Special to the MDJ
Click to enlarge photos.By Ashley Hungerford
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer
SMYRNA - In an effort to move forward with a $250 million mixed-used development, the Smyrna City Council unanimously approved a development agreement Monday with Halpern Enterprise for the redevelopment of the Belmont Hills shopping center.
The agreement offers a way to finance the mixed-use development at the corner of Atlanta and Windy Hill roads.
Belmont Hills was once hailed as the largest shopping center in the South when it opened in 1954. It now sits about 80 percent vacant.
The City Council approved a $23.5 million tax allocation district subsidy for the redevelopment project in January. The project was awaiting county and school board approval.
A TAD is an incentive for developers to build in blighted areas to increase property values, which results in more tax revenue and requires cooperation among the city, county and school district to quickly repay project bonds.
But in February, the Georgia Supreme court ruled that tax revenue earmarked for schools cannot be used to fund redevelopment projects.
With the court's ruling, half of the potential TAD funding for the project was lost since school taxes make up half of the property taxes. School money would have backed $11.7 million of the $23.5 million TAD.
Since the court ruling, the City Council and staff have worked with Belmont Hills owner Jack Halpern to find a solution to fund the project.
Under the development agreement, City Administrator Wayne Wright said Halpern Enterprise will self-fund the TAD eligible expenses and be reimbursed from tax revenue generated by county and city property taxes as a result of the project.
Under Cobb County TAD guidelines, eligible expenses are limited to infrastructure improvements.
Steve West, vice president with Halpern Enterprise, said they are looking for alternative sources of up-front funding to move forward with the project.
By doing it this way, Wright said no bonds are issued and Halpern Enterprise bears all the risk involved.
"If the project generates enough tax revenue, then he'll get his money back," he said.
The agreement is conditional, based on conditions imposed by the county as to how their tax increment is used in the reimbursement. Wright said the city got a letter from Cobb County Manager David Hankerson this week expressing the conditions.
Without the county increment, Wright said the project would not generate enough tax revenue to reimburse Halpern Enterprise.
The plan for the "New Belmont" is not much different than what Halpern Enterprise proposed in January.
The existing Belmont Hills Shopping Center would be bulldozed to make way for the project.
West said the project would be mostly residential with about 730 units divided between luxury rentals, town homes, single-family homes and condominiums.
The project will also have a senior age-restricted rental-housing unit, which is new from the original plans.
Because of current housing market conditions, Halpern said the residential portions will be built in phases as market conditions allow.
The project will also have about 110,000 square feet of commercial space, divided amongst retail, restaurants and office space.
"Our notion is to make it a place that people want to come and spend some time, and hopefully some money," Halpern said. "We hope that the New Belmont will be a source of pride."
The next step for the Belmont Hills project would be proper rezoning to accommodate its mixed-used purpose. That will be handled at a future City Council meeting, although no date is set.
As far as a timeline for when they'll start bulldozing the original shopping center, Halpern said as soon as possible.
"We're anxious to get started," Halpern said.
The Smyrna mayor and council seemed just as anxious to see the project get going.
"We've been awaiting this day to come," Mayor Max Bacon said. "That shopping center is ready for a make-over."
ahungerford@mdjonline.com
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Posted Comments
I tried to communicate w/ the city of Smyrna this week, concerning a retaining wall that was built cheaply & adds no value or visual appeal to the surrounding neighborhood.(for a few extra bucks, input w/ the neighborhood, & a little creativity, -this wall could have made a nice statement that Smyrna really can become one of the better run cities)-- but no!!-there was no response from my council person, & I was met w/ a city employee that has no clue about visual appeal & and was not able to "think outside of the box". Smyrna can't seem to connect the dots. It has embraced the "illegal alien" community, encouraged "non"-assimilation, believes its failing schools are wonderful, & refuses to address the South Cobb Drive / Windy Hill Corridor. So it's a mystery to me just "who" will be willing to buy into this property, in a city run by closed - minded officials, that do things w/ a "their way" or "no way" attitude, w/out allowing citizens input & involvement.
It's great that Smyrna is doing a make over at Belmont Hills but I really think that the money would be better spent on tearing down Campbell High School and giving the High School students a school that they can be proud of instead of being known as the "ghetto" school
I grew up living right next door to BH Shopping Center in the 70's and 80's on Fleming Street and have watched it go downhill most of my life. I agree with some of the comment left by mk, city leaders need to listen to the people a little better and take into account what the people of Smyrna want. Not to take anything away from mk, but this needs to be a lesson to all citizens of Smyrna. Anyone who has a problem with city hall needs to rally support from your neighbors and show up at city hall during a town hall meeting at let em know your not happy. (Lord knows I had my problems with them council members myself when I lived in Smyrna) When and if the "kind words" approach doesn't get the answers you want,then you politly let your council rep know that if you are going to be ignored, come re-election time you and your neighbors are going to make sure they are out of a job. I'm going to assume that mk may have already or is going to try something like this since he went through the trouble of typing up his comment. Smyrna needs more folks like mk who at least get involved and take the right steps to get problems addressed! If the city's version of a "nice" retaining wall is an eyesore I say get your neighbors together and keep at em to replace it with what ever YOU have in mind. Good Luck mk! Just remember, that city council is suppost to work for YOU, not just themselves.
Contrary to comments below, people of Smyrna are very excited about the redevelopment of this area at Belmont Hills. Everything can't be changed in a day! The South Cobb Drive/Windy Hill Corridor will be next. Change is moving in that direction. And the people who refer to Campbell High School as the "ghetto" school are people who obviously don't know anything about it. CHS is comprised of students of many countries (I believe 30 something) and my children are better people for having been a student there. People who only want their kids to go to school or associate themselves with "white kids" make me sick. And we are a white middle class family. And no, my children are NOT in IB, but they've gotten a great education at CHS. Come check out what is happening at CHS and you might surprise yourself. There are great kids and faculty there. I am much happier with my children at CHS than at Whitefield, Walton, Harrison, Pope or some other "better" school with all their money, drinking and drug problems. Drug dogs are never seen at CHS! If you don't love Smyrna, then move!
dh,... i'm glad you feel hopeful. You know, if you click your heels together & make a wish, it just might come true! I'd prefer to see city officials taking care of the city they have now, instead of ignoring it, letting it go to blight, & then hoping someone will come in & save them w/ new development. There is just no excuse that not one thing has been done along South Cobb Drive,to spruce it up, in the 10 years I've lived here. If I were the mayor, I'd be ashamed of myself! Don't those people deserve a little something nice, for their taxes? Maybe an evergreen , here or there? You'd be amazed what those small things do for perception. You gotsta' start somewhere!
I too am a citizen of Smyrna, and I can assure you that mk's statement about the "hands-off" approach of the city's mayor and it's council is fact based. At the televised town-hall meetings the citzen's input part of the program is at the END of the meetings. I have witnessed citizens who do venture to make a comment sometimes be rudely treated by both the mayor and council. Smyrna citizens need to give voice to their displeasure at the POLLS. When less than 12% of registered voters even bothered to vote in the last mayoral and council elections this past November, it's hard for the officials to take the people, whom they are supposed to represent, seriously when the citizens don't even bother to vote