Got parking?

Downtown progress takes time, but in Loco’s case, it may have taken too much time.

Owner and GC&SU alumnus John Otts said the downtown construction project, Streetscape, was the culprit for the demise of Loco’s.

“Before they started the construction, we were doing well,” Otts said. “The construction took over nine months to complete, and the road was closed for months at a time. People started finding other places to eat.”

Otts said many people began choosing restaurants on Highway 441 over restaurants downtown.

“It really killed the downtown,” Otts said. “We hoped our business would come back, but we’re opening another Loco’s restaurant in Augusta, and we couldn’t handle the financial constraint here.”

About 25 of Loco’s employees were GC&SU students, but fortunately won’t remain jobless for long.

“We’re actually employing 11 of those students at other restaurants,” Otts said. “And we helped the ones we couldn’t find jobs for.”

Streetscape was executed in 2000 by Milledgeville Main Street, GC&SU, GMC, the City of Milledgeville, Baldwin Co. and Forward Bulletin. The plan included four phases which were paid for by a Transportation Enhancement Act grant of $8,000 and a $2,000 grant from the Special Purpose Local Operations Sales Tax.

The plan included improvements such as new crosswalks, new brick-accented sidewalks, a three-lane driving section, additional parking, pedestrian refuge islands, new streetlights, a new curb and gutter, fire hydrants, a water main, a new sewer and a new irrigation system, new asphalt pavings, new benches and trash receptacles and more radiant lights for a safer downtown.

Jodi Van deMark, general manager of Amici’s (Loco’s neighbor), said the construction impacted business there, as well.

“The construction has been quite a large issue for us,” Van deMark said. “Our awnings were damaged, and our frame was damaged in several areas.”

Although Van deMark was told the frame would be replaced, it still hasn’t been.

“It’s not the city,” Van deMark said. “The city has been very careful actually.”

During the construction, Van deMark said walkways were made with plywood for people to enter restaurants, but Amici’s never received one.

“The very corner was just a big mud pit and a lot of people didn’t want to walk that far, and the people who did come in got the dining room muddy from the construction,” Van deMark said. “The workers dug so far down that the windows had to come off and the mud poured down to the basement when it rained. They were supposed to clean that up, too, but still haven’t.”

Amici’s implemented special tactics to stay open during construction.

“We had specials to draw people in,” Van deMark said. “We had to tell people how to get in the front door and we put big chalkboards outside and drew all over them.”

Frank Pendergast, co-owner of The Brick, Blackbird Coffee and Buffington’s, has been fortunate enough not to have been affected by the construction.

“They took longer on our side with construction and were out working in front of our business more than others, and we weren’t affected,” Pendergast said. “I think it has to do with the way businesses are run.”

Aaron Irons, manager of Buffington’s, said parking has affected businesses more than the actual construction. Irons said with new businesses opening up, there’s not even enough employee parking.

“I think it was the issue of parking more than the actual construction itself,” Irons said. “There just isn’t enough and there hasn’t ever been with the influx of students everywhere.”

Alex Puebla, manager of Puebla’s agreed. He believes more parking spaces should be added downtown.

“Right now business its really slow, but the main problem is that customers can’t find any parking spaces,” Puebla said. “Business owners don’t even have spaces to park.”

According to Milledgeville Main Street’s Web site, “the central downtown area has 1,047 parking spaces, not including the on-campus parking provided by GC&SU and Georgia Military College. The county parking facility at the Court House provides 205 covered parking spaces. The city and private businesses have recently acquired some downtown parcels for further parking improvements. For those who have to park within sight of the door they’re heading for, downtown parking will always be frustrating.”

Milledgeville Main Street encourages people to “enjoy walking the sidewalks on the great streets of our downtown.”

Otts urges people to eat downtown, despite the finishing touches of the construction projects and the parking perils.

“I encourage people to go eat downtown as much as possible because we have a great downtown and we don’t want to lose it,” Otts said.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 7 2005. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry