A citizens group that’s been trying to address the decaying Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center is organizing a public meeting next month to bring more attention to the issue.
Joe Glancy of the Sprayberry Crossing Action Facebook group said Friday the meeting is scheduled for March 21 at 6 p.m. at the theater of Sprayberry High School (2525 Sandy Plains Road).
He said plans are to invite county and state officials, but didn’t have any other details.
Located on 13 acres on Sandy Plains Road at East Piedmont Road, Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center was built 40 years ago, in 1978, with more than 140,000 square feet of space and with contemporary cedar trim design. The anchor stores were supermarkets—first an Ogletree’s and then a Bruno’s—and a bowling alley also operated there.
Today, it houses only a few businesses and organizations in run-down buildings that have been in that state since the 1990s. The parking lot is bumpy and riddled with potholes, and nearby residents have long complained about it being a community eyesore.
One of those residents is Glancy, who oversees the group’s Facebook page that has nearly 3,800 members.
Last month, he conducted a survey of group members to decide how to move forward. Glancy said most of the respondents preferred a public meeting. He wrote on the group’s page:
“This year, it is time to hold people accountable and make our voices heard. Don’t let your county representatives tell you how much they care about this issue – it’s time they showed you.
“As for the ownership, it’s probably time the community organized a communications initiative to make sure the owners are made aware of the level of our frustration.”
There’s a long, drawn-out back story to the Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center, complicated by the location of a private cemetery and other issues as detailed last summer by the Cobb County Courier.
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!
