An old building gets a new look

Image of the Baxter Center before renovations from Peterson Properties

Picture from Kathrin Merritt of the Baxter Center

By: Kathrin Merritt

Baxter Street is beginning to look a lot like many other historic spaces in Athens: refreshed. The Baxter Street Center, located next to the Athens-Clarke County Library, is an older building with a fresh new face. The location dates back to the 1960s, according to the building’s owner and head of Peterson Properties in Athens Chris Peterson, but over the past year it has transformed into a space meant for the modern age.

Why it’s newsworthy: Athens is growing. Over the past 10 years, the population of the Classic City has grown by more than 11,000 people and many of the people coming in are younger, with the median age being 28 years old. The centuries-old town and its youthful population combine in a way that is uniquely Athens, and the Baxter Center exemplifies this..

“Athens is the Classic City. Downtown has that vibe to it, and Athens is an old city. So, I like the fact we are in an older building that gives that new look, it has that old vibe,” says Greg Phillips, co-owner of Walls of Books Athens, a store located in the Baxter Center.

This old building with a modern feel was no accident. Peterson has more than two decades of experience working in preserving older buildings, but the design he went for with the Baxter Center project was still something that was new for him.

“So I've done a lot of historic preservation work… for over 20 years, and… we aim towards a historic feel…,” says Peterson. “Modern is definitely not the way that I typically go and the Baxter Street Center doesn't look like anything else that I've done before.”

The building’s exterior has clean, simple, hand-painted signs splashed across a blue and white background, which coupled with a modern awning and big floor to ceiling windows, are meant to give a fresh look for the businesses inside. However, the building has not always had such a modern touch. Peterson best explains this, along with his personal connection to the Baxter Center and what his goal was with remodeling.

In this audio, Peterson explains the history and goals of this renovation.

The decision to clearly divide each shop also enables business owners to create a storefront that feels unique to them. For some businesses, this opportunity for individuality looked like keeping the signs out front that had already been up at their shop instead of using the painted ones that the majority of shops decided to use.

“[Lee’s Wigs] has had their sign for a while and my sign is different… so I kept mine,” says Troy Brookins, owner of Fin Alley at the Baxter Center. “We are all a little different. We still fit the mold of what [landlord, Chris Peterson,] was looking for, but we’re all a little different.”

For others, the change was welcomed as an attractive, cost effective way to welcome customers. Jason Dean of Figment Kombucha is the tenant behind the idea to have hand-painted signs. Dean got Will Mitchell of Squared Away Signs, whose signs can also be found at Ponce City Market in Atlanta, to paint the new signage. For Dean, the switch was both a creative and practical decision.

“One of the main reasons we got our signs painted is because it was a lot cheaper, but it also looks a lot better to be hand done,” says Dean. “So it accomplished both of those things for us, looking a little different and original and being cheaper than having a plastic, vinyl sign made.”

The one element all of the shops have in common is they are all a part of Peterson Properties. Though Peterson works on all types of properties, providing local businesses a spot to flourish is something he appreciates.

“It's neat to see local businesses, and it's also neat to see people, when it's their first time that they're having a space,” says Peterson. “You know that was Figments first spot… and then you’ve got the polar opposite of that, like Lee's wigs, they were Downtown I think for either 42 or 43 years. So you kind of have a good mixture there which is really unique but… again it’s neat to have local businesses in spots like that.”

The community has also been enjoying the new changes added to the building.

“I think the brick looks cool and the white wood, but also the storefronts are really nice,” says Jamie Fjelstul, a customer at the Baxter Center.

“I like that it has a bunch of windows so you get a lot of natural light, which I feel is a good thing to have,” says Benjamin Whitaker, who is also a customer.

The forefront of the project has been keeping Athens in mind. Despite new changes and renovations, the Baxter Center is still striving to maintain its old charm.

“We want something that blends into the community and we’re in a building that does that. [It has] that old Athens feel,” says Phillips.