Albany commissioners consider commercial investment districts to spur growth

ALBANY — With the coming implementation of a master plan, Albany’s downtown is on track for revitalization and, the hope is, a return of vibrancy and business activity to the district.

Now some city commission members are turning their gaze toward two other economic corridors that have fallen on tough times: Slappey Boulevard and the area around the Albany Mall.

During a Tuesday session with local lawmakers seeking input on the needs of the city, Dougherty County and non-government entities, city commissioners pitched the idea of creating commercial improvement districts to give those two areas an infusion of cash.

If approved by the commission and business owners, a special tax would be imposed for sales for commercial establishments in those areas. A board governed by business owners would decide how to use the money.

Some of the items it could cover include sidewalk and streetscape improvements, lighting and hiring additional security.

If the decision is made locally to move forward with one or both of the districts, local legislators would need to introduce enabling legislation for approval by the state legislature.

“In Atlanta, they have at least 25 of these,” Ward IV Commissioner Chad Warbington, a proponent of the idea, said. “All 25 have been successful in increasing economic opportunity and property values.

“These two areas have their challenges, but I think you can build on the positives to help overcome the obstacles. This is what you call an out-of-the-box idea, and I think Albany needs to try out-of-the-box ideas.”

South Slappey is lined with fast-food restaurants, shopping centers and also includes government facilities, including the Department of Health and U.S. Post Office, as well as Albany Technical College.

One need in the area is an anchor grocery store and other shopping opportunities, including perhaps a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, Commissioner Demetrius Young said.

Young said he had not been apprised of the proposal, but has long advocated for boosting the economy in his Ward VI.

The area covered by the commercial improvement district would include parts of his, Warbington’s and Ward II Commissioner Jalen Johnson’s wards.

“I’m for economic development in south Albany, especially South Slappey,” Young said. “Where I’d like to see that happening is what I refer to as the Oakridge corridor, that area of Oakridge (Drive) kind of starting at the shopping center where the Burger King is, to the airport.”

The area envisioned includes the stretch of Slappey from Whispering Pines Road to Gordon Avenue, Warbington said.

“We’ve got to keep our eyes on commercial growth,” he said. “Our best way to grow our city is to encourage economic growth. These are two main corridors we need to not only stabilize, but to grow.

“It’s not reinventing the wheel, it’s trying to find a tool that’s been successful and using it in Albany.”

While the city has a residential population of about 70,000, the commissioner said, the “daytime population” swells numbers to 130,000. That includes those who commute to Albany for work as well as shoppers.

“That shows that during the course of a weekday, we double in population,” Warbington said. “That’s a population that’s spending money, that’s eating at restaurants, that’s putting gas in the car. So my spin is that means Albany is the economic hub in southwest Georgia.”

Malls have suffered — and often closed — in recent years across the country. The triple-whammy of increased online shopping and the associated decrease in traffic for department stores, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic that kept potential shoppers at home, have played a role in this.

When less people come to the mall, that decreases the traffic of visitors who would also visit nearby stores and restaurants, Mayor Bo Dorough said.

“It’s sort of a symbiotic relationship between the surrounding shopping centers and the mall,” he said. “People come to Albany to shop. As a result of coming to the mall, they migrate to adjacent shopping centers. As the mall suffers, these retail shopping centers suffer.”

The boost of a commercial district could help reverse the trend of abandoned and vacant stores in both of the areas under consideration, the mayor said. The hope is to have the enabling legislation introduced during the 2023 legislative session that begins in January to kick off the effort.

“Obviously, we need to do something to spur economic development in Albany,” he said. “With the additional budget, you’ve got the opportunity to revitalize neighborhoods and our commercial districts. It’s better to take action now, before we have further deterioration on Slappey.

“That’s what the investment district is. Those are all components of resuscitating our commercial areas that have been abandoned or vacated.”

Staff Photo: Tara Fletcher