Rossville: Revitalization in progress
The past year has been quite busy as efforts are made to revitalize lives and businesses in the City of Rossville.
In 2018, the city worked with the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission towards a new Urban Development Plan. With help from this commission, the city was able to review the zoning for the city, which hadn’t been amended in over 20 years, and use a grant from said regional commission to hire contractors who worked on zoning. The goal was to make the City of Rossville more attractive and pedestrian friendly. Some of the rules were outdated, and others contradicted each other. The goal, however, was unanimous: to make Rossville a place where people want to stop and stay for a while.
Elected officials voted to adopt stricter zoning ordinances for businesses near the state line off Rossville Boulevard, Chickamauga Avenue and McFarland Avenue. The new codes ban gas stations, car dealerships, car washes, mechanic’s shops, warehouses and fields of parking lots in the area. With Rossville having the highest traffic count in Walker County at 22,000 cars per day, the mayor and council agreed that these changes could make the area more friendly for pedestrians to feel safe.
Additionally, the City of Rossville teamed up with two renowned architects named Ryan Gravel and Jonathan Tate. Gravel also worked on the Atlanta Beltline project in the past. Tate, who is based in New Orleans, has worked all over the country in architecture and urban design. Last year, they held an Urban Design project in Rossville to help with revitalization efforts.
Later in the year, the city also solidified a partnership with Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute to develop an Economic Development Strategic Plan for Rossville, with the goal of attracting new investments.
For the coming year of 2019, this means that even more development will take place. Starting this year, the city has appointed a new planning commission. The City of Rossville is also enjoying several new businesses. Last year, the Duck Pond was revamped and rebranded, so it is more beautiful than ever and is drawing attention from local businesses. There are many more commercial buildings around the duck pond compared to the past. In the city, there is now also a local art collective which features five art spaces, as well as a gallery. Some other new businesses in that area include a woodworking shop and a metal working shop.
The city only hopes to keep growing from here, and according to Elizabeth Wells, who works economically for the city, there are efforts to complete this goal. “We are looking, in 2019, to create a local investment perspective to draw certain types of development that taxpayers and citizens want in their community.” said Wells. “One really important thing in this process has been the support we’ve gotten from the community, especially Walker County Schools. They have been so supportive of our efforts and what we’re working on in Rossville. We would not have been able to do a lot of what we’ve been doing. We’re doing it, in essence, for them. We hope to improve the lives of citizens, students, parents and families”