The growing amount of empty store space in Fayetteville has not escaped the notice of city leaders.

City Council members and staff are looking into the idea of launching an all-out effort to redevelop shopping areas decimated by tenants' decisions to move into newer spaces at Fayette Pavilion and other new retail centers.

"We've got a shopping center that's becoming vacant," said City Councilman Larry Dell during a recent council retreat. "We need to look at some incentives to reuse some of these buildings."

The biggest problem is a vacant building once occupied by Wal-Mart, which closed down its store on Ga. Highway 85 and opened a new super store in Fayette Pavilion. So far, there have been no takers as shopping center owners seek a new tenant for the space.

Numerous other spaces have become vacant recently as well. "There is a significant amount of property downtown, but the prices that the owners are putting on it is ridiculous," said Councilman Al Hovey-King, who also acts as chairman of the city's Downtown Development Authority. "There's no pressure to sell. They have no need to sell," he said.

Possible solutions range from finding companies willing to raze the old buildings and put up new ones to arranging for the Downtown Development Authority to buy vacant buildings and lease them out at attractive rates. The authority currently is limited in its development efforts to the city's historic Main Street area, but city attorney David Winkle suggested the council could widen the group's jurisdiction.

"We're all agreed that we want a program," said Mayor Mike Wheat. "The question is what."

Various city staff members will be looking into that question over the next few months, and city officials will talk with experts in the area in hopes of devising a plan to deal with the problem.

Council members will seek meetings with Dr. Rick Skinner, president of Clayton College and State University to "pick his brain" about commercial redevelopment and new business incubator programs, and will discuss Fayetteville's situation with the Fayette County Development Authority.

"We want to try to pull them more into the process with us," said city manager Mike Bryant.

Bryant said he believes the city has a lot to offer prospective tenants, including the local quality of life, the educational system in the county and the proximity of several colleges and universities.

"We've got a transportation issue, and that's the only really negative issue we've got," he said, referring to the city's growing traffic gridlock.