Apr. 5—MARIETTA — A developer addressed questions about vacant properties, a potential grocery store and its vision for downtown at a public meeting this week.

Roughly 70 residents gathered at the Marietta History Center Tuesday to vent fears, voice hopes and hear from Bridger Properties, which owns more than four acres of downtown real estate.

Last January, Atlanta-based Bridger purchased the historic Marietta Station office buildings, the land which the Marietta Square Market food hall sits on, about a dozen stores along Church Street, the pedestrian bridge which spans the railroad tracks, and a 1.25-acre parking lot just north of the food hall.

Over the past year the firm ruffled feathers and drew the ire of the mayor after failing to come to terms with some Church Street tenants, leading to several vacancies. Last week, it made waves by announcing plans for a new, seven-story residential building north of the food hall.

"We love Marietta Square, and we love everything about it," said Jack Arnold, one of the firm's two co-founder/principals. "And it's got its own unique character, and we're not trying to change that in any regard. What we're trying to do is create sort of a complementary, additional, sort of jewel in the crown."

The company has said it wants to extend the vibrancy of Marietta Square northwest to Church Street. On Monday, the city's Historic Board of Review signed off on designs for Bridger to convert a small parking lot at Marietta Station into a public plaza, along with a facelift for the Church Street stores.

The multimillion dollar investment will include new paint, doors, awnings and other features, plus new roofs and grease traps.

Bridger hopes to bring in new restaurants and "pure play retail" to Church Street. The developers said they're looking for small businesses and local operators to fill their properties.

At Tuesday's meeting, resident Ken Bittinger asked when the Church Street stores will be leased.

"One of my concerns is that there were existing tenants in these buildings that are now, for lack of a better term, have been forced out, by rather large increases in rent, et cetera. ... There are so many right now that are vacant, which I think is a shame," Bittinger said.

In short, the answer was two years — Arnold's business partner Merritt Lancaster said it will likely be six months before work starts. Construction will take about a year, after which it would be another six months before new tenants are ready to open.

Another resident, Lynne Robinson, said the departure of old tenants left a bad taste in her mouth.

"Those are our friends and neighbors that are no longer in business," Robinson said. "And that does create bad energy. And I don't know what happened. I don't know if you can speak to what happened. But it makes me not like you very much."

Lancaster compared the company's tenants to a team.

"Sometimes that means that not everybody can stay on the team. And that can be a hard decision sometimes. It can be hard, but I think we've tried to be as fair as we can. And we look forward to the new businesses," he said.

Residents also questioned the developers about their rents and asked whether local businesses can afford them.

Lancaster said their rates will probably be in the "mid-$30s" per square foot, which he said is comparable to other downtowns in metro Atlanta suburbs.

"That is commensurate with rents in other markets that we think Marietta is better than," Arnold added.

Robert Kent, who owns an art gallery on Church Street, said an average day sees 10 customers come in. It's even worse during the holidays. Church Street, he said, is not a retail destination.

"I would be hands down about it, making that a vibrant, true retail destination, I think would just be an incredible addition," Kent said.

Barber Lenny Thompson, a former Bridger's tenant who moved his shop, disagreed that the area was lacking, and told Kent that his barber shop had no problems attracting customers.

New green space

Behind the Church Street stores lies the 22-space parking lot where Bridger wants to build a public plaza off the Mountain to River Trail, complete with tables, trees, string lights and wood deck seating.

"It's intended to be a public gathering spot for everybody, for customers, our tenants," Arnold said. "And really just a unique place that takes a current surface parking lot, including the alley — which we think is really interesting — and creating a unique vibe."

While some attendees suggested the new public space would pull customers away from the Square, Bridger argued that it would complement, not compete, with businesses on the Square.

Tom Browning, chairman of the Downtown Marietta Development Authority, praised the firm's designs for the plaza.

"I think what y'all are doing is beautiful. I love the space you're doing with that," he said.

Resident Rob Lewis asked how Bridger plans to clean restaurant grease traps in such a tight space, once the parking lot and alleys are converted to public, active space.

"We honestly have not quite figured out the civil engineering involved in doing that," Lancaster said. "It's never ideal to have to clean a grease trap in a public space. I don't think we have much of a choice."

Resident Zach Golden said taking trash out at night, especially if walking far, can be dangerous for restaurant workers.

Lancaster said the alleys and plaza would have lights and possible security. Browning, whose law office is downtown, chimed in again to say that the Square is "one of the safest places to be," even after dark.

Some residents objected to the loss of parking spaces. Others said downtown has plenty of parking spots — it's just the free parking that's in short supply.

"Our belief is that what we're creating there is attractive to the community, to our tenants, to folks that want to be there. And yes, it's not an insignificant amount of parking that we are taking offline. But it's a trade-off that we're willing to make," Arnold said.

Grocery dreams

In responses to an online survey Bridger distributed, many residents asked for a grocery store downtown, Lancaster said.

Marietta Station tenant Sara Brown received some of the loudest applause of the night when she asked about a grocery store, given that, if Bridger builds apartments, "the lifestyles seem very much like Savannah or Charleston."

The developers said they had reached out to Publix and Trader Joe's, but they weren't interested.

"We can sell 'til the cows come home," Arnold said. "If it doesn't match up with their criteria, they won't do it."

Lancaster said Bridger might try to attract a company akin to Savi Provisions, a boutique grocer with locations across metro Atlanta.

"We are definitely trying to find someone to fill that niche," Lancaster said.

While the proposal for a seven-story residential building has alarmed some city residents and officials, the reaction to Bridger's other plans has been less controversial.

Resident Melissa O'Brien complimented the plans and thanked Bridger for hosting the meeting.

"What you're presenting here is in character and keeping with the community, and I appreciate that because you own it, correct? You could do whatever you want within the confines of the zoning and the historic board. And you're trying to turn it into something that is in character and keeping with Marietta," she said.