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MidTown in Motion
E-NEWSLETTER
January 2008
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Dear MidTown Stakeholder,
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 In 2007, MidTown, Inc. made great strides in its efforts to stabilize and renew our in-town neighborhoods and business districts. Maybe its biggest accomplishment was working with the City of Columbus, private contributors, and the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to obtain a $1 million Transportation Enhancement Grant for the purpose of restoring the 1920's-style Wynnton Road streetscape from roughly Peacock Avenue through to its Hilton Avenue. This grant will improve pedestrian access to a road that because of its current design actually divides us. Few would feel comfortable crossing Wynnton Road on foot. Anyone who has walked along Wynnton Road recently knows that the sidewalks are inadequate and uninviting. Watching the children who attend Wynnton Elementary cross the road each morning and afternoon would make anyone uneasy. With the $797,840 provided by the GDOT TE funds and $200,000 raised by MidTown, Inc. as matching funds, this structural community divide will soon be behind us.
The Wynnton Road Corridor Project looks to take the road improvements you see occuring at Peacock Avenue and Wynnton Road and replicate them through to Wynnton's intersection with Hilton Avenue. Amenities of the Wynnton streetscape improvement will include: sidewalks, tree planting strips, decorative stamped crosswalks, and cast aluminum lamp and signal posts like we see in Uptown. The streetscape plan will change the face of MidTown Columbus by providing better vehicle passage and pedestrian access/safety, as well as significantly beautifying the corridor. This project also will improve the economic development potential of this area by increasing walkabilty from the adjacent neighborhoods and parking areas to the Wynnton retail shops.
As a board member of the GDOT, I was pleased to make this grant for the MidTown renewal effort. I consider it very important to our community. My wife Dusty and I returned to the MidTown area several years ago. We appreciate that this streetscape project of the main corridor through MidTown Columbus is a significant step toward revitalizing the entire area. We also appreciate that the importance of a revitalization organization such as MidTown, Inc. is demonstrated in this revitalization opportunity. MidTown, Inc. conceived of this streetscape plan and funded the engineering and concept plans that allowed the city to apply for the TE grant. It also raised the critical matching funds from private sources (Aflac and the Mildred Miller Fort Foundation) to make this concept a reality.
We hope you, too, see the tremendous benefit of having MidTown, Inc. working to better our community.
Best regards,
Sam M. Wellborn
MidTown Director
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| Important Comprehensive Plan Meetings |
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We need your input. The City of Columbus is conducting public workshops throughout Columbus to determine how we want our city and neighborhoods to grow into the future; and what we want our neighborhoods and city to look like in the future. This process is critical to our quality of life over the next two decades. There will be two public workshops held in the MidTown area:
- Monday, January 28th (Wynnton Arts Academy Cafeteria, 2303 Wynnton Road)
- Tuesday, January 29th (Clubview Elementary Cafeteria, 2836 Edgewood Road).
Each workshop will take place from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. You also should participate in this important process by taking a short On-Line Survey (click on link to access survey).
The exciting process of preparing a plan for how our neighborhoods will grow and what public monies will be invested here is just beginning. The city wants to hear our neighborhood voices. Are you tired of restaurants and retail moving to North Columbus? Do you wish the city would make reinvesting in our in-town communities a priority? Do you want planning that emphsizes Columbus's distinctive characteristics? What can and should be better? These and many, many other questions will be the topic of discussion.
Each public workshop will begin with an informative presentation: "What is a Comprehensive Plan and what does it mean to your neighborhood?" Next there will be discussion sessions where you and your neighbors will discuss your concerns and identify ways you can make positive changes in the future of your community. The workshops are designed so that everyone can share their views and take part in exploring new ideas about improving their neighborhoods. Come prepared to answer questions such as:
- What makes your neighborhood/community/Columbus a great place to live?
- What do you think your neighborhood/community/Columbus will be like 20 years from now?
- If you could change one thing about your neighborhood/community/Columbus, what would it be?
