Author: GHHCDC

Stonecrest asks developer to make improvements

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The Stonecrest City Council heard our voices at the meeting Monday night. We asked that more of the Greater Hidden Hills Overlay District zoning code be applied to the property the city plans to annex. This property is at 6024 Covington Highway, to the west of LA Fitness.  The council voted unanimously to defer the matter and asked the attorney to convey to Rocklyn Homes that some improvements were needed.

If the property had stayed under the GHH overlay, it would have been required to set aside 20% for public open space, have 30-foot buffers next to the Scarbrough neighborhood. We also asked for more trees and that the stormwater drainage system be environmentally sensitive and attractive.  For example,  the site could include permeable pavers, rain gardens, and vegetative swales. The stormwater retention pond could be an aesthetic and recreational feature, with a walking path and benches around it.

The next step is up to Rocklyn Homes.  We’ll keep you posted.

Thank you to all the people who came to the meeting. Your presence made a difference. We only had 10 minutes to speak; we appreciate the comments made by Jan Costello, president of the Greater Hidden Hills CDC; Kenneth Saunders III, president of the South DeKalb Improvement Association; and Rod Frierson, president of Hidden Hills Civic Association. Bernard Knight, general counsel of the Stonecrest Business Alliance, provided a factual reminder that the area was part of the GHH overlay district and that the city forgot to include the zoning when it incorporated part of the district.

Also, a word about the property owner, Halpern Enterprises. The firm did meet with us and accept the conditions we asked for that apply to commercial development. We appreciate the firm’s accommodation.

Inspired by Music on Main

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What a wonderful evening!

Thank you to our special guests Theresa Hightower and Moses Davis for their spectacular performance Aug. 18.

Thank you to our elected representatives – DeKalb Commissioner Steve Bradshaw, DeKalb Commissioner Gregory Adams, and GA Senator Steve Henson – for celebrating with us.

Theresa Hightower at Music on Main in August 2018

Thank you to our wonderful supporters and volunteers who know that together we can make a positive and lasting impact on our community.

Team

And thank you to all of our sponsors.

 

sponsors

We will use the funds raised to continue making our commercial areas look better, to advocate for high quality businesses, and to enhance greenspace.

You’re Invited August 18!

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Join us for Jazz, Delicious Food & Drinks, and Great Auction Bargains on Aug. 18, 8 – 11 p.m.

Our 2nd annual Music on Main features Theresa Hightower,an acclaimed jazz and blues vocalist, actor, and songwriter. During the event, you can get a deal on the items we’ll auction, such as:

  • Ion All-weather speaker system
  • Dinner for Two at CalaBar & Grill
  • ART Station Holiday tickets
  • All-Attraction Stone Mountain Park – two tickets
  • Hotel Indigo Peachtree – 2-night staycation
  • Unique, hand-painted Australian boomerang
  • Original Jennifer Dreznin mixed media artwork
  • Mystery Valley golf package
  • Sircles necklace and Sircles bracelet set
  • Nick’s Barbershop hair cut package
  • Fender amplifier from Pro Music  
  • Mary Kay gift set plus spa facial for three
  • PJs Package Red and White wine gift baskets
  • Rob Reardon original metal wall art (one features the Georgia Bulldog and the other Ray Charles)

The event raises money for streetscape improvements in the Greater Hidden Hills area. We all want better business. Please support the effort to improve our commercial areas. Remember, it’s tax-deductible.

Where:  Mainstreet Clubhouse, 5001 Mainstreet Park Drive, Stone Mountain

Tickets are $35 each or two for $60.  You receive food, beverages, entertainment, and a fun time with neighbors and elected officials.    Purchase at the door or in advance at:  Music-on-Main

Celebration of Health & Fitness at Hairston Park

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The soft opening of the new playground and fitness equipment on July 21 was super! Olympic athlete Sam Graddy is the featured speaker. Fitness experts were on site to show how to use the pieces of equipment. Commissioners Steve Bradshaw and Gregory Adams attended, along with DeKalb Parks director Chuck Ellis and deputy director Marvin Billups.  The fitness equipment came with the help of a grant GHHCDC received from The UPS Foundation and from a Park Pride grant.

