The City of Cornelia has been awarded a $1 million grant to help fund the construction of a new amphitheater for the downtown area. The grant will be a 50/50 grant. The city will have to match that $1 million either financially or with in-kind contributions.
The grant was awarded by the Appalachian Regional Commission, a partnership of federal, state, and local governments that supports economic development projects in 423 counties in the Appalachian region, of which 37 counties are in Georgia.
The city first partnered with the Georgia Mountains Regional Commission to write the grant application, which was required as part of the city’s comprehensive plan for economic development. “We have discussed several other projects that were eligible but weren’t competitive enough for a federal grant like this, but the amphitheater project was a perfect fit,” said Community Development Director Jessie Owensby.
“It takes a lot of hard work, effort, and collaboration to obtain the funding for these kinds of projects. Though locally we know how impactful capital improvements and infrastructure can be for a small community like ours, we must create a vision, tell our story, and show people who have never been in Cornelia how important a project like this is to the viability and economic growth of our entire region. To know that we have succeeded in those efforts is a welcome relief,” Owensby said.
The project will begin with an environmental review. Once the environmental review is completed, construction on the amphitheater can begin.
Planning for a venue
Cornelia began discussing the project last year. The amphitheater would provide an alternative location for outdoor concerts. For several years, the city has used the old Grogan Chevrolet dealership property on South Main Street for outdoor concerts. That site required the city to provide shuttle service to and from parking areas located downtown. The new amphitheater location is adjacent to downtown parking lots that would relieve the shuttle service requirement.
The city purchased the property needed for the venue in January this year from Johnson Railway Services, Inc. Since the purchase, the city has been cleaning up the property in preparation for the project.
During the commission meeting last Tuesday, the City Commission approved the city’s engineering firm Carter and Sloop to move forward with the design, bid, and management of the amphitheater project. The cost for this portion of the project is $170,300.
City’s Ward 4
The amphitheater project will be located in the city’s Ward 4 district, adjacent to the depot. “I think it’s great,” Ward 4 City Commissioner Tony Cook said. According to Cook, the city used to have concerts in the same area years ago. “There used to be concerts down there at the depot,” he said.
The amphitheater will be located on the edge of the downtown area and will impact that side of town. Cook said he hasn’t heard any complaints but he admits, “I don’t know how many people know what it’s going to be.” However, he adds, “I was talking to some people today and they thought it was great.”
According to Cornelia City Manager Donald Anderson, the property was purchased for $410,000 using ARPA funds. The project will include a new parking lot that will be located on Front Street. SPLOST funds will be utilized to construct the parking lot for $400,000. The remaining funds will come from General Fund revenue, according to Anderson.
