Oconee County has now issued at least some form of building permit for nearly two-thirds of the total commercial space in Epps Bridge Centre, the new shopping mall at the Oconee Connector and SR Loop 10.
Most of those permits are for the core of the shopping center, which preliminary site plans indicated would make up more than 80 percent of the total mall space.
Oconee County Clerk Jane Greathouse just before noon on Friday added a new item dealing with appointments to the Georgia Bioscience Joint Development Authority to the agenda for Tuesday’s Board of Commissioners meeting .
Earlier last week she added to the agenda a water and sewer project update by Utility Department Director Chris Thomas. Thomas is to review recently completed water and sewer projects, those underway, and future projects
Fairway Outdoor Advertising removed its three signs at Ruth Jackson Road and U.S. 78 earlier this month and has illuminated the third side of its LED sign at Epps Bridge Parkway and the Oconee Connector.
Despite what county officials said would be the case, however, the county will see no increase in sales tax revenue as a result of the new, large illuminated signs Fairway has installed at two locations on Epps Bridge Parkway.
The contrast on Saturday between Oconee County’s Epps Bridge Centre and the shopping centers on Atlanta Highway in Athens-Clarke County was striking.
Epps Bridge Centre was celebrating the official opening of three Gap Inc. stores, and cars filled the parking lot in front of the stores later in the day.
The parking lot in front of the closed Old Navy store in the Athens Promenade on Atlanta Highway was nearly empty.
Most Georgians are more progressive than their elected state leaders, Bryan Long, executive director of Better Georgia, told a small group gathered for the Oconee County Democratic Committee meeting on Aug. 15.
Long didn’t define what he meant by progressive, but he said Georgians are in favor of better funding for education, are opposed to laws severely restricting a woman’s right to decide on matters of her health, in favor of funding needed government services, and in favor of infrastructure investment.
When the Garrett family sought local and state permission to convert its recovered materials processing facility on Dials Mill Road into a materials recovery facility earlier this year, it invited both public and government scrutiny of its current operations.
As a result of that scrutiny, four citizens filed complaints with the Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources about the recovered materials processing facility at 1441 Dials Mill Road or about Roll Off Systems, headquartered nearby on B. Garrett Drive.
The Oconee County Code Enforcement Office issued permits earlier this month for construction of stores to house Lane Bryant, Sleep Number and Alumni Hall, all to be located in the new Epps Bridge Centre.
Lane Bryant and Alumni Hall will be in the central cluster of the strip mall, between the now-open University 16 Cinemas and the Oconee Connector.
