community development

Wow! Winning First Impressions Contest Ideas and Entry Form

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Storefront Marketing Contest

Enter now in the  first annual Wow! Winning First Impressions contest. All businesses in the Greater Hidden Hills Community are invited to compete.  The business that most improves and beautifies the front of its store will win a grand prize – a beautiful , tall planter filled with attractive perennials – and be recognized in a ceremony on March 17. Two businesses will receive honorable mention awards.

Contest-brochure-ideas-rules-entry form
Click on the brochure link for the entry form, rules, and great ideas!

 

Let’s Create Parklets at Shopping Centers

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Los Angeles has a great idea for turning streets into pedestrian-friendly environments, and I believe we can do the same thing with our strip malls.

The strip malls are uninviting to consumers and businesses because they are tucked far behind large parking lots. We would love to create new development that brings the shops closer to the street, but in the meantime, let’s do something attractive and productive now.

Let’s borrow LA’s parklet idea and apply it to the strip malls.

Imagine how appealing it would be to have a seating area outside the shops! You could sit there and eat and visit with friends! LA has shared its manual, parklet kit, and technical drawings. You are going to be hearing more about this idea. Look below to see some of the neat concepts.

Envision Greater Hidden Hills!

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The Hidden Hills Country Club once was rated one of the top 50 golf courses in the nation. The club and course closed in 2006. The 184-acre property is in the heart of the Greater Hidden Hills coIMG_4204ammunity. As part of our community development effort, we now have a video that tells the story of its rise and fall, and how it can rise again.

Click this link to watch the video:   https://youtu.be/7wiaGJgl_3E

 

Recap of Successful Battle of the Bands

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Redan Village rocked Aug. 22. Redan High School Band showed tremendous community spirit as they marched and performed for the crowd.

Nadine-2 Photos Battle-Bands (8) Nadine's Photos Battle-Bands (4)DeKalb County District 5 Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson and Super District 7 Commissioner Stan Watson kicked off the event with warm greetings and commitment of support for economic development in the greater Hidden Hills area.

“This was a wonderful celebration of the neighborhood’s creative students and local businesses,” said Jan Costello, president of the Greater Hidden Hills Community Development Corporation. “We are building alliances between the community and businesses, and advocating for the types of businesses our community wants.”

To see a video of the day’s events, click https://youtu.be/vFuY5WJvILw  .

Four young men received free haircuts from Nick’s Barbershop, and the crowd voted that Justin “Peewee” Ford gave the best haircut (to Kentrell Walker).  Owner Vance Harper opened this barbershop 27 years ago, making his one of the longest running businesses in the area.

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Nadine-2 Photos Battle-Bands (9)Little Caesar’s staged a Shaker Board competition and gave five pizzas each to the two prizewinners. And, the managers provided samples to the crowd.

Zaxby’s gave away six bags, stuffed with school supplies and coupons. Kroger provided water, balloons, and gift certificates. Brusters provided a gift certificate.

Jay Betts provided let the organization stage the event in front of Jay’s Place. Manager Rod Jackson cooked hamburgers and hotdogs and deejays Hype, Red, and “C” ke3Nadine-Battle (8)pt the music pumping.

Nadine-2 Photos Battle-Bands (14)Keep DeKalb Beautiful Director Gordon Burkette brought information about the Roll Forward to One and recycling campaigns.

The crowd met the owners of half-dozen local businesses:
MedPost Urgent Care, Taryn Lawrence State Farm, V-Shuttle Taxi Services, B-Street Sixty-One, and Corliss Sheffield United Credit Education Services answered questions and provided information.

The Redan High School Booster Club and Friends of the Hairston-Crossing Library also participated.

Nadine Rivers-Johnson did a terrific job orchestrating one contest after another. Numerous people helped staged the event, including Marion Long, Lois Dunlap, Pauline Dailey, Neia James, Charlene Taylor, and Fred Plummer.

To see a video of the day’s events, click https://youtu.be/vFuY5WJvILw  .

Come to the Battle of the Bands in Greater Hidden Hills

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 August 22, noon to 3 p.m.

Redan Village: NE corner of S. Hairston & Redan, in front of Jay’s Place Redan-Hairston Map-band icon

This community event will showcase creative students and local businesses. Join us!

*  Celebrate the creativity of local high school bands (Including the Redan Raiders!)

