Athens, Ga. – A team of students and faculty from the University of Georgia College of Environment and Design will be in Griffin to give a presentation on potential design improvements for the Fairmont Neighborhood and Historic Rosenwald School.
The presentation will be Dec. 5 from 10-11:30 a.m. in the Resource Room at A Z Kelsey Academy. The UGA students will present options for reuse of the school, improvements at Fairmont Homes and in the surrounding area at the monthly meeting of the Educational Prosperity Initiative. The public is invited to attend, explore the conceptual ideas and give feedback.
The UGA environment and design students have been addressing issues of affordable housing in Georgia this semester. One of their targeted projects is the Fairmont Neighborhood and Historic Rosenwald School in Griffin. Over the weekend of Oct. 25-27, they and their professors spent three days in the neighborhood talking with residents and community leaders.
Students, from the landscape architecture and historic preservation programs, have been building upon the citizen input gathered through the Educational Prosperity Initiative-a partnership which includes the Griffin Housing Authority, the UGA Center for Urban Agriculture, the City of Griffin, Spalding County, the Spalding Collaborative, the Griffin Branch of the NAACP, Spalding County Cooperative Extension, Griffin Spalding County Schools, Southern Crescent Technical College, Griffin-Spalding Chamber of Commerce, Southern Regional Hospital and others, as well as residents from the adjacent neighborhoods. The study envisions reuse of the school as a community center and sees opportunity for returning the Fairmount area to the active and proud neighborhood it was historically.
The UGA study will be finalized based on input gathered at the meeting. The final report will be available shortly after the first of the year.
For further information, contact Ellen Bauske, program coordinator with the Center for Urban Agriculture, at 770-233-5558 or ebauske@uga.edu.
About UGA’s Center for Community Design and Preservation
The Center for Community Design and Preservation serves as the Public Service and Outreach office for the College of Environment and Design. The center provides opportunities for faculty and students to engage in real-world projects and put their academic pursuits into practice. The CCDP delivers conceptual community design services by utilizing a mix of faculty, professional staff and students, which helps leverage professional assistance to implement projects. As recipient communities receive high quality design services, students receive the practical hands-on experience that makes them more marketable as graduates. For more information, see www.ced.uga.edu/pso.
