Suzanne Roberts is still relatively new to Rome, but she is not new to her job as Executive Director of Rome’s Downton Development Authority. Before coming to Rome, Roberts served for nine years as Director of the Downtown Calhoun Development office. She succeeded Aundi Lesley in the DDA office in January 2025.

Between the downtown development jobs in Calhoun and Rome, Roberts worked at the Rome-Floyd Chamber as its membership director.

“I love downtowns, doing it for nine years (in Calhoun). I feel like downtowns, they are really and truly the heart of our community,” Roberts said. “They are the bread and butter, they are the tourist destination, they are the economic growth, they offer a true sense of identity.”

Rome’s downtown is also very centralized, with the primary business district on Broad Street now growing across the Oostanaula to what is being called the River District. That area includes the West Third Street corridor with its recreation facilities at Barron Stadium and the Downtown Racquets Center, as well as the commercial corridor along North Fifth Avenue.

“The merchants are supportive of each other. They communicate regularly and collaborate all the time,” Roberts said. A prime example of the collaboration between merchants and property owners is the Business Improvement District, which is up for renewal this year. Twenty years ago, under the direction of Ann Arnold, the district’s business and property owners agreed to tax themselves and create a business license add-on fee to help establish a pool of funds to promote downtown. The BID lasted for ten years, and Rome’s was re-created in 2015 under Amanda Carter. Getting the property and business owners to allow BID to continue is priority one for Roberts and her staff this summer and fall.

Members of the Downtown Development Board have been hitting the pavement seeking signatures on a petition to keep the BID in place. Roberts also said that City Purchasing Director Becky Smyth, former DDA Director Amanda Carter, now the Land Bank Authority Director, and Forum River Center Manager Jay Shell have also been working with the business and property owners.

Without BID, we would not be able to have all the design improvements downtown, including the flowers and murals. We wouldn’t be able to provide the façade grants, Ro Flo (a spring arts and crafts type show with music stages), Fiddlin’ Fest (the October bluegrass, arts and crafts event), or all of the holiday décor,” Roberts said.

The Roman Chariot golf carts transport guests throughout the historic downtown district on weekends and during special events and are also funded through the BID.

“So the downtown property owners and businesses are invested and you don’t have to worry about getting sponsors and allocate so much time,” Robert said.

She said size is probably the most significant difference between Calhoun and Rome. The Calhoun downtown district comprises approximately 100 properties, whereas the Rome district includes close to 400, making it the second-largest designated downtown district in Georgia, behind only Macon.

Since taking over the job in January, Roberts has had to reconstruct her staff completely. Patrick Blankenship is on board as the Director of Communication, Marketing, and Events. Jennifer DeBord is the Parking Manager, Greg Shine is the Parking Ambassador, Rebecca Carter handles Downtown Maintenance, and Kaitlin Beall is an invaluable intern.

Roberts says one of her objectives going forward is to help merchants understand the extent of available resources to support their businesses’ success. She has completed the first State Revolving Loan project in Rome since 2015. If approved, business owners could take advantage of a state loan of up to $250,000 at an interest rate of 2%.

Roberts was a member of Leadership Rome 42, a graduate of the Level 1 Georgia Downtown Development Association program, and a graduate of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development. In 2023, she was the recipient of the Georgia Downtown Development Association’s Best Adaptive Reuse Award. Even while away from the DDA post in Calhoun and before taking the post in Rome, Roberts remained on the Georgia Downtown Development Association Board of Directors.