-David Crowder, WRGA News-
The Rome City Commission has approved a rezoning request for 700 Maple Avenue.
The property will go from multi-family residential to urban mixed-use to allow for more potential uses.
“The applicant is seeking to have a commercial space with a couple of apartments above it,” said Rome-Floyd County Planning Director Brice Wood. “This is a historic building. It is in the East Rome Historic District. This would allow for a small commercial space downstairs and the construction of a couple of apartments upstairs. There is a small parking area to the rear of the property.”
Also, on Monday, the city commission approved a construction contract for Garrard Park with Pennant Construction.
“Actually, it’s a project that started with our partner over at the Northwest Georgia Housing Authority,” said Rome City Manager Sammy Rich. “They determined that they really didn’t have the capacity to carry out the project, and so that led to some discussions. Then we discovered we could make this happen out at the existing Garrard Park, which is on the former GE property.”
The estimated cost consists of $1,573,680 in grant funds and a $160,000 cash match or cash contribution provided by the City of Rome.
The city will also be responsible for the construction, while the housing authority will be responsible for submitting reimbursement requests to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
“We went out and did a solicitation for a design/build construction project, and we received three bidders,” Rich said. “After the committee reviewed the bids, the recommendation was to go with Pennant Construction for a price not to exceed $1.6 million.”
The park will have two inclusive playgrounds serving ages 2–5 and ages 5–12, a covered pavilion with an attached restroom facility and picnic tables, a pedal park/pump track, internal walking connections, and access to existing trail systems.
