Historic Athens

#UGASPIAFellowSpotlight ❤️ with Ray Beam! “My name is Ray Beam, and I’m an upcoming third year student at UGA pursuing degrees in International Affairs and Political Science. After earning my bachelor’s degree, I hope to spend a year in the AmeriCorps before attending graduate school. As the Events and Outreach Fellow at Historic Athens, I work with Denise and Michelle to support the planning, coordination, and promotion of events and community engagement efforts. In addition to my contributions to several history hours and community tabling events, I am responsible for tracking community engagement at Historic Athens’ public events. In my free time, I like to watch movies, keep up with the news, and write.” Since 2020, Historic Athens has partnered with the UGA School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) to offer paid fellowships, giving students hands-on experience in preservation, communications, historical research, grant writing, and more. Ray has been one of our "fellas" since last fall, and just finished up his internship with us. Not a goodbye, but a see you later- thank you for a great 3 semesters, Ray!

From the Desk of Taneisha Brooks, Historic Athens Director of Preservation Impact: Historic Athens family, As we transition from summer and into the busy season in the Classic City, I’m pleased to share some updates that highlight the critical work we’re doing together. We are making a real impact in not only preserving the historic homes that create our built landscape, but holistically supporting and empowering our most vulnerable Athens residents. I’m particularly proud of what we’ve achieved with the EHP program, and aligning the needs of our community through the lens of transformative preservation. Because to us, preservation isn’t just white columns and grand homes. And through this work, we’re laying the framework for what historic preservation means in Georgia and the nation (more on that in the newsletter!). Thank you for your support. It’s because of you that we continue to protect, restore, and share the rich history of Athens. I look forward to all that we’ll accomplish in the months ahead. Warmly, Taneisha Brooks, Historic Athens Preservation Impact Director ✉️ Sign up for future newsletters at https://xmrrwallet.com/cmx.plnkd.in/ewKbsqKs ✉️ See Taneisha's full report at https://xmrrwallet.com/cmx.plnkd.in/dEhE6St9

Thank you to everyone who came out to our August History Hour! We had a packed house for Joe Smith, Lori Bork Newcomer, Jonathan Collins, and Steven & Beth Brown, covering the legacy of the UGA Presidents House, its legacy, and what might come next. Thank you to Rashe's Cuisine for providing another delicious lunch, to Lyndon House Arts Center for hosting us, our speakers, and all our attendees. See you at our next History Hour, on Tuesday, September 2!

Historic Athens Board & Staff Retreat 2025 is in the books! This past Saturday, Historic Athens board and staff came together for our annual Board & Staff Retreat, a productive day of discussion, leadership, and planning for this next year in Athens and beyond. Special thanks to Marti's-At-Midday for the gorgeous, catered lunch and Athentic for hosting us! With renewed enthusiasm and a clear vision, we look forward to continuing our mission and making even greater strides in preserving and celebrating the cultural heritage of Athens, GA. Cheers to another year!

NEWS by Jim Thompson via Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Historic Athens building demolished to make room for church parking lot" "ATHENS — The historic downtown Saye Building is being demolished after preservationists lost a yearslong battle with a local church that is turning the property into a parking lot. The removal of the 22,000-square-foot structure has prompted proposed changes to Athens-Clarke County’s demolition permitting process that could help protect historic properties. The County Commission plans to vote on the changes Tuesday." For the full article, go to ajc.com or @AJCnews

