Managing Partner Daniel S. O’Neill of Marietta developer Columbia Properties said he didn’t have “the foggiest idea” why a seemingly simple procedure became a lightning rod for controversy.
“I’m confused. We’ve never had this problem as a developer,” he said. “It was just an approval of a change of our site plan, so it was just moving around our buildings. We’re already zoned for all those uses. I don’t understand why it hasn’t been approved.”
The company wants to modify its previously approved 2008 site plan to put a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop, a Del Taco restaurant, an Auto Zone car parts store and a bank, as yet unnamed, on a 6-acre site at 4560 S. Cobb Drive.
After a public hearing, the council deferred the company’s zoning request to the March 18 meeting.
“They felt it didn’t create ‘a sense of place.’ That was the quote from the staff recommendations. I don’t know what they mean,” O’Neill said.
Opponents weighed in on the plan.
“There were three people who spoke in opposition. One was basically talking about the original landscaping by Smyrna Eye Group,” O’Neill said about an existing business next to a Race Trac gas station. “One lady suggested we put a high-rise condo tower on the site, so that doesn’t count. And another said she didn’t like our site plan.”
Mayor Max Bacon said the council did not defer the matter lightly.
“We had a lot of discussion on it and some concern by the council members. It was tabled by Ron Fennel,” he said about a city councilman.
Fennel and City Councilman Wade Lnenicka held a town hall meeting Feb. 7 about the project, at which Fennel called the corner “a gateway for Smyrna.”
Bacon said the timing of a traffic signal at the corner led to the deferral, to give the developer and staff time to consult.
“The main issues were transportation and traffic. I’m hoping that those issues can be resolved and figure out how to regulate the light so folks can get in and out of there,” he said.
Bacon said he also hoped a good resolution will pick up the local economy, replacing some of the revenue the former Home Depot landscaping store took away when it went dark.
“It’s been vacant for I don’t know how long. Then they were going to put a CVS on the corner. That fell through,” he said.
The company has worked hard to attract nationally known tenants, Bacon said, which will help the city’s tax base.
“Some days you think the economy is better and sometimes it isn’t. I’m hoping it’s just a few issues that we’ll have to resolve and make sure everyone’s taken care of,” he said. “If we resolve the issues, we’ll be all right.”
O’Neill said he and stakeholders like Krispy Kreme representative Colliers International, project manager The Trilogy Group and attorney Garvis Sams will rehuddle.
“There will be some discussions with the council members,” O’Neill said. “We’re not sure what were going to do at this point. We may or may not stay with this site plan.”
He described a fallback position.
“Some of our tenants can go on the approved site plan,” he said. “The Auto Zone parcel was on the original site plan. Because of time constraints and issues with our lenders, we may move forward with Auto Zone.”
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That's called trolling, btw. It was why she was banned from city data's message board, for instance.
Spring Road-looks like a cement wasteland.
Windy Hill-poor, cluttered, yuck!
South Cobb-junky,poverty, cheap, stuck in the 60's.
Concord Road- being destroyed- a ROAD? A wide, treeless road is not quality!
Atlanta Road- boring, too much cement, too many lights. NO TREES??? Yeah, thats the ticket!!.
No trees, no trails, no businesses, no vision!
Thanks to the corrupt cronies on their thrones.
Just came from a wonderful bike ride through Brookhaven/Chamblee. So many parks & trails. So many gardens areas to stop and relax and ponder. So wonderful biking through the old neighborhoods, drooling over the awesome home remodels. Keeping things quaint, walkable, heavily wooded and natural adds so much to the quality of life that they enjoy in their cities.
All the resturants and shops were jumping, many people walking and working in yards. The mixed use development on Dresden is a great compliment to the surrounding neighborhoods. Town Brookhaven has brought many new residents w/ its young hip apartments.
Oh , and I want to give compliments to the beautiful pedestrian briges at entrace to Snellville. At night, it lights up w/ soft blue lights. Very nice!
The difference with Smyrna, is there has been no plan and it has become a very disconnected, cluttered sprawl with far too much emphasis on wide roads instead of designing a community.
Terribly unfortunate for the future.
You are always spouting negativity about Smyrna, but then when the city does things to oppose changing developments like Jonquil Village away from mixed use, you complain that nothing got built. You can't have it both ways.
Developers look at the current state of Smyrna from 30 years back and not what we are shooting for, and what we have for recent development, then get confused when we oppose their plans for same-old, same-old. Perhaps talk to the developers and educate them if you want to be helpful.
By the way, at the last meeting, the developer for the Fletcher corner townhomes said he plans to do more in Smyrna. That's really positive, especially since he's been hands-off since 2007.
People can see with their own eyes, Smyrna cannot be turned around.
Give it up, bud.
FYI, the people of Smyrna and Cobb deserve BETTER, that is not hatred, it's a simple reality.
There is no apparent concern for the cities residents and homeowners.
I find his response to be disturbingly disengaged and disconnected .
Btw, did you hear at the last meeting (3/18) Ron asking another developer, half jokingly, if he wants to come and buy the Columbia properties' land? :-)
See? Things are happening.
If it were me, I would sell and get out.
You guys, please stop spamming things with baloney. Move out if you don't like it here so good citizens can enjoy the city. I really don't know what your problems are.
See Vinings, West Atlanta & East Cobb.
Smyrna is poverty stricken & there is noone willing to step a foot in. It's a losing proposition.
