On Oak Street, between Oak and New streets near where Hwy. 332 meets Hwy. 53, there is a patch of ground about 70 feet by 50 feet that was plowed for the first time this spring. It now holds 20 to 25 varieties of flowers, most of them native, plus one row that is all wildflowers. Two benches sit in it, one bought by a volunteer and one built by another. Volunteers have counted 163 monarchs there so far this year.
The Hoschton Community Butterfly Garden is the newest public space in downtown Hoschton. It also opened just before the city sits down to decide what downtown should include. This November and December, the holiday events on City Square and the Depot Green Space happen during the same weeks the city expects to release its downtown land plan for public comment. The plan will help settle questions about those spaces: where downtown begins and ends, where a long-awaited park goes, and what happens to City Square once city government moves out.
A Garden That Shows How Downtown Spaces Get Built
The garden is a joint effort between the city and its neighbors. According to MainStreet News, the City of Hoschton paid for most of the plants and materials, installed a water meter, and dug a trench, and volunteers then put in the irrigation system. The 34 volunteers who keep it up come from Traditions of Braselton, Sterling on the Lake, Twin Lakes, Chateau Elan, and Cresswind at Twin Lakes. The project started with the Cresswind Friends of the Monarch Club, which already tended a monarch garden on Huron Lane in Cresswind. The garden came before Hoschton City Council as "Presentation of Butterfly Garden, Oak Street Park" at its February 12, 2026 work session.
The plants grew faster than anyone expected. Paul Beggs, who helped launch the monarch sanctuary garden in Cresswind, told MainStreet News:
"I didn't think we would have the plants this fully developed the first year because they're perennials and usually it takes a year or two for them to really get going, but this soil is pretty good, and we get full sun. It's an ideal spot for a butterfly garden."
The volunteers are already planning beyond flower beds. Beggs said the group has talked with the city about adding a pavilion someday so the whole community has a place to gather, though he called those talks preliminary. In the MainStreet News story on the garden's launch, Beggs said he hoped a successful Oak Street garden could lead to another one in the planned Mulberry Park. Whether that park gets built, and in what form, depends on the land plan.
The Land Plan Will Define What "Downtown" Means
The city's 2026 budget set aside $60,000 for a land planner to produce a master plan. MainStreet News reports that the report will cover park space, areas for potential development, downtown directional signs, and which parts of the city count as downtown. Mayor Debbie Martin asked that it separate shorter-term projects from longer-term ones, and it will also list property the city might consider buying.
City leaders hope to post a virtual presentation by the second week of November and keep it online for two weeks of public feedback. Martin is also working to arrange an in-person presentation in November where residents can comment, and the council hopes to adopt the final report at its December meeting. Notices about the presentation will appear on the City of Hoschton website.
Today's downtown is a handful of small, separate spaces. Each one does a job, but nothing official yet ties them together. Defining downtown, adding signs, and naming properties the city might buy are how a few blocks get connected into one place.
The Park That Was Held for the Plan
The Mulberry Street park is the clearest example of a decision that waited on this plan. The site is five acres. In February, the bid that came in was $2.45 million, more than $1 million over budget, and the city did not accept it. A motion in March to approve a bid also failed. Councilmembers who voted against the bid said they wanted a city park, but only after a land planner looked at the site as part of an overall downtown master plan. Because the park did not move forward within the required time, the city gave up a $500,000 grant that had a deadline attached.
The park is expected to be a major part of the upcoming presentation. Martin, who has seen it, told MainStreet News, "I've seen the presentation, and it's really pretty cool for a park," and called it "the right kind of park now, in my opinion." For residents, the comment period is the first chance to see the park design the city chose to wait for.
City Hall Is Heading to Peachtree Road
One major downtown change is happening on its own track, separate from the land plan. The city plans to build a 28,770-square-foot municipal complex on Peachtree Road near Hwy. 53, across from the historic Allen Clinic, a former hospital donated to the city in 2025. Here is what has been reported about the project:
- Site: Part of 11.25 acres the council bought for $1.75 million in October 2024
- Building: Three stories plus a basement. The main floor will hold a lobby, conference rooms, the mayor's office, and an assembly and court room. Staff offices go upstairs, and the police station goes in the basement.
- Schedule: Groundbreaking targeted for 2027, possibly in spring, with the city aiming to move in about 18 months after construction starts
- Funding: Impact fees and SPLOST funds, with no cost estimate available yet
Once the new complex opens, the city plans to rent out its current municipal space, including the Hoschton Community Center on City Square. That building at 65 City Square is where the Downtown Development Authority meets today. Martin has said plans for the Allen Clinic are on hold until the city hires a city manager. Over the next few years, the city's daily business will move from the square to Peachtree Road, and the square will likely be used differently.
The Holiday Calendar Runs Through the Comment Window
This season, downtown's two holiday events take place at City Square and the Depot Green Space, two of the spaces the land plan will be defining. The DDA's September 30, 2026 agenda lists both events. The table below adds the city's target dates for the plan, which are goals rather than firm dates.
| When | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Nov. 5, 9 a.m. | DDA board meeting | Hoschton Community Center, 65 City Square |
| By the second week of November | Land plan virtual presentation, with two weeks of public feedback | Online |
| Friday, Nov. 20, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. | Jingle Mingle | City Square |
| November | In-person land plan presentation, which the mayor is working to schedule | To be announced by the city |
| Saturday, Dec. 12, noon to 5 p.m. | "Christmas" Farmers and Art Market | Depot Green Space |
| December council meeting | Target date for adopting the final land plan | City Hall |
If the virtual presentation goes up on schedule, Jingle Mingle on November 20 will fall during or near the end of the two-week feedback period. The December market comes right around the council's target for final adoption. Someone who goes to both events will be standing in the spaces the plan describes during the weeks the city is asking for comments.
Getting Involved Before Spring
The garden's next season starts in spring, when volunteers plan to add more plantings. A few plots are still available, and you don't need one to help. "You don't have to have a plot to come over here and work," Beggs told MainStreet News. Anyone who wants to volunteer or learn more can contact him at [email protected]. By the time those spring plantings go in, the city expects to have adopted the land plan that decides whether a second monarch garden has a home at Mulberry Street.
Our team at Georgia Real Estate Depot lives and works here too, and we'll be following Hoschton's land plan as it moves from presentation to adoption. If you'd like to talk about how downtown's next few years could affect your corner of Hoschton, contact us.
