COVINGTON, Ga. — Residents gave mixed reviews after hearing a $14 million proposal from an Alpharetta-based developer Tuesday night of how he’d like to renovate the Conyers Street Gym and Baker Field.

During a town hall event outside Conyers Street Gym, developer John Adams of The Revivalist Guild shared his proposed plans for purchasing and revitalizing the facility. He partnered with architect D.Tracy Ward to create a design to transform the existing building and baseball field into a mixed-use area that would bring 40 total apartments and a small amount of retail space, all while preserving its rich history.

The Conyers Street Gym has remained vacant for several years and is in poor condition. City officials said the building has a variety of issues, including an excess of mold and asbestos. To simply renovate the gym as it was originally built would cost millions of dollars. The city is currently working to get a grant to help cover the abatement costs.

Baker Field, however, is still used by members of the community today, offering a green space for area sports teams, families and children to utilize.

City officials said the facility, including the gym and field, in their current state, was recently valued at $850,000.

Adams said the gym’s structure would virtually remain the same while becoming home to 20 apartments. He said the maple, hardwood flooring currently in the building would be rejuvenated for the lower-level units. Adams said they would “make it a point to tell the story” of the 86-year-old, brick tapestry building.

For Baker Field, Adams wants to construct a second building in the shape of the existing field that would house the remaining 20 apartments as well as retail space, “and push it back so that we can actually maintain the exact locations of home plate, first base and third.” He also wants to bring in sculptures to place at first base and home plate that replicate a memorable plays. Adams said second base and the pitching mound would be inside the building. He also wants to preserve the dugouts and press box and hang plaques to help tell stories of past games like Floyd’s.

Adams said there would be an ample amount of parking spaces that would be hidden underneath each building. He even called the amount of parking a “surplus” that met the city’s code requirements.

Apartment units would range between 700 and 1,400 square feet and be leased at “affordable” market rates. Adams said there were no plans to place age limitations on potential renters. But if it were what the city and community wanted, units could also be sold as condos, he said.

The development was originally priced as a $12 million project, but because labor shortages and construction costs have risen, he projected it could take up to $14 million to fund the renovations. Adams said the project’s conceptual designs shared during the town hall event were simply a “starting point,” and he was open to any and all community input.

“I want to build an extraordinary development that serves the community in which it is built and that people can be proud of,” Adams said. “I appreciate everything that you’re saying tonight. I’m just absolutely floored that this many people showed up to voice their concerns. I promise you, if I’m lucky enough to get the development, that I will address every single one of them and try to mitigate every one of your fears to the extent that’s possible. But I intend to make this thing like it was, as close as it can be to like it was when it was built in 1935 and tell those extraordinary stories.” 

Adams shared that he and his family used to live in Covington several years ago and had always held a special place for the area. He said it would be an honor to have a role in the revitalization of the facility — whatever that role may be — because its history needed to be preserved.

Adams and The Revivalist Guild have developed and are currently working on similar historically-inspired projects in other parts of the state, including Founders Hall in Blalock Place in Alpharetta; Crabapple Mercantile Exchange in Milton; and Ellard Mercantile Exchange in Roswell. All of these projects were north of $18 million developments.

City Manager Scott Andrews said Adams’ plan for the Conyers Street Gym facility was the only proposal received by the city after it sent out formal requests for proposals multiple times.

Covington Economic Development Manager William Smith said about five different people, or groups, showed interest in the property, but he said Adams and his partners were the only one to step up to the plate and put forward a plan.

“They did such a phenomenal job illustrating what this site meant to the community,” Smith said. “And that’s really what’s important to our team — that we do something that commemorated this site and represented Covington.”

In order to provide absolute clarity, Andrews and members of the city council assured residents numerous times that the proposal was just that — a proposal. No deal had been made. No plans had been approved.

“Nothing is decided,” Andrews said. “This was a big part of this tonight was to get the feedback from the community to figure out what you like and what you dislike … This was the pivotal step in this before any ink dries or gavels drop … We really appreciate your feedback.”

COMMUNITY REACTION

After listening to the developer’s initial plan for renovating the Conyers Street Gym facility, the more than 50 residents in attendance voiced mixed reviews.

There were several proponents of an idea to only renovate the gym and update the field to “keep it like it is.” 

One resident said if the city were to accept the current proposal, they would be taking away green space while adding more people to an already crowded town with “nothing to do.”

“This is all green space right now,” the resident said of Baker Field. “What I see and what I hear with Newton County is ‘more people.’ More people, more people, more people. What are these people going to do? We already wait to eat on the Square. You’re taking away more places for people and community youth to use.” 

She then asked why the city had let the facility get into such bad shape, and also wondered why the city couldn’t further its partnership with the YMCA to allow them to use the field and gym, once renovated.

Community Development Director Trey Sanders said working with the YMCA to make that happen would be a “fantastic” idea, but it would also be a major financial commitment for the YMCA.

“If there was a way to make that happen, good,” Sanders said. “Let’s figure out a way to make that happen. It would be good for the community. But you’re talking about millions of dollars of investment … and that’s one thing that everyone needs to consider… That building is not on the verge of collapse—”

“But that’s the city’s fault, though,” a resident interjected. “It’s the city’s building and it should have been maintained.”

“All right, and we’re trying to correct it now,” Sanders said. “It is sad that it’s in that condition, but we’ve gone through the processes that we can to try and get interest to redevelop it, and this is what we have. If you guys don’t want this, that’s fine. But, it’s going to keep sitting there until we can get several million dollars for the Y to do something, or until we can get several million dollars for … whatever [is decided].”