Beware of faceless bureaucrats!
And where is the outrage? Those so called leaders are sitting on their hands while the city is joining the worst parts of the S Cobb & Six Flags areas.
This sort of stuff may be the majority of what America has to offer, but I think it's definitely also the worst America has to offer.
Bacon if you figured that out, good for you. Maybe Smyrna won't be yet another strip mall obesity hell sprawl for much longer.
That, on on the heels of GM's announcement of its IT Center coming to Roswell, bringing w/ it, 1,000 high paying white collar jobs.
Also the high tech companies, GE Energy, ThyssenKrupp, NCR, Novelis and many others are locating in North Fulton, Perimeter & the I-85 corridor in Gwinnett.
The spokes person for ErnstYoung stated the collaboration w/ the Ga. Dept. of Economic Development, the city of Alpharetta, the N. Fulton Chamber & the Development Authority of Fulton , helped facilitate this project.
Why don't the people in Smyrna DEMAND city get off its butt & actually DO something to make Smyrna attractive to(quality) businesses??
If you don't understand the different economic impact of bringing high tech companies w/ high paying white collar jobs (which bring in good resturants, shops, services, higher home values) , compared to a gun shop surrounded by weave hair, thrift store, auto repair shops, pawn shops and poverty neighborhoods, then there's no point in having a conversation.
All I can say, enjoy Smyrnas poverty,.. cos nothings coming to Smyrna, period- the lines have been clearly drawn.
I blame the folks of Smyrna that have remained asleep.
But fortunately for him and his family,... he does NOT live in the city of Smyrna. He could care less about house values and conditions of Smyrnas neighborhoods, including the poverty conditions in ALL of the neighborhoods that surround his store!!!
He's in the city, for the money he can make, period!
That move created more jobs for people and sales tax for the City. To give tax credits for that is not a bad thing but a win-win for everyone.
The new Kroger is no different than the old, only bigger.
The self checkouts are dirty, the parking lot, dirty and the shopping center , empty and outdated!
Yeah, good move!
I prefer to get groceries in Sandy Springs, at Whole Foods & Trader Joes.
Smyrna is a very unhealthy city.
My comments were that something is clearly WRONG in the city of Smyrna.
I did not say YOUR company should build a highrise, but I did state that SOMEONE should!!
That piece of propertyy SHOULD have value & the mayor and council are in DENIAL, by not addressing the clear cutoff line between high dollar Vinings & the low end city of Smyrna.
Just a short block away (outside the city limits) the Vinings address is prestigious, while the Smyrna address brings low rent.
Vinings address has the Ivy Walk, the Aberdeen, One Mountain Vinings, the Heights at Stillhouse, Riverwood, Paces View , Vinings Main, Vinings Jubilee, office towers, and just the other side of the tracks (yet a zip code away), Mr. Garvis Sams is representing John Wielands new 45 home subdivision of homes from the $700's to one million off Woodland Brooke.
How can 6 acres , a BLOCK from those developments, w/ Atlanta skyline views, easy access to Vinings, Atlanta & interstates, not fetch more than low rent donut shop & taco stand, unless there is an understanding agreed by all to steer clear of Smyrna w/ any high end development??
Same holds true for the other end a hop from the Galleria/Cumberland Mall.
The second you cross into city limits you get low income seniors apts., more taco stands, gas stations, car washes & transient apartments,.. w/ NO EFFORT to even consider bringing this entrance to Smyrna up a notch!!
There is NO economic plan in Smyrna, and seemingly noone w/in the city government that is educated enough to bring any quality into the city proper.
At this point, they have invested thousands of dollars into getting things to this stage; you should have said something to your representative during the years the property sat vacant and not wait till now.
And if you feel so strongly about what should go there, contact the owners of the property that are listed in the article. Purchase the land from them, and build what you wish.
Sick, really.
Yes, I believe that piece of property , known as an old slave settlement off Woodland Brook , would have much better served Vinings, if Cobb County would have protected it as parkland.
But they didn't.
So I pointed out that Garvis Sams was the attorney for Weiland obtaining zoning for 45 million dollar homes there, and as a representative for this parcel on South Cobb can only attract a taco stand, a donut stand & a car repair, then the question that needs to be asked,... is,...
Why is there NO quality development coming into the CITY of Smyrna, w/ so much high dollar development a few short blocks awat, in UNINCORPORATED Cobb (Vinings)?
If you don't think that is what should be addressed, then by all means, enjoy watching Smyrnas poverty grow!!
Secondly, the new plan makes horrible use of the land in that it is (A) Not pedestrian friendly (B) Not bike friendly WHEN it sits about 30 feet away from the silver comet trail! Did the developers even consider one of the biggest assets in the area? NO! Why? Because they are building something cookie-cutter, trying to cram it into the space. That is NOT acceptable around luxury homes including some million dollar homes within a half-mile. Completely unacceptable.
We, as a city, are going to stop settling for horrible developments.
With some tweaking, such as better-designed facades, and planning for pedestrian use and bike use and re-orienting it to have more of an urban-village look to it will go along way.
However, if you think that Columbia can waltz in here and just throw up some complete garbage, they should just sell the property now to another developer because that just IS NOT going to happen! They should go trash Kennessaw or North Cobb because we are looking for something more upscale, period.
That's a prime spot, and other developers will make it look nice if Columbia can't.