Residents Weigh In On Proposed Cultural Center

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — The city of Sandy Springs is taking the first formal steps in creating a proposed facility that would house key business, tourism and cultural-related components in its downtown district.

Sandy Springs on Thursday held a visioning session to allow residents and stakeholders to provide input on what they'd like to see in a proposed cultural center. About 40 people attended the Nov. 29 session at the Studio Theatre at City Springs. The Nov. 29 session that was facilitated by Greg Walker of Houser Walker, the firm designated as lead architect for the project.

The proposed space would be located in the vicinity of Hilderbrand Drive and Blue Stone Road, east of Sandy Springs Circle and north of Sandy Springs Place. Its creation would go hand-in-hand with the objectives outlined in the 2012 City Center Master Plan. The center would be created to "foster creativity and support for arts in the community through education, innovation and collaboration," the city notes.

Walker said the center would be about 19,000 to 25,000 square feet, and would provide a home for Visit Sandy Springs, the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, the Anne Frank Exhibit and the Sandy Springs/Perimeter Chamber of Commerce. It would also include exhibit space where a rotating selection of various art work could be on display for the public to enjoy.

A key component of the project, Walker added, would be to provide pedestrian connectivity to and from City Springs. He also said the center would need to be cohesive, yet provide each organization and agency their own space to assert their separate identities. Following Mayor Rusty Paul's opening comments and Walker's presentation, residents were asked to rank their priorities for the Cultural Center's components and the vision for the area in the future.

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Longtime city resident and community leader Carolyn Axt, who was instrumental in launching Leadership Sandy Springs, said she believed easy accessibility to the William Payne House and Heritage Sandy Springs was also "essential." Fellow resident and small business owner Matt LaMarsh agreed, adding he hopes the connectivity will be sufficient to encourage people to park at City Springs and walk to the center.

In his opening remarks, the mayor said the public-private partnership Sandy Springs is known for will also be part of this project. He later told Patch that getting private investments for the proposed center key, as it would help reduce the city's cost of the project.

Paul added that no tangible location has been identified, but a suggested site was used in the request for proposals as a starting point. Sandy Springs could use property it owns on the north side of Hilderbrand, another site it owns further to east or even purchase another parcel for the center, the mayor added. However, nothing is set in stone, as Paul said Sandy Springs is still in the "what we're going to do phase."

He did estimate the center could cost about $350 per square foot, but the final price tag won't be certain until the city can get an idea of what residents would like to include in the center.

Thursday's gathering, Paul said, was designed to allow the city to receive input to get an idea of what the community would like to see before it could take any steps in implementing the project. That input, he added is "unbelievably invaluable because these are the folks who...are actively involved in the city."

"There's a lot of serious conversation going on here, which is what we wanted," he said.

Of course, the mayor did indicate he was aware there could be questions about or opposition to the initiative. However, he noted the proposed center has been on the city's mind since it was added to the 2012 Master Plan, which was based upon widespread community input.

"I learned a long time ago that you're not going to get unanimity, but you can strive for consensus, and the Master Plan was the result of the consensus in the community that this was needed," he added.

Getting the proposed center established in Sandy Springs is vitally important to Manuela Bornstein of Dunwoody, a Holocaust survivor who regularly shares her stories with audiences around metro Atlanta. Bornstein, originally from France, survived the government-sanctioned genocide and immigrated to the United States in the 1960s. She has been involved with the Commission on the Holocaust, and is supportive of the state body's quest to find enough space to successfully accomplish its mission of educating the public.

Bornstein said she felt positive about the chance of the project getting off the ground in Sandy Springs.

"I think it's great," she said. "I hope it happens."

Photo: Matt LaMarsh, third from right, speaks about his vision for the Cultural Center as Carolyn Axt, center, and other participants listen. Credit: Kristal Dixon