Another resident urged the city to consider leaving the field alone and only renovating the gym.

“You took our historic school building a long time ago,” she said. “You never should have taken it. We do not want this field taken away. It means something to all of us. To the county, to the city. It’s history. Don’t take this away. You can have that [gym]. It really needs improving. But this is green space, and it means a lot to the city.”

Heather Baker Autry, granddaughter of Buddy Baker, whom the field was named after, briefly voiced her thoughts on the developer’s proposal. Buddy Baker was considered a “pioneer of early baseball in Newton County.” 

“I really think he intended, when he started playing here, for kids to continue to be able to play here if they wanted to,” she said. “Not just a memory or something that people can read stories about.”

Prior to the developer’s presentation, as members of the city council encouraged the crowd to “keep an open mind,” some shared their own memories of the facility. Councilman Don Floyd said he and his wife attended first grade together inside the gym, and he remembered eating lunch in the basement. He also recalled the many afternoons spent playing baseball on Baker Field.

“One thing I can remember about playing here — there were [four] teams here in Newton County,” Floyd said. “There was the Covington Braves, the Covington Mill Trojans, the Mansfield Red Sox and the Porterdale Yankees. The Covington Braves beat the Porterdale Yankees for the championship on this field. I was pitching. I got a line-drive [to the shoulder] … everybody got to go to the Dairy Queen to get some ice cream except for me. I had to go to the emergency room.”

Following Autry’s comment, a resident who identified as a 25-year-old professional said the development would potentially give her a place to call home.

“There’s not really anywhere for me to live in the city,” she said. “I live with my parents here on Monticello Street, so my car is not going to add to your traffic. There’s not really a lot of housing options. There’s not a lot of apartments. I’m looking for a house, but as you can see, the housing market is kind of crazy. Atlanta is growing. I kind of think this is something that you need to embrace. It’s going to happen now or in a couple years … It’s going to happen.”

Another resident agreed and said growth is inevitable, and though she identified as being “neutral” toward the proposal, she appreciated the city’s efforts to allow community input.

“I appreciate that the city is trying to find a way to preserve it. Honestly before this meeting, I had no idea about the history. So the history can either stay with the generation that made the memories here, or the generation that had those great memories can share it with the younger generation and the growth. And if anything is ever going to come here, I want it to be historic and something that we can share those memories with … I think there is some positive, and I think some people want to see growth, but maybe growth in a good way and not a forced way. And I think maybe this could be a good way. But even if it doesn’t happen, I think it’s nice that the city is trying to find a way to grow in a way the people want.”

Later, Rob Fowler, who is an 83-year resident of Covington, took the microphone. Like Floyd, he also attended class inside the gym and spent many afternoons playing on Baker Field.

“If I had my way, I would keep Covington the way it was 20 and 40 years ago,” he said. “But, that is not the case. The case is, Covington and Newton County has already grown and it’s going to double and triple in the next 10 or 20 years. So the question isn’t whether we’re going to grow or not, it’s how can we grow in a positive way? I happen to be a proponent of parks and connectivity. With parks and connectivity, that gives people age 8 to 80 a way to exercise and get out in the open … Every foot of the trails we have in Covington now took a debate and an argument. So, if we can get behind planning and some way drawing plans longterm that will last and survive this immense growth that we’re going to have, let’s try to do it.”

Several residents did not support the idea of more apartments being built in the downtown area, citing their belief that most renters would likely be transient. 

“You like to know your neighbors,” one resident said. “You like to know that they’re going to be there for two years, five years, 20 years preferably … I don’t want to know that the person walking their dog down at the cemetery may be gone in six months, or that there’s some person here that I don’t necessarily see around, and then there they are at the cemetery.”

Many residents were also concerned with how such a development would affect traffic. Andrews disclosed that the city had hired a third-party firm to conduct a large-scale traffic study on the entire downtown area. He said the study was complete and results would be shared soon, and those results would also play a major factor in the future of the proposal.

Smith said the reason for limiting the proposed retail space for Adams’ development was to “try not to disturb surrounding neighborhood” while also providing opportunities for new businesses interested in locating to Covington. If a new business wanted to come to Covington currently, Smith said he had virtually nowhere to take them.

Towards the end of the meeting, Mayor Steve Horton addressed residents and thanked them for participating and providing input for what direction the city should go next.

“Your council wanted you to be here,” Horton said. “This was not something done in the dark or done behind closed doors. I want to reiterate that the city council has not obligated or committed to do anything but to listen to you and to take your concerns and questions seriously.

“If you go home and think about things that you didn’t really think about here, get back with us,” he added. “Call him. Call me. Facebook — everybody does Facebook, I know. We’ve got the city website, too. Please, if you’ve got anything else to say, say it. But the thing that I want to say … every public meeting that we’ve had leading up to this, we have said, for your benefit, that we have not made a decision on this project. We’re honored that someone would want to propose something to us, but we’re not obligated to commit to do anything. So, again, thank you so much for being here, voicing those concerns. Your opinions — every one of them are valuable. None of them are less important than the other, and it doesn’t matter which side of it you’re on.

“In my mind, this is ‘grassroots community’ at its finest,” Horton concluded. “If we lose this, that’s when it’s time to cash in the chips and go home. But as long as we can do this, sit here and talk about things, have opinions in a civil manner, and apply those in the form of government, what else could be better for carrying out the business of the community?”