide living and shopping space while preserving and protecting most of the areas 40,000 acres is a good example of the foresight in south Fulton.
Its the kind of development and the kind of concept that reaches beyond South Fulton. Its this kind of concept that makes us strong in South Fulton, said Edwards.
Speaking on upcoming growth in South Fulton and the metro area, Atlanta Urban Land Institute Executive Director Jim Durrett said population growth forecasts for metro Atlanta did not keep pace with reality. The forecast of a decade ago for a metro population of 4.2 million by 2020 was substantially off the mark. Metro Atlanta is the current home to 4.2 million people, with another 2.3 million expected in the next 10 years. And citing the results of an upcoming survey, Durrett said that by 2050 the Atlanta megalopolis will be the largest metro region in the United States.
Narrowing the focus specifically to Fulton County, Commission Chair Karen Handel told the audience that 2005 in Fulton is the year of the roads. The new $16.5 million transportation budget signals a significant increase over the $7 million designated lasted year. The increase will help with needed road improvements, including the 188 miles of roads in South Fulton in severe need of resurfacing, Handel said. Also in this years budget are funds for the replacement of three bridges in the area, she said.
We need more congestion reduction, said Handel. We have to continue to find better way for families in South Fulton to get from point A to point B.
Though citizens sometimes say the congestion and other factors resulting from growth can be frustrating, Handel said an end to growth would not be good for Atlanta or South Fulton. And the reality, she said, is that companies from outside Georgia are interested in doing business in South Fulton.
Regarding land conservation and new approaches to development, Atlanta Regional Commission Chairman Sam Olens cited Land Conservation Initiative (LCI) study grants obtained in 2003 by Union City and the Chattahoochee Hill Country Conservancy. Those and other initiatives signal an alternative way of looking at development that recognizes that growth must be managed throughout the metro Atlanta area.
We can save a greenspace area the size of Clayton County if we manage our growth, Olens said.