*  Compete for top honors in the Little Caesar’s Shaker Board contest

*  Vote on the best haircut by the skilled barbers from Nick’s

*  Watch local deejays battle it out for best in class

*  Enjoy hot dogs and hamburgers

*  Win prizes, just by coming out!

*  Find out about Roll Forward to One and the Keep DeKalb Beautiful effort

*  See what local businesses have to offer

We’ll be selling gently used books at the event and donate the proceeds to the Friends of the Library at Hairston Crossing. If you have books you no longer need or want, please bring them to our book sale table.

We’ll be raffling off great prizes – tickets are free, but we encourage tax deductible donations to our community development corporation.

Contributing sponsors include Jay’s Place, Zaxby’s, Kroger, and Bruster’s.

 

All proceeds benefit The Greater Hidden Hills Community Development Corporation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit committed to helping the community prosper and thrive. This volunteer organization represents the area on zoning matters and advocates for attractive business development that meets our residents’ needs.

 

 

 

Public hearings on gas station and recreation center; Get ready for Battle of the Bands

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 Please make a note of the following events:

 

Wednesday, Aug. 12, 7 p.m. – Review of recreation center proposal

The Tropical Sports Club will present to the community a concept for a neighborhood recreation center. This meeting will be at the proposed site, a single-family house at 1943 South Hairston Road. There is limited parking. Please carpool.

 

Thursday, Aug. 13, 7 p.m. – Review of gas station proposal at Lou Walker Center

Murphy Oil USA is proposing to build a Murphy’s gas station in front of LA Fitness on Covington Hwy. The community is invited to hear about the plans on Aug. 13, 7 p.m., at the Lou Walker Senior Center. The site plan and rendering are attached. Murphy Gas Rendering     Murphy Gas Site Plan

 

 Saturday, Aug. 15, 10 a.m. The next GHHCDC meeting, which will be devoted to ensuring the Aug. 22 Battle of the Bands’ success. Join us at the Mainstreet Community Center, 5001 Martin Road, 30088. All are welcome. We’ll be discussing the Aug. 22 Battle of the Bands event, the streetscape improvement plans, and grant applications.

 

 Saturday, August 22, Battle of the Bands, a community celebration

11:15 – volunteers begin setting up.

Event runs from noon to 3 p.m.

 

Where: Redan Village: NE corner of S. Hairston & Redan, in front of Jay’s Place

This community event will showcase creative students and local businesses. Join us!

* Celebrate the creativity of local high school bands (Including the Redan Raiders!)

* Compete for top honors in the Little Caesar’s Shaker Board contest

* Vote on the best haircut by the skilled barbers from Nick’s

* Watch local deejays battle it out for best in class

* Enjoy hot dogs and hamburgers

* Win prizes, just by coming out!

* See what local businesses have to offer

 

Contributing sponsors include Jay’s Place, Zaxby’s, Kroger, and Bruster’s.

We’ll be raffling off great prizes – tickets are free but we encourage tax deductible donations to our community development corporation.

Local businesses and entrepreneurs may reserve tables for $25: contact GHHCDC@gmail.com for information. Or, call 508-591-3526.

 

All proceeds benefit The Greater Hidden Hills Community Development Corporation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit committed to helping the community prosper and thrive. This volunteer organization represents the area on zoning matters and advocates for attractive business development that meets our residents’ needs.

A flyer is attached. Please share. Flyer-Battle of Bands

 

Saturday, Sept. 26, 10 a.m. The next GHHCDC meeting. All are welcome. Join us at the Mainstreet Community Center, 5001 Martin Road, 30088.

Join us for July 18 Meeting; Streetscape Plans

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Next GHHCDC Meeting July 18, 10 a.m.

Join us at the Mainstreet Community Center, 5001 Martin Road, 30088. All are welcome. We’ll be discussing the Aug. 22 Battle of the Bands event and the streetscape improvement plans.

 

Streetscape Improvement Plans

Imagine driving down Hairston Road under a canopy of beautiful trees. What a restful and beautiful way to drive home! Trees make a huge, positive economic impact on an area. Trees will reduce the cost of mowing grass, help clean the air, and slow down stormwater runoff.

That’s why we are excited about the streetscape plans to plant trees at S. Hairston and Redan and in the median. We’re working with Keep DeKalb Beautiful to get trees in late fall 2015.