Here are a few pictures. More are on https://www.friendsofhairstonpark.org/

 

Celebration!

GHHCDC

Celebrate Health & Fitness at Hairston Park!

Saturday, July 21, 10 – 11 a.m. – The seven fitness stations are installed and look great. The playground is terrific!  Come and celebrate Saturday and let our county representatives know how much this park means to us! Olympic athlete Sam Graddy is the featured speaker. We’ll have fitness experts on site to show how to use the equipment. This is a great event for the whole family.

 

 

 

Enjoy Jazz, Food, and an Auction at 2nd annual Music on Main

Reserve your tickets Now!  Aug. 18, 8 – 11 p.m.
Hightower-FullRes-Brick-reduced2nd Annual Music on Main – This year’s fundraiser features an accomplished local artist Theresa Hightower. She is an acclaimed jazz and blues vocalist, actor, and songwriter. During the event, we will auction assorted items including golf packages, jewelry, wine, dinner for two at CalaBar, ART Station Holiday tickets, artwork, and much more. The event raises money for streetscape improvements. Please support the effort to attract higher quality businesses to the area.

Where:  Mainstreet Clubhouse, 5001 Mainstreet Park Drive, Stone Mountain
Tickets are $35 each or two for $60.  Tax-deductible! Purchase at Music-on-Main

 

Next Meeting:  July 28, 10-11:30 a.m.
Greater Hidden Hills Community Development Corporation Meeting.
Everyone is welcome.
Mainstreet Clubhouse: 5001 Mainstreet Park Drive, Stone Mountain

 

Business Developments and Community Events

GHHCDC

The Greater Hidden Hills Overlay Zone will be expanded to include part of a parcel that’s up for rezoning.  The owners of 7 acres at the northeast corner of Redan have agreed to the request to put the entire parcel in the Greater Hidden Hills Overlay District. This property makes an “L” shape around the Citgo strip center; the portion on the east side of the strip center is already covered by the overlay, but the three residential properties along Panola are not.  The agreement means that the prohibited business list will apply to all of the property. In addition, the property will have to meet the Overlay Zone sign and design guidelines.  It’s really good news, and we have Commissioner Mereda Davis-Johnson to thank for making it happen.  The actual vote on the conditions will take place at the 9 a.m. Board of Commissioners meeting June 26.

At this time, the owners have only one proposed development for the site: a Waffle House.

And that brings us to the other Waffle House announced for our area: this one next to Los Arcos on Redan Road (just west of S. Hairston). We are told that construction will begin in early July. This is exciting news because Waffle House has agreed to make streetscape improvements to its section of Redan Road, including the bus stop.

Please make a note of these upcoming events and Join the fun!

June 16, 9 – 11 a.m.
Hairston Park Fitness Prep– Volunteers will put mulch in the 7 new fitness equipment beds. We would love your help! 

We purchased seven fitness stations with grants received from ParkPride and The UPS Foundation.   Three are shown here.

 

June 23, 10 a.m.
Greater Hidden Hills CDC meeting.  Top on the agenda: business development and Music on Main fundraiser.
Mainstreet Clubhouse: 5001 Mainstreet Park Drive, Stone Mountain

June 23, 11:30 a.m.
Friends of Hairston Park meeting.
Mainstreet Clubhouse: 5001 Mainstreet Park Drive, Stone Mountain

July 21, 10 – 11 a.m.
Celebrate Health & Fitness at Hairston Park – soft opening of the new playground and fitness equipment. Olympic athlete Sam Graddy is the featured speaker. We’ll have fitness experts on site to show how to use the pieces of equipment.

