Build a town center, and homebuyers will follow

In 1988, civic leaders in Smyrna, Georgia, several miles northwest of Atlanta, realized they needed a town center. The old downtown had practically ceased to exist, becoming not much more than a collection of “antique shops and a few other things,” recalls Pete Wood, a 13-year councilman. “It was time to craft a vision for the future. We believed that if we created something downtown that would be a gathering place, then there would be opportunities for quality housing.” Today the results are in. Smyrna Town Center, created with guidance from Atlanta-based Sizemore Group architects and planners, contains a 28,000-square-foot public library, a 55,000-square-foot community center, a 25,600-square-foot municipal services building, a 42,000-square-foot public safety building, a town green and park, a fire station, seven eating places, and a variety of retail, offices, and living quarters. Rise in value In 1995, 26 detached houses, starting at $129,000, were built along tree-lined streets with alleys and garages at the rear. Within six years they were worth $225,000. Last October, the latest phase of Town Center opened: 16 two-story, 2,500-square-foot residential units on top of ground-level restaurants and stores. Those have sold for $300,000 to $350,000, says Wood, noting that upscale for-sale-housing above retail “is a new concept in this area.” Several hundred detached houses have been built nearby. Mike Sizemore says Smyrna was a blue-collar area “surrounded by sprawling kinds of places” and “was not getting its share of growth” until Wood, Mayor Max Bacon, and others decided the city should acquire and redevelop approximately 28 acres as a town center. The municipality “created a place where people could bring their families for all sorts of events,” Wood says. “The downtown was the catalyst for a lot of homebuilding around the city,” Wood points out. “There are a lot of upscale subdivisions” where houses run from $300,000 to $1 million. The city’s population, 34,000 in 1990, has since grown to about 46,000. The Town Center has become a destination for people considering developing a town center in their own communities. “We’re averaging about one out-of-town touring group a week,” Sizemore says. He notes that a major Atlanta area firm, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, now is “pursuing this form of development as an anchor in its large housing developments.”