Athens' many historic neighborhoods tend to spread from campus and downtown towards the west: Reese Street, Cobbham, Boulevard and so on.   Each one represents a specific age of development; together, they form an architectural timeline of Athens.  

For example, the Boulevard district is different from Five Points, both architecturally and historically.  Five Points—an historic neighborhood, though not officially designated—is primarily a 1920s to 1940s neighborhood, largely brick construction, built mostly for professors and faculty at the University of Georgia. The Boulevard district represents a period of development in the 1890s centered around the mills located off the nearby railroad. Residences are largely Queen Anne and Neoclassical, while the houses on the side streets are less ornate, since they were built for mill workers. Another distinctive neighborhood with its own identity, just to the west of Boulevard, is Buena Vista Heights.

Buena Vista Heights is a neighborhood in the process of becoming an historic district.  The campaign for Buena Vista Heights has been in the works for nearly three years; neighborhood organizers are miffed, claiming that one of those years was spent waiting for money from the Athens-Clarke Planning Department to cover costs like printing and postage. Brad Griffin, planning director for ACC, says he requested additional funds to cover those costs, but  the county commission didn't include them, due to budget constrains. Next year, he says he plans to ask the commission to start charging neighborhoods when they file paperwork to create historic districts.

Neighborhood organizers moved ahead with their plans without ACC funding.  The Historic Preservation Commission will hold a called public meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26, at the Planning Department Auditorium to hear the residents’ proposal and consider design guidelines for future development.  The HPC will make a recommendation to the mayor and commission on whether to approve the district.

Buena Vista, like Boulevard, was developed in response to the Southern Manufacturing Company's cotton mill on the north side of the railroad tracks that border the neighborhood. The proposed Buena Vista district lies to the west of the Boulevard district. The largest section of the proposed district is from Satula Avenue to Pound Street and then Prince Avenue to Boulevard. Commercial property off Prince Avenue is not included, and there is a small portion that includes Easy Street and Park Avenue.  Buena Vista is already considered an historic district on the National Register of Historic Places, and the locally proposed district is based on the national one.

Buena Vista Heights was one of Athens' first suburbs. The Athens Park and Improvement Co., the same group that laid the plan for the Boulevard district, bought the land and planned Buena Vista Heights in 1890. The neighborhood was laid out on a grid system and, like Boulevard, was connected to downtown by a streetcar.  

While the history and cohesiveness of a neighborhood are reason enough to want to consider it an historic district, another catalyst for the neighborhood has been the UGA Health Sciences Campus on the other side of Prince Avenue.  With the new campus, some residents fear that developers could buy available property in the area and fill it with residences that do not fit with the rest of the neighborhood, which has happened in the past.  According to neighborhood organizers, the biggest concern is scale; one of the main problems with current residential architecture is the McMansion syndrome, where gigantic houses are built on a piece of property far too small for them. (McMansions have numerous other problems, but I digress… ) Buena Vista residents aren't completely opposed to new residences or additions to existing houses; their concern is to preserve what remains of the neighborhood's character.  

Being a designated historic district does not mean that one will never be able to build a new house or add on to their house or change the color of their house.  Some residents are worried about having to get the planning department to approve all changes to their property, which is partly true.  Many changes will have to be approved; however, paint color is not one of them.  Historic district supporters urge skeptics to look at the issue of keeping the neighborhood intact and how a historic designation will benefit the whole neighborhood, not necessarily individual houses.  Their point is, don’t miss the forest for the trees.  Historic designation will also mean tax freezes, potential increases in property values for future sellers and, of course, one of those awesome green signs provided by the Athens Clarke Heritage Foundation.  However, it will also mean additional steps for homeowners who want to make changes to their property.  Like most decisions, there are pros and cons.  We’ll be sure to keep you updated on the future of Buena Vista Heights.