The Comprehensive Plan for Columbus will provide policy and planning guidance on the physical development and redevelopment of the city. The new Comprehensive Plan will look ahead to the year 2028, so it will help us prepare public policy for next year and many years to come. Your involvement in this process is absolutely essential to a good Comprehensive Plan. We look forward to seeing there!
To read MidTown, Inc.'s views on issues related to the Comprehensive Plan CLICK HERE. |
| Huge Success! - Wynnton Road Community Forum |
 One hundred and seventy-five (175) neighbors, property and business owners, elected officials and other MidTown stakeholders turned out December 11, 2007, to participate in the community forum and workshop regarding our vision for the Wynnton Road Corridor. MidTown's consultants, Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh, met with six selected property owners during the morning session of the Wynnton Revitalization Workshop. These property owners were chosen by the consultants because their properties are believed to be those primed for renewal due to their size or proximity to the Wynnton streetscape plan. All invited property owners or their representatives chose to participate in the visioning process. We express our deep appreciation to these participants. Their willingness to be the visioning "guinea pigs", if you will, jump-started the process of imaging what this corridor (stretching from Peacock Avenue to Hilton Avenue) might become. The crowd was also introduced to the details of the Wynnton Road Corridor streetscape plan.
We were delighted with the large turnout from MidTown neighbors and other stakeholders. We received dozens of written comments, which we are still assimilating. We hope to have a final report of the professional, property owner/investor and stakeholders' input completed in the next few weeks. We anticipate publishing the final report in our next e-newsletter and will make it available to you through our website.
If you would like to learn more about the Wynnton Road Corridor Revitalization Project, click HERE .
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| New Officers and Board Members for MidTown, Inc. |
 At its Annual Meeting Thursday January 10, 2008, MidTown, Inc.'s board approved a new slate of officers and additional board members. After 5 years of service to the MidTown revitalization effort, former board President Ed Burdeshaw turned over leadership of the organization to SunTrust Bank of West Georgia President Frank Etheridge. In his first address to the board as President, Mr. Etheridge stated: "It's an honor to step into this important position so ably held by Ed. He was instrumental in the three-plus year process of developing the MidTown Project revitalization road map and in establishing MidTown, Inc. as the non-profit organization charged with implementing that plan." Mr. Burdeshaw, a principal in the local architecture firm of Hecht, Burdeshaw Architects and a MidTown resident, will continue to serve the MidTown renewal effort as a board member. Mr. Etheridge added: "I am looking forward to working with Teresa Tomlinson, our Executive Director, who has become an outstanding community leader."
Other officers approved by the board include: Vice President - John Sheftall (MidTown resident and attorney with the law firm of Hatcher Stubbs); Treasurer - Judy Tucker (MidTown resident and East Highlands community representative); Secretary - Elizabeth Barker (MidTown resident and acting Executive Director of Historic Columbus Foundation).
The MidTown, Inc. board also welcomes an exciting list of new board members: Will Barnes (MidTown resident and principal architect with Barnes & Co.); Walter Calhoun (MidTown resident and real estate agent with Flournoy & Calhoun Realtors); Thomas Gristina (MidTown resident and attorney with the firm of Page, Scrantom, Sprouse, Tucker and Ford); Dr. Phyllis Jones (Principal of Rigdon Road Elementary School), Lisa Ottley (MidTown resident and Director of Financial Management Services at Synovus Financial Corp.). Joining the board as Ex Officio members are: Will Burgin (Columbus South Board Member); and Len Williams (Executive Director of Housing Authority of Columbus, Georgia).
Current board members Anne King and Virginia Peebles were elected to new board terms, while board members Alfred Blackmar, Bennie Newroth, Sam Wellborn, David Arrington (Ex Officio) and Teresa Tomlinson (Ex Officio) continue to serve.
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| Mistletoe In MidTown Drawing Winner |
 Deidre Mallory, owner of the Tanning Spot on Warm Springs Road, won the Mistletoe in MidTown drawing for $1000 in MidTown merchant gift certificates. On Sunday December 9th, Historic Columbus Foundation, along with sponsors SunTrust Bank and Georgia Power, and partners MidTown, Inc. and the MidTown Merchants Association, organized and hosted the 2007 holiday tour of homes, called "Mistletoe in MidTown." By all accounts this tour of homes was one of the most successful holiday tours, with a record number of tickets sold and a record number of visitors (600!) to the featured homes.
