Condemnation Process Moves Ahead for City Upgrades, Town Center Plan

The city of Snellville is progressing in its plans to condemn portions of number of properties in the areas of Clower Street, Oak Road and Wisteria Drive for future improvements of the town center.

City council approved a "declaration of taking" for the affected properties at its recent regular meeting. The condemnations will cost the city at least $1 million to compensate parties involved, according to data provided by officials.

To meet a June 30 deadline regarding acquisitions, city council had to move forward with the "declaration of taking." However, there will be future opportunities for more public input.

The condemnations do not involve actual taking of buildings, but rather parking lots and other similar areas. Officials will then turn the condemned property into new streetscaping, off-street parking and other transit and pedestrian upgrades.

To read the city's current five-year update on the LCI projects, see the attached PDF.

About the Livable Centers Initiative in Snellville:

The city of Snellville was awarded a $75,0000 Livable Centers Initiative grant in 2003 through the Atlanta Regional Commission. The Snellville grant is specifically to study the transformation of the area at the intersection of U.S. 78 and State Route 124. The city proposed to find solutions to the transit and pedestrian challenges in the area, to direct future growth and encourage possible infill development as a means of increasing the quality of life of citizens. It has also become known as the Town Center Plan.

The Atlanta Regional Commission has awarded more than $18 million in study funds for similar projects in metro Atlanta. All total more than $500 million, including funding for actual construction work, has been dedicated for transportation projects via completed LCI studies.