Marietta OK's fitness center for Powers Ferry ex-Kroger site Archives

The Marietta City Council Wednesday approved variances requested by the owner of the former Kroger property on Powers Ferry Road.

Habersham Partners LLC is proposing a location of a national fitness center chain, EoS, which will be making major renovations.

The variances would reduce a 40-foot buffer between the back of the building (at left) and allow more parking spaces between landscaping islands.

The measures were approved by a unanimous 7-0 vote after little discussion.

The 4.8-acre site on Powers Ferry at Delk Road has sat vacant since the grocery retailer relocated up the street nearly three years ago.

The council voted unanimously to approve a five-story, 322-unit apartment complex on the property at the same time, but that was vetoed by the mayor.

Local residents supporting the apartments expressed concern that the former Kroger site would become blighted, and in its application for the variances, Marietta planning officials noted some of the erosion.

The property been the subject of code enforcement complaints, including the presence of trash and debris, outdoor storage and marked by graffiti.

Habersham Partners doesn’t need rezoning, since the existing community retail commercial (CRC) category includes fitness centers.

EoS has several other metro Atlanta locations, including Smyrna, Milton and Alpharetta.