The announced closings of Georgia's only two auto assembly plants - Ford and General Motors-were made within two months of each other last winter. Both plants were sited on what was once the edge of the Atlanta metro region in the previous mid-century. Their communities are now inner ring suburbs and have the potential to play significant roles in metro-wide Smart Growth strategies, as well as to provide new models for infill development in the Atlanta metro region. The Ford Assembly plant is located in Hapeville, a southwest community that sits adjacent to the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport. The GM Assembly plant located in Doraville, a northeast community, is bordered by I-285 and the last stop on the northeast MARTA line. Both sites constitute a significant portion of redevelopable land within their two communities. Furthermore, their redevelopment offers opportunities to improve the residential and business base of both communities.

That the two communities are confronting the same redevelopment challenge at the same point in time has provided a unique learning and service opportunity for Georgia Tech's City and Regional Planning masters students. This fall 14 students have been engaged in a redevelopment planning effort for the two assembly plant sites that focuses on issues of economic development and urban design. The results of their work will be presented at a public meeting held in each affected city in early December. We invite interested parties to attend one or both of these presentations.

The presentation details for each city are as follows:

PART I: Doraville
Friday, December 8th, 2:00 PM
Doraville City Hall
3725 Park Avenue
Doraville, GA 30340

PART II: Hapeville
Monday, December 11th, 5:30 PM
Hapeville City Hall
3468 North Fulton Avenue
Hapeville, GA 30354

For more information about this event, please contact Dave Pierce at dave.pierce@gatech.edu (Doraville) or Andrea Foard at andrea.foard@gatech.edu (Hapeville). If you would like to contact the professor leading this studio, please contact Dr. Nancey Green Leigh at NGLeigh@coa.gatech.edu.

Please feel free to forward this event to any individuals or groups you feel would be interested in attending these presentations.

Thank You,
The Georgia Tech City ReAssembly Planning Studio Team