ATHENS, Ga. — A historic building in Athens got a reprieve from demolition when the Athens-Clarke County Planning Commission voted Thursday to table the decision on the historic Saye building for 60 days.
Planning Commission chair Matthew Hall felt the delay was necessary since the Saye Building is still considered a part of the West Downtown Historic District and the request to remove the property from the Historic District is still pending.
The Saye Building, built around 1920, is part of the W. Downtown Historic District and has been recognized as a contributing structure to the National Register of Historic Places since 1984. Although the Historic Preservation Commission voted to reject the application to remove the building from the Historic District, the matter is subject to a mediation agreement between the Athens Clarke County Government and Athens First United Methodist Church, which owns the Saye Building.
The Mayor and Commission will take up the issue of removing the Saye Building from the W. Downtown Historic District at their next session on March 4th.
Hall also said the Church did not make enough of a case in its application as to why the demolition was necessary for the Church’s needs. Athens First United Methodist Church submitted a proposal to demolish the Saye and replace it with 14 parking spaces. The Church already has 178 dedicated parking spaces, and in its application, it acknowledged that there is ample parking downtown on Sundays. However, they argued that weekday programs and large weddings and funerals push the capacity of available downtown parking during the rest of the week.
On their website, the Church says the parking is a temporary solution and over the next few years, they will “prayerfully consider how to best utilize this space to serve the Downtown Athens community.”
Several community members came forward to speak against demolition. Amy Andrews, who lives in Normaltown, was concerned Athens First United Methodist Church doesn’t always have the public’s interest in mind, “…the Church states that they are responsible stewards of their properties and resources…They are, and yet they are the ones that destroyed Union Hall, which was a very successful African-American office and professional building on the corner of Washington and Hull St, for their parking lot behind their building. So, they don’t always act in the interest of the public…”
The motion to table the decision passed unanimously, with Alexander Sams recusing himself because his wife is an employee of the church and he has a deep background in historic preservation.
While a representative from the church was present, he declined to speak or respond to public comment.
This article appears on Now Habersham in partnership with WUGA News
