MARIETTA — A developer addressed questions about vacant properties, a potential grocery store and its vision for downtown at a public meeting this week.
Roughly 70 residents gathered at the Marietta History Center Tuesday to vent fears, voice hopes and hear from Bridger Properties, which owns more than four acres of downtown real estate.
Last January, Atlanta-based Bridger purchased the historic Marietta Station office buildings, the land which the Marietta Square Market food hall sits on, about a dozen stores along Church Street, the pedestrian bridge which spans the railroad tracks, and a 1.25-acre parking lot just north of the food hall.
Over the past year the firm ruffled feathers and drew the ire of the mayor after failing to come to terms with some Church Street tenants, leading to several vacancies. Last week, it made waves by announcing plans for a new, seven-story residential building north of the food hall.
“We love Marietta Square, and we love everything about it,” said Jack Arnold, one of the firm’s two co-founder/principals. “And it’s got its own unique character, and we’re not trying to change that in any regard. What we’re trying to do is create sort of a complementary, additional, sort of jewel in the crown.”
The company has said it wants to extend the vibrancy of Marietta Square northwest to Church Street. On Monday, the city’s Historic Board of Review signed off on designs for Bridger to convert a small parking lot at Marietta Station into a public plaza, along with a facelift for the Church Street stores.
The multimillion dollar investment will include new paint, doors, awnings and other features, plus new roofs and grease traps.
Bridger hopes to bring in new restaurants and “pure play retail” to Church Street. The developers said they’re looking for small businesses and local operators to fill their…
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