The old United Tool building is getting a much-needed facelift!
COhatch, a rapidly growing, community-focused company that develops innovative shared work and social spaces, has begun construction on its first location in the Atlanta area!
The COhatch team is restoring the 40 year-old building, which previously housed a tool rental, sales and service company and before that was the site for a gas station. The adaptive reuse of the site will be a nearly 11,000-square-foot work and social space. The development will include private offices, coworking areas, meeting rooms, and event space for members and the community alike, designed with inspiration from the area’s local history and culture. This space will also have an amazing 3,000-square-foot outdoor gathering place and a 1,500-square-foot annex building with event space.
“From coworking to private offices to meetings and events, we want our members and communities to work, meet, and live with us! Our goal is to provide every neighborhood with a place that allows them to engage with other members, organizations, and causes. We want our locations to be your office away from home with the creature comforts you need to stay productive.
Every location offers scholarships to our locations for local nonprofits and startups to provide organizations with a way to meet, collaborate, and drive their mission forward. We also work with our members and partners in each community to put on workshops, events, and speaker series to provide our members with opportunities to learn, network, and grow their businesses.
Whether you need a place to work, meet, or just hang out with your family and friends, COhatch Duluth is the place to be!” – COhatch
Construction on COhatch Duluth began in April 2023 and the company aims to open the location in early-2024.
The City of Duluth, in partnership with the City of Johns Creek, Gwinnett County and Fulton County, hosted a ribbon cutting for the recently completed pedestrian bridge connecting Duluth’s Rogers Bridge Park to Johns Creek’s Cauley Creek Park. The City of Duluth also unveiled the park’s newest piece of public art called The Shape of Time and Water.
This is a project 15 years in the making! In 2006, Gwinnett County commissioned a study of Rogers Bridge to determine its structural integrity. The goal was to repurpose the bridge for pedestrians and in doing so, reconnect the communities on each side of the Chattahoochee River. In 2014, the City of Duluth took over the project and confirmed the study results. Duluth then applied for a grant from the Atlanta Regional Commission in order to develop construction plans for the bridge. The grant provided $560,000 to the City and required a local match in the amount of $140,000. As the project is of regional significance, Duluth teamed up with the City of Johns Creek and both Fulton and Gwinnett Counties to come up with the $140,000 match. Evenly split, each local partner contributed $35,000 toward what is referred to as the “preconstruction” effort, which culminated in the development of construction plans.
At the time the plans were in their initial stages of development, it was not yet known if the bridge would be rehabilitated or replaced. Along the preconstruction journey, it was determined that the existing bridge was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places due to its unique construction method. The existing bridge was a 228’ long pin-connected Pennsylvania Petit truss. As such, the design team carefully documented the bridge’s history as well as its current condition. Ultimately, the Department of Natural Resources agreed the bridge could not be salvaged as is and approved its replacement. Concurrently, the preconstruction team reached out to citizens and stakeholders through various meetings and public open houses held in multiple locations (in multiple languages) to gain feedback as to what the ultimate users of the facility would want. Participants voted on their favored selection of bridge type and it was ultimately determined that a replica truss would best suit the needs of the end users. Both Councils and both Commissions concurred and the design team moved forward with developing construction plans for the replica truss.
The preconstruction process took about 4 years to complete and followed strict state and federal guidelines. Once again, the City reached out to the Atlanta Regional Commission and the Georgia Department of Transportation to assist with funding of the construction. And again, the four local partners came together, this time to participate with $350,000 each for a local match of $1,400,000. GDOT covered approximately $700,000. And ARC covered the remaining approximate $5,100,000.
Rogers Bridge Ribbon Cutting
“The partnership of two cities and two counties to honor our past by building back a replica of the original 1912 Rogers Bridge speaks volumes about the importance of regional collaboration. This new bridge will be enjoyed by so many people for the next 100 years,” said City of Duluth Mayor Nancy Harris.
The City of Duluth would like to thank all our partners, without whom this project would not have been possible: FHWA, GDOT, ARC, Fulton & Gwinnett Counties, Johns Creek, the Thomas & Hutton/CHA design team, the KCI inspection team and the Astra construction team.
“It was an honor to lead this project. It’s part of the legacy I and the entire list of stakeholders and participants are blessed to leave behind for generations to come,” added Margie Pozin, Project Manager & City of Duluth Community Development and Engineering Director.
After officially opening the bridge, Duluth officials were excited to introduce the newest piece of public art. Entitled The Shape of Time and Water, the 27’ structure features two massive concrete columns inspired by many stone and concrete bridge columns along the Chattahoochee River, topped with 110+-year-old steel from the original bridge. “The Rogers Bridge Art piece was selected because it incorporates the metal and pins from the original bridge, but it is supported by the concrete foundations used for bridges today. It fully represents the old and new,” said Greg Whitlock, Duluth City Council Member and Duluth Mayoral Candidate.
