Discussion Continues on Home Park Substation

Discussion continues Tuesday night on the design of a proposed Georgia Power substation in the Home Park neighborhood. 

The meeting will be held March 15 at 7 p.m. in the basement of the Tenth Street United Methodist Church, 425 10th Street.

Georgia Power is expected to present plans that show the layout of the heavy equipment inside the substation. So far, the power company has shared only the landscaping plan for the station, which is proposed to be built at the corner of 14th Street and Atlantic Drive.

"We really do think this is a very workable plan," Fran Forehand, land acquisition manager for Georgia Power, said at a . 

Landscape architect Peter Drey, who designed the 14th Street bridge, collaborated with Smithdalia Architects on the landscaping plan for the substation. The plan includes a 12-feet-tall decorative brick wall, a pavilion, sidewalks and a variety of trees and other plants. The substation could be illuminated with LED lights, similar to the 14th Street bridge. 

Georgia Power hopes the substation will be in service by April or May of 2013. Grating of the site would start this fall. To meet that timeline, officials with the power company need the Home Park neighborhood to approve the master plan for the substation as soon as possible. 

But the substation has been a contentious issue in the community since the idea was introduced in late 2008. Many neighbors are concerned about the use of the land for a substation. 

"I'm concerned about the long-term impact the substation will have, both from a commerical and residential perspective," said Nelson Burke, former president of the Home Park Civic Association who lives across the future substation on Atlantic Drive. 

Some residents aren't as worried. 

"Things don't bother me," said Olene Holmes, 91, who lives on Atlantic Drive adjacent to the future substation. "I've been around a long time."

Her son, David Tyson, accompanied Holmes to a February meeting and said he thought the plans presented were acceptable. "It's really going to look nice," Tyson said.  

To view the plans presented last month, click here.