Amanda Glover, the executive director of the Downtown Development Authority of Bainbridge (DDA), says that when former residents return to their hometown, they can’t believe their eyes. Abandoned buildings have been renovated and turned into businesses. Older buildings have been repurposed. People are living downtown. There’s now a good mix of retail, businesses and restaurants as well as outdoor spaces to gather, meet and eat. A major park renovation connects the downtown area with the Flint River.
“Downtown has been completely transformed,” said Glover, who has been head of the DDA since 1999. “People are amazed at the change.”
The transformation began back in 1998 with the renovation of the Bon Air hotel, a dilapidated building that sits on almost an entire block of the town square and was on the verge of demolition. Partially funded by a $250,000 loan from the Georgia Cities Foundation (GCF), the project was completed in 2001, providing 10 apartments and five commercial spaces that are all occupied.
After the hotel rehabilitation, the City of Bainbridge undertook the Water Street project. Upon its completion, the city deeded the property to the Downtown Development Authority of Bainbridge and they began acquiring neglected buildings and stabilizing them before selling them back into the community, enabling local entrepreneurs to establish new businesses. Through another GCF loan, an entrepreneur purchased a building that became the Crave Eatery in 2012.
As things in downtown Bainbridge continued to slowly improve, Glover decided the city needed some structure and guidance in its growth. In 2014, she reached out to Danny Bivins, a senior public service associate with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the Carl Vinson Institute at the University of Georgia for help with a master plan provided through a partnership with GMA and GCF called the Downtown Renaissance Project. This partnership assists cities with downtown strategic visioning, planning, design and technical services.
Bainbridge took advantage of the group’s Renaissance Strategic Visioning & Planning (RSVP) Program, which helps cities create a long-term vision and short-term work program for their downtown areas. Armed with a plan, Bivins says Bainbridge “blew through its goals” and returned for an updated plan in 2018. Part of the second plan involved Bainbridge qualifying as a Rural Zone, a tax incentive program offered by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs that allows businesses and investors to obtain tax credits to invest in and/or renovate downtown properties.
“That was the real tipping point,” Bivins says. “It’s a huge incentive for expansion and renovating old buildings and increasing the amount of jobs.”
From January 2018 to June 2024 the city went from having 41 vacant and blighted structures to only nine, with a 95% occupancy rate downtown.
In addition to facilitating renovation and new growth, the DDA also took steps to encourage residents to come and stay downtown. They built a small building that serves as a mini Welcome Center with public restrooms. In 2017, they passed an open container law that allows people to stroll around downtown with alcoholic beverages. The city undertook the $10 million Chason Park project, connecting the downtown area to the Flint River two blocks away, featuring a playground, gardens and walking trails.
“That project has spurred private development, including a residential building with 23 loft apartments and a new riverfront hotel,” Glover said.
The DDA and the city have used all the resources at their disposal to enhance and improve the downtown, including promoting and facilitating the GCF revolving loan program (GCF RLF). Several business owners have taken advantage of these loans. Glover said that there have been six loans totaling $1.2 million for $6.8 million in total project costs.
“These loans give the project credibility with the bank, so they are more likely to loan additional money to the developers,” said Glover. “The revolving loan program has allowed key projects to move along.”
In August 2024, Bainbridge received the Georgia Downtown Association’s Outstanding Downtown of the Year award, highlighting its dedicated efforts to revitalize its downtown area. It was a proud moment for the city and a reward for all of its hard work.
“Bainbridge is absolutely booming,” Bivins said. “It’s a great success story, and it’s still growing. Everybody thinks it happened organically and it was an overnight success. But it’s because they were committed for 30 years. It was leadership, hard work and commitment.”
