PORTERDALE, Ga. — The city of Porterdale has finally sealed the deal on a parking lot located at 1501 Main St.

At the city council’s voting session on Sept. 8, the council moved to accept the closing document, cementing their ownership of the lot. The property was purchased from the Maddox family for a price tag of $225,000.

“Some people said it could not be done, and here we are,” Patterson said at the meeting. “And I’m very thankful that we have made a deal with the Maddox family and that we have the relationship that we have with them.”

Patterson spoke to The Covington News about the significance of the acquisition and how the city plans to use the space. 

The Maddox family utilized the lot as parking for its business, but permitted city visitors to park in it as they visited downtown as well. Patterson said this trend will continue, and the Maddox family’s business will remain accessible through the lot. 

But the lot will do more than continue to serve as parking for the downtown area. The city has plans to make it an entrance to the Yellow River Park, complete with pavement and green space.

“Not only are we going to put parking there, but we’re going to also make it to where there’s signage and there’s green space and there’s all kinds of different things there to make it a very welcoming area so that we can host events there, we can have food truck nights there,” Patterson said.

With the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) aiming to begin replacing – and enlarging – the bridge over the Yellow River in 2027, Patterson says the city is still working to determine the best timeline for updating the lot.

“The bridge is not going to come into the area of the parking lot really much at all, but I understand that they [GDOT] are going to have a lot of equipment out there,” Patterson said. “There’s going to be a lot of construction, road construction, and things like that. And I want us to really get the best value out of our remodel, and I don’t want to go in there and have to do it twice. So we’re working with GDOT to make sure that our timing on the parking lot remodel fits their timing.”

Patterson described the parking lot as a long-sought venture. The mayor said that the city had long wanted to acquire the space, but had been unable to hammer out a deal.

However, by sitting down with the family, Patterson said that the city was able to work with them to come to a deal. The mayor expressed staggering gratitude and appreciation towards the Maddox family for their willingness to work with the city.

“I also believe too that the parking lot holds a lot more value than the dollar. It has value in the relationship that the city is now building back with the Maddox family,” Patterson said. “…We want to work with them for not just the best interests of the city, but also of their family.”