More than five years after the family that owns The Varsity announced it would sell the property for redevelopment, and almost three years after the landmark restaurant closed, plans have been filed with Athens-Clarke County. And yes, the magnolias will be saved.
The plans call for two buildings-one at the corner of West Broad and Chase streets featuring a grocery store on the second floor with parking on the main level underneath, and a second on the Milledge Avenue side with retail and restaurant space on the ground floor and residential units above, wrapped around a second parking structure. Bruce Lonnee, assistant director of the ACC Planning Department, was quick to note that the plans include a protective fence around the 100-plus-year-old magnolia trees along Milledge Avenue.
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