The former Kroger site on Powers Ferry Road has sat vacant since the grocery retailer relocated up the street nearly three years ago.
The 4.8 acres on Powers Ferry at Delk Road was proposed for apartments at the same time, and plans were approved unanimously by the Marietta City Council, but then vetoed by the mayor.
The developer who wanted to build a five-story, 322-unit apartment building said then that the site wasn’t viable for other commercial or retail uses.
And since then, the property been the subject of code enforcement complaints, including the presence of trash and debris, outdoor storage and marked by graffiti.
But now the property owner, Atlanta-based Habersham Partners LLC, is proposing a location of a national fitness center chain for that site, and will be asking the City of Marietta for approval.
The City Council on Wednesday will be asked to consider two variances for an EOS Fitness Center, which has three metro Atlanta locations.
According to an agenda item (you can read it here), Habersham Partners doesn’t need rezoning, since the existing community retail commercial (CRC) category includes fitness centers.
What is being requested is a reduction of a 40-foot screening buffer adjacent to residentially zoned property, as well as a reduction of the requirement to install landscaped parking lot islands for every 12 consecutive parking spaces.
The agenda item states that EOS will be undergoing extensive interior and exterior renovations to operate in the old Kroger, which opened in the early 1980s.
“The site plan provided contains very little detail about the proposed improvements to the building and site,” states the city’s zoning staff analysis, which doesn’t make a recommendation on the variance requests.
Nearby apartments that are in unincorporated Cobb and located off Delk Road were built around the same time, “and have coexisted, presumably without issue, for 30 years without a buffer,” according to the zoning analysis.
“Should this variance be approved, consideration should be given to requiring a new fence and also limiting the area to overflow parking to minimize impact on the residential neighbors.”
As for the parking island requirement, the staff analysis said the proposal for the fitness center would include retrofitting the parking lot “to add numerous islands bookending rows of newly striped parking spaces.
“While not meeting the strict rule of ‘no more than 12 parking spaces in a row without an island,’ these changes will substantially improve the look (and drainage) of the site. And, again, although there is no hardship present, these changes will only incur benefits and drastically reduce the nonconforming parking area.”
The Marietta City Council also will hear on Wednesday a data center proposal off Delk Road near Interstate 75 that that was recommended for approval by the Marietta Planning Commission in a split vote.
The City Council also will consider a request for data center moratorium, similar to one in Cobb County. You can read through the full meeting agenda by clicking here and here.
The City Council meeting begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Marietta City Hall. (205 Lawrence Street).
Related stories:
- Eastside Church senior-living plans delayed to August
- Marietta Planning Commission forwards data center proposal
- Bells Ferry Road townhome plans held by Cobb commissioners
- Eastside Church senior living proposal put on hold
- Eastside Church proposes senior living to expand mission
- Cobb commissioners reject RaceTrac plans on Bells Ferry
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