Aug. 18, 8 – 11 p.m.
Hightower-FullRes-Brick-reduced2nd annual Music on Main – This year, the fundraiser features an accomplished local artist: Theresa Hightower. She is an acclaimed jazz and blues vocalist, actor, and songwriter. During the event, we will auction assorted items including a Dinner for Two at CalaBar, ART Station Holiday tickets, and artwork. A full list will be provided later.

The event raises money for streetscape improvements. Please support the effort to attract higher quality businesses to the area.

Where:  Mainstreet Clubhouse, 5001 Mainstreet Park Drive, Stone Mountain

Tickets are $35 each or two for $60.  Tax-deductible! Purchase here:   Music on Main

 

 

 

Median Spruced Up!

GHHCDC

We’re upgrading the median at S. Hairston Road, just south of Redan. With the expert help of Kirk Hickson, a Redan High School graduate and owner of AKS Landscaping, we

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Kirk Hickson (above) and Jan Costello plant rosebushes and miscanthus on the median. 

planted Red Fountain Miscanthus and Cherokee rosebushes.

Keep DeKalb Beautiful dug the holes for us, and the department promises to put fresh mulch on the median.

If you need landscape help, Kirk welcomes your call: 678-702-1899.

Median-Jan

Joy and Accomplishment on Earth Day

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More than 90 people showed up for Earth Day at Hairston Park April 21.  We worked happily under brilliant blue skies.  Volunteers cleared a six-foot-wide path from the parking lot to the north edge of the park near Elam Road and back around to the playground.  Others aired out the shrubbery next to the sidewalk, volunteers picked up litter, and children painted cement barricades.

Thanks to John Ahern at Park Pride for guiding us through the project. Many staff and volunteers came from Park Pride, and we appreciate you all. Thanks to Gwendolyn Stegall and the Friends captains: Larry Cole, Jarvis Walker, Jonathan Stegall, and Keith Williams.  And thanks to Antioch AME Church, Wells Fargo, Home Depot, and Invesco for sending volunteers.

District 4 Commissioner Steve Bradshaw and District 7 Commissioner Gregory Adams opened the day’s event with gratitude and inspirational pep talks.

The community made a tremendous difference in Hairston Park. Look at the before and after pictures:

The hidden path before Earth Day
The path AFTER Earth Day!

Visit and see for yourself.  We’ll have other fun projects at the park, so please join us.  Write to FriendsofHairstonPark@gmail.com to be on the mailing list.

Must Reschedule our Median Day

GHHCDC

Apologies to all. We must reschedule our Max the Median morning set for Saturday. Several utility companies have not completed their inspections, so we cannot dig. We’ll send an update when we set a new date.

Please note two upcoming dates. The next Greater Hidden Hills CDC meeting is 10 a.m., April 14, at Mainstreet Community Center.

And, join the fun on Earth Day, April 21, 9 – 12.  We’re meeting at Hairston Park to clear trails, make a forested area next to the playground a safer place for kids to play, and pick up litter.

All the details are found at this link:

http://bit.ly/2COSRdo

This project is a joint effort of Friends of Hairston Park and ParkPride. Please sign in for the Earth Day event whether you can help for an hour or the morning. It will help the non-profit show community support, and that’s vital when it asks for grants.

Give 60 Minutes and Build Community Pride

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Phyllis Frierson and volunteers enjoying the last spruce-up day.

Join the effort to make a positive difference in our community. Saturday, March 24, 9:45 a.m., we will brighten a key stretch of S. Hairston near Redan (across from Kroger). The median will get spruced up with a dozen new plants and fresh mulch.

You may park between Wendy’s and Doo’s Seafood or in the shopping center parking lots.

The work is fun and satisfying.  Keep DeKalb Beautiful staff will have the holes dug for the plants. We put them in the ground and spread the mulch. Bring your gloves, a shovel and a metal rake.

A dozen volunteers can knock this out in an hour. Please come! The result will please you every time you drive down S. Hairston. It will remind people that our community cares about its appearance.

If you have questions, write to GHHCDC@gmail.com