OAKWOOD -- A new plant nursery could be coming to the city of Oakwood as soon as next Spring after the Oakwood City Council approved a rezoning request for the venue at their meeting Monday.
The venue, which is being proposed by a group led by the property owner Mitchell Reddick, would sit off of Winder Highway near the intersection of Bolding Road, stretching back to meet Schubert Road on the city's south side. Nathan Wilson spoke on behalf of the group, and he said the venue would be an open walk-through for customers to see the plants in multiple conditions before buying.
"You're not walking on an asphalt path looking at plants on a rack," Wilson said. "You will be in a garden, and you will see plants in their shady conditions under trees, and in their sunny conditions under full sunlight."
He said the venue could also potentially host educational programs to allow children to learn about plants and gardening, and that another goal is to use the site to help beautify the area.
The 13-plus-acre tract of land was previously listed for agricultural and residential use by Hall County. The new zoning, which was approved unanimously, will feature it solely as an agricultural tract under the city of Oakwood. Wilson, who has a horticulture degree from the University of Georgia, and has worked with the Hall County Extension Office in the past, said he will partner with both Mitchell and Bradley Reddick to make a venue they have been working towards for years.
"It's been a dream for many years," Wilson said. "It was a matter of finding the appropriate location, the right piece of land, and the lord has defiantly worked things out where the dream is becoming more reality."
Bradley Reddick said the community has been very receptive to the proposed venue. He said there was some misunderstanding initially that the Mitchells wanted to build residential development on the site, but said that has been clarified and the tract will only be for the venue.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/7/421623/oakwood-city-council-approves-new-plant-nursery