The Cobb Planning Commission is recommending approval of a Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill Road development that’s been held up for months, but made some changes Tuesday before sending it along for formal action later this month.
By a 4-1 vote the planning board approved rezoning a 23.9-acre tract at the northwest corner of Powers Ferry and Terrell Mill to community retail commercial (CRC) and multifamily residential (RM-16).
It’s slated to become what its developer, Eden Rock Real Estate Partners, is calling the MarketPlace at Terrell Mill, anchored by a Kroger superstore, and to include restaurants, retail shops, and an apartment building and a self-storage facility.
Eden Rock was requesting a Planned Village Community (PVC) designation after the commission held the application in December. Eden Rock initially sought CRC and urban condominium (UC), but sought a new category that would reduce proposed variances from 21 to 10 and made other changes.
Those changes weren’t enough to sway some planning commissioners and residents of the Salem Ridge condominiums, which are adjacent to the proposed apartments and self-storage building.
After a lengthy discussion, the planning commission included a set of stipulations in its recommendation that would reduce the height of the apartment building to three stories from four, and a maximum of around 220 units in all. The latest site plan had cut that number from 350 to 298.
“I don’t think this is too intense at all,” said planning commission Mike Terry, who represents District 2, which includes the Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill area.
His motion to approve PVC rezoning was voted down before planning commissioner Judy Williams moved to delete that category and replace it with CRC and RM-16.
As he has stated often during the long-delayed application process, Terry said that the Eden Rock proposal—an assemblage of property that includes the current site of Brumby Elementary School—is a key to reviving the Powers Ferry area, especially with the nearby relocation of the Atlanta Braves having provided a spark.
“This is vital to revitalize this whole corridor,” he said. “If this collapses, we’ll have a hodgepodge [of potential future development] . . . and would have the same thing we’ve got now.
“I want this community to be revitalized, and this is the first bite of the apple we’ve had.”
The development has been supported by the Powers Ferry Corridor Alliance, a civic group. But Salem Ridge residents echoed their concerns about density, traffic and potential noise from the complex, including an outdoor swimming pool planned for the roof of a parking deck next to the apartment building.
They also objected to the PVC request, which mandates a 50-acre minimum.
“This request just doesn’t fit,” said Salem Ridge resident Amy Patricio. “It’s too dense, and it doesn’t fit the code or the master plan.”
Planning commissioner Thea Powell, the lone dissenting vote, agreed, even after previously saying that “this not a PVC case.”
The Eden Rock proposal has been more than three years in the making. Partner Brandon Ashkouri said the site plan that was heard Tuesday was the 61st version of the project.
The Cobb Board of Commissioners will make the final decision on the application on Feb. 20.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