We’re also asking businesses near that intersection to join the beautification effort. We will keep you posted.

Kathleen L. Wolf, PhD, a research social scientist at the University of Washington, Seattle, reports surveys showing the positive impact of trees.

  1. Judgments of product value, product quality, and merchant responsiveness were more positive in places having trees. People infer that they will have better experiences in more attractive settings.
  2. People claimed they were willing to travel more often, for more time, and over greater distance to a retail district having trees. This means that a district having a quality urban forest may attract visitors over greater distances, boosting the number of possible customers.
  3. Visitors said they would spend more time in those districts with trees once they arrived. Customers were also willing to pay more for products and services, by up to 9% in the smaller communities and up to 12% more in districts within larger cities. People even claimed that they’d pay more for parking.

Keep-DeKalb-Beautiful-Meeting-June-24Caption: Keep DeKalb Beautiful Director Gordon Burkette (left) met with Greater Hidden Hills CDC about planting trees at Hairston and Redan. (from left) Board members Phyllis Frierson and Charlene Taylor, and members Lois Dunlap and Kenneth Saunders III.

 

 

 

 

Next meeting- Learn about senior community expansion, business outreach

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Learn about the Antioch senior community’s expansion plans

 On April 25, 10 a.m., at the regular Greater Hidden Hills CDC meeting:

The Housing Authority of DeKalb County will unveil the site plan for the 3rd phase of the Antioch Manor Estates Senior Community, at S. Hairston and Bishop Ming Road. Real Estate Project Manager Valerie R. Fountaine will present the plans.

Where:            Mainstreet Community Center
5001 Mainstreet Park Drive, Stone Mountain, 30088

We’ll also provide updates on the successful Grow Your Business workshop, plans for the August Battle of the Bands, and progress on building alliances with local business owners.

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Photo: Entrepreneurs in the Greater Hidden Hills area appreciated the tips and resources provided by John Ernst, business consultant with the UGA Small Business Development Center. The event was put on by the Greater Hidden Hills Community Development Corporation April 21.

Special thanks to White Oak Hills Baptist church for hosting the event. We appreciate your service to the community!

Touch-a-Truck – Great Results and Photos

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The Greater Hidden Hills Touch-a-Truck was a success. Lots of people stopped by to see the sanitation trucks, natural gas powered vehicles, ambulance, and police car on March 21 at Redan/Hairston. Thanks to all of the county workers, volunteers, and businesses that supported the effort. We especially appreciate the DeKalb County Sanitation Department for bringing so many vehicles.

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You can see a slide show of the event at http://youtu.be/fVYkbGHG-DQ

We appreciate these businesses that bought tables:

  • Herbert Love, LegalShield Independent Associate (www.hlove.legalshieldassociate.com or hlove1223@aol.com)
  • MedPost, the new urgent care facility near Kroger
  • Taryn Lawrence State Farm Insurance Agency, at 1230 S. Hairston
  • Cassandra Sutton, HealthCare, csutton227@yahoo.com

We received additional support from these businesses:

  • Jay’s Place provided a DJ for the event, and the team rocked the parking lot! DJ T-Nice with TMD Production announced raffle winners and urged people to come over.
  • Zaxby’s enthusiastically supported our efforts. They offered the parking lot, but we moved right behind the restaurant because we had so many vehicles.
  • Redan Village Plaza owner, Mr. Vaswani, was opened the parking lot to us.

All proceeds benefit The Greater Hidden Hills Community Development Corporation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit committed to helping the community prosper and thrive. This volunteer organization represents the area on zoning matters and advocates for attractive business development that meets our residents’ needs.

 

Don’t forget the upcoming business seminar. Please share this announcement with all small business owners and White Oak Church Mapentrepreneurs.

Take Advantage of Technology   April 21, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.

Where: White Oak Hills Baptist Church, 5171 Redan Rd, Stone Mountain, GA, 30088

This seminar will help businesses grow and prosper. Experienced business consultant John Ernst with the Georgia Small Business Development Corporation will discuss strategies and answer your questions. He owned and operated businesses for more than 25 years, and he has expertise in finance, marketing, family business management, and customer service.

 

There is no charge. The Greater Hidden Hills CDC is putting on this event to help area businesses.