The artist behind this piece is Phil Proctor from Nucleus Sculpture Studios. Proctor is a professional sculptor practicing in Atlanta since 2003 who has developed a professional reputation in the public art community by his involvement in the infrastructure of public art.
Artist Phil Proctor from Nucleus Sculpture Studios
“The idea came from the shape of time. Time is what shaped the bridge; it’s old, its rusted and time ultimately determined when it was time for the bridge to come down. So, the base of the sculpture is meant to represent the bridge columns, and the top of the sculpture is meant to represent the gesture of water as the water breaks on the bridge columns” said artist Phil Proctor during a recent visit to his studio. “A literal passageway, a symbol that represents the connection between two places; the driving force for the restoration of the new bridge and the partnership of the communities it connects.”
Phase II Improvements at Rogers Bridge Park will be underway soon. The new bridge will remain open (with possibly temporary brief closures during construction) but park and boat launch access will still be restricted during the construction process. Phase II will include two large parking lots with 118 new spaces, a walking trail, a new pavilion, the trailhead, and the repaving of Rogers Bridge Road as it leads into the park. This is expected to be completed by early 2024.
Can we hear a round of a-paws for June’s Dog of the Month: Charlie!
Charlie’s humans said he “is a 3-year-old Goldendoodle who has loved his life in Duluth over the past year! His favorite thing to do is run around at the local dog park and chase other dogs around. He loves playtime, going on walks around downtown, and getting all the attention from those around him.” Sounds like if you see this good boy around town you should stop and give him a pet!
For his dedication to helping keep our waterways clean and local ecosystems intact, Tiger Tails Animal Hospital has partnered with us to offer a great prize pack to our Dog of the Month.
Take the pledge and your pup (or pups) may just be featured as our next Dog of the Month!
Council Member Manfred Graeder received the Harold F. Holtz Municipal Training Institute Certificate of Recognition during the Georgia Municipal Association’s (GMA) Annual Convention in Savannah on June 26.
The Harold F. Holtz Municipal Training Institute, a cooperative effort of GMA and the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government, provides a nationally recognized series of training opportunities for city officials.
Michael-Angelo James, Mayor of the City of Waycross (Left) and Council Member Manfred Graeder from the City of Duluth (Right).
“This is an outstanding achievement,” said GMA CEO and Executive Director Larry Hanson. “We commend Council member Graeder for this accomplishment and for the dedication shown in using this valuable resource to become a more effective city official.”
To receive a Certificate of Recognition, a city official must complete a minimum of 42 units of credit, including at least 18 hours from a list of required classes. The training program consists of more than 70 courses.
“We are proud of our partnership with GMA to provide high-quality, relevant training to Georgia’s more than 3,500 municipal officials,” said UGA’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government Director Rob Gordon. ”The institute remains committed to being the trusted resource that city officials across Georgia turn to for leadership and professional development training that makes a difference in the lives of the citizens they represent.”
About the Georgia Municipal Association: Based in Atlanta, GMA is a voluntary, non-profit organization that provides legislative advocacy, educational, employee benefit and consulting services to all of Georgia’s 537 cities. GMA anticipates and influences the forces shaping Georgia’s cities and to provide leadership, tools and services that assist municipal governments in becoming more innovative, effective and responsive. Created in 1933, the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) is the only state organization that represents municipal governments in Georgia. For more information, visit www.gacities.com.
Many of you are aware that street racing and other dangerous activities such as laying drags and street “take-overs” have become a major issue in the Gwinnett County area in recent months. To combat this issue, the City of Duluth has enacted a City Ordinance against Street Racing, which allows Duluth Police Officers to take swift action and bring these cases before a City of Duluth Municipal Court Judge for prosecution.
Under the ordinance, Duluth Police Officers can charge organizers, participants, spectators, and passengers with the Street Racing offense, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or any combination of the two. Vehicles involved in each case may be impounded and held for a period of no less than 30 days or until the completion of the case at the expense of the registered owner.
In the past week, Duluth Police Officers have taken strong action against street racers and have stopped and arrested numerous drivers for laying drags in the public roadway and in commercial parking lots. As a result, 27 citations were issued, two individuals were arrested, and five vehicles were towed.
“The Duluth Police Department will not tolerate illegal street racing or any other activity which endangers our public. We will continue to use strategies to combat this type of activity to include enforcing our Street Racing City Ordinance. Our officers will take immediate enforcement action against anyone who chooses to engage in such reckless behavior in our City.” – Chief Carruth