#UGASPIAFellowSpotlight ❤️ with Emerson Moon! Since 2020, Historic Athens has partnered with UGA School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) to offer paid fellowships, giving students hands-on experience in preservation, communications, historical research, grant writing, and more. This semester, Emerson is one of our stellar fellows, and we’re so grateful for their hard work! "I am a Georgia native hailing from Conyers in the Metro Atlanta area. Growing up, I spent a lot of time giving back to my community through various volunteering efforts including Girl Scouts. It is because of my work with Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta both as a scout and a staff member that led me on my current path to work in social and environmental policy. While my undergraduate background is in social work, I currently study public administration at the graduate level. It is with my educational background and various experiences in the public sector that I hope to become a policy analyst upon completion of my degree. Through my current role, I serve Historic Athens as the Programming and Operations fellow. In this position, I am able to evaluate the programs and events our organization puts on so that we can improve/reform them for the future. I also assist with many of the day-to-day operations and functioning of Historic Fire Hall No. 2 as well as supporting our Senior Director of Operations, Denise Sunta. Outside of working and academics, I enjoy my fair share of fiction novels typically with themes of romance and fantasy/sci-fi. I also love horseback riding and appreciate when I get the opportunity to do so. I absolutely adore music and collect records, so when I get the time to discover new artists I’m always excited."

Congratulations again to Ava Oldman and Alex Whirley for jointly being recognized as this week's Team Member of the Week. They were selected in recognition of the excellent work they have done launching our Richardson-Davis Park proposal (more to come on that soon!). Thanks, Ava and Alex for all your hard work!

Happy Friday! Please read the following important Porchfest update and request: We are making progress on securing Porch Hosts and are at 200 registrations! Overall, we still need our community's help so all our performers have a home and aren't waitlisted. A huge thank you from me, Tommy, and the team to everyone who has signed up already. If you or anyone you know lives in the neighborhood, please register now at bit.ly/porchhost25 Here are our needs by neighborhood: Boulevard: 9 Needed Buena Vista: 9 Needed Cobbham: 2 Needed Newtown: 4 Needed Normaltown: 4 Needed Pulaski Heights: 5 Needed Reese-Hancock: 4 Needed With gratitude, Denise Sunta & Historic Athens

NEWS via Blake Aued via Flagpole Magazine: The Lord Taketh Away the Saye Building in Downtown Athens "The Saye Building has gone to the afterlife. Athens First United Methodist Church started demolition on the historic structure at the corner of Lumpkin Street and Hancock Avenue last week. The teardown marks the end of a saga that started back in 2018, when the church applied for a permit to level the 100-year-old building. Athens-Clarke County Commissioner Melissa Link put a hold on the wrecking ball, then initiated the process of creating what became the West Downtown Historic District. Five years later, after exhausting its appeals with the county, First Methodist sued. Superior Court Judge Lisa Lott ordered the two parties into mediation, which resulted in the county commission caving to the church’s demands, removing the building from the historic district and issuing the demolition permit over the objections of the Historic Preservation Commission, the Planning Commission and many residents. An investment group fronted by former commissioner Russell Edwards offered to buy the building for $3 million to renovate it, but the church turned them down. Now, it will become a parking lot until the church eventually finds some other use for the land." For the full article, go to flagpole.com or @flagpolemagazine

Update: Community Questions on Proposed Reuse of the President’s House Hello, all. We wanted to share this update based on our recent community survey about the proposed adaptive reuse of the former UGA President’s House. We heard from local residents who raised thoughtful questions about preservation, construction, and the overall project approach. We’ve grouped the most common ones below and have passed them along to the design team. Once we get responses, we’ll share them with the community. Preservation-Related Questions: -How much of the house’s original interior will be preserved or restored? -What’s the plan for the historic landscape features (like the ginkgos and boxwood garden)? -How will archaeology be handled before and during site work? -Will preservation standards or tax credits guide the design process? -What’s happening with the smaller outbuildings behind the main house? -Will there be any interpretation of the site’s history for the public? General Project Questions: -How was the size of the project decided in relation to the original structure? -How is traffic and parking being addressed? -What’s the construction timeline? -How will neighbors be affected during construction? -Will updated plans or design changes be shared with the public? -Is the layout or footprint still flexible? We’ve told the design team that these questions reflect genuine community interest and that many of these topics will likely come up again at two upcoming public events: -August 5, 12 PM→ History Hour Q&A at the Lyndon House -August 19, 5:30 PM→ Community Input Session & Townhall (details TBA) Thanks to everyone who took the time to share their thoughts. More soon. All the best, Tommy and Historic Athens