Old Granite Hotel Remains Topic in Winder

The Old Granite Hotel — at the intersection of Broad and Athens streets in downtown Winder — remains a building the city just can’t quite decide what to do with.

The issue was brought up by residents at Winder Downtown Development Authority's April 19 meeting.

While the item was not on the agenda to be discussed, Winder resident Bill Summerour voiced his opinions during the meeting’s citizen input time.  

“I’d hate to see the hotel torn down just for new architecture,” he said, in reference to the city’s potential plans to demolish the building to prepare for a new sewer system.

While no plans are final, the building was condemned by the city and the downtown development authority voted in the past to buy the building to tear it down. Chairman Mike Rice told the authority and Summerour that he would be attending a meeting this week regarding the hotel and future plans.

Summerour wants to make sure presevering history is something the authority as well as the city council makes a top priority.

“Pretty soon, Winder is going to look as empty as the heads of some city council members,” Summerour said.

He mentioned what Lawrenceville is doing with one house in particular that used to be lived in by a member of his family family. The city restored it and it’s now the visitor’s center.

He’d like to see something similar done with the Granite Hotel, his vision being a brewery — perhaps The Jug Tavern Brewery.

“It’s not that something can’t be done about something,” he said. “It’s just a matter of doing it.”

Ultimately, nothing was decided about the building and no action was taken.

Other business

• City Manager Donald Toms briefed the downtown development authority, asking members to provide more feedback regarding festival planning.
• The authority approved a motion to change its meeting time from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., but will keep the meetings on the third Tuesday of the month and at the .
• Rice announced that total, there is $23,209 left to go toward façade improvements downtown. He also says that planner Hasco Craver will be at next month’s meeting.