Ep. 92 - We Want People Borrowing Ideas From Us (with Patrick Bryant)

In this episode of The Jentry Podcast, Jonathan Mason welcomes back Patrick Bryant, City Manager of Avondale Estates, Georgia, to discuss what happens when a small city pairs an ambitious vision with a culture of action. Patrick shares how Avondale Estates is transforming its once-disjointed commercial district into a walkable, mixed-use downtown. The city converted a five-lane highway into a three-lane Main Street with landscaped medians and multimodal paths, established a new street grid and zoning code, and invested in a town green and market pavilion to bring people together. Those public investments have helped attract a planned $350 million private development across two sites covering roughly 17 of downtown's 70 acres. Plans include approximately 800 apartments, townhomes, and cottage housing, alongside a separate senior affordable housing project. Patrick also explains how redevelopment has reduced the share of property tax revenue generated by single-family homes from more than 90% to below 75%. Beyond the projects, this is a conversation about leadership, building teams that embrace change, involving residents in major decisions, and creating a community that can thrive for its next 100 years. Takeaways A Culture of Action Drives Results Patrick credits empowered staff, supportive elected officials, and a willingness to challenge the phrase "we've always done it this way" for Avondale Estates' success. Public Investment Can Attract Private Development Improvements to streets, zoning, public spaces, and infrastructure have helped create the conditions for significant private investment. Housing Diversity Creates Opportunity Apartments, townhomes, cottages, and senior affordable housing can serve different ages, incomes, and stages of life. Community Buy-In Starts Early Open houses, design charrettes, and a community-selected park concept helped residents participate in shaping their city's transformation. Economic Development Can Reduce the Residential Tax Burden A stronger commercial district has helped Avondale Estates diversify revenue and reduce its reliance on single-family property taxes. Chapters 00:00 Preview: Transforming a quarter of downtown 01:03 Welcome back Patrick Bryant 02:28 Building a culture of action 04:56 What makes Avondale Estates special 10:01 Reimagining a historic downtown 17:04 Walkability, zoning, and public investment 23:54 Housing diversity and development wins 25:32 Bringing residents into the planning process 31:39 Improv, leadership, and humor 34:14 The challenges of remote work 36:09 Housing affordability, wages, and supply 39:43 Free money: Staffing and service delivery 42:08 Why Patrick wants a hotel 43:18 The importance of public service Keywords #PatrickBryant #AvondaleEstates #Georgia #localgovernment #DowntownRevitalization #CommunityDevelopment #EconomicDevelopment #housingmarket #MissingMiddleHousing #UrbanPlanning #MunicipalLeadership #publicservice #TheJentryPodcast