Deidre (who is pictured here (r) receiving her winnings from MidTown Executive Director Teresa Tomlinson) attended the Mistletoe in MidTown holiday tour with friends. She qualified for the drawing by visiting 5 of the 10 participating MidTown Merchants. The following MidTown Merchants' donated gift certificates to make up the $1000 prize: Ann's Porch, The Butler's Pantry, The Columbus Museum Shop, Finds and Consigns, Front Porch Gallery, Gloria Mani Gallery, Hinson Galleries, Lewis Jones Flowers & Gifts, Meritage, Speakeasy Pub, Two Sisters Gallery, and Two Timers.
Historic Columbus Foundation Executive Director Susan Lawhorne drew Deidre's winning MidTown Passport. Deidre was thrilled to have won, and stated the certificates greatly assisted in finishing her holiday shopping. Congratulations to Deidre and to Historic Columbus and the MidTown Merchants on a successful holiday event.
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| MidTown Schools Excel |
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MidTown's own Carver High School football team crowned a remarkable season by winning the Georgia Class AAA state championship football game against Cairo on December 15, 2007, 16-13 before a crowed of 8,000. The Tigers finished a sensational undefeated season (15-0) by scoring the touchdown that put them over the top and clinching the state title with just one minute left on the clock. Not only are the players to be commended for their extraordinary effort and achievement, but a special recognition must be given to the coaching staff (led by Coach Dell McGee), the band, cheerleaders, parents, school teachers and administrative leadership and all those fans that supported the team game after game. Go Tigers! Congratulations!
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U.S. News & World Report in conjunction with School Evaluation Services assessed 18,790 public schools in 40 states in search of the very best; and found MidTown's Columbus High School to be one of the select Silver award winners for its excellence in education. A three step process determined the top high schools. The first two steps ensured that the schools serve all of their students well, using state proficiency standards as the measuring benchmarks. For those that passed the first two steps, a third step assessed the degree to which schools prepared students for college-level work. Only 3% of surveyed schools qualified for Silver or Gold status. For additional information regarding the Georgia medal winners click HERE .
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The award winning Rigdon Road Elementary School cut the ribbon on its spectacular new school building Tuesday January 8th. With state of the art technologies and a first rate design that complements the adjacent Robert A. M. Stern-designed library, Rigdon Road Elementary will soon be home to some 600 students - all ready, willing and able to succeed. There will be an open house to tour the new facility on Sunday January 27th at 3:00 p.m. Kudos to the staff of Rigdon Road School and the Muscogee County School Board for their leadership in this important community investment.
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Invest in MidTown, Inc.
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Because of you, MidTown, Inc. is making a difference in the renewal of MidTown Columbus. From working with the City of Columbus and neighborhood representatives to finding a neighborhood friendly use for the Armory on Macon Road (expected to be deeded to Columbus State University for educational purposes), to organizing and bolstering MidTown Merchants and attracting enthusiastic and talented developers, MidTown, Inc. and its stakeholders are improving this community and thereby improving Columbus.
Positive change happens through community effort, and those concerted efforts require funding. As a new year begins, we remind you that contributions made to MidTown, Inc. are tax deductible. MidTown, Inc. is a non-profit tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization. Our mission states: In support of community, conservation and diversity, MidTown, Inc., through education and advocacy, works to sustain and enhance the neighborhoods and businesses within MidTown Columbus. Please join us in the pursuit of this mission and in the renewal of our in-town community.
You may send your contribution to MidTown, Inc. 1236 Wildwood Avenue, Columbus, Georgia 31906. To access our on-line giving page click Invest in MidTown. We appreciate your interest in MidTown. |
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MidTown, Inc. | 1236 Wildwood Avenue | Columbus | GA | 31906
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