New townhouse plans filed on rejected East Marietta site Archives

Wooded tract along I-75 proposed for townhome development

A real estate investor whose attempts to redevelop land in the South Marietta Parkway-Powers Ferry Road area were unsuccessful four years ago is proposing another high-density residential community there again.

RGM Properties Partnership, LLLP and McMullan Partners, LLC, based in East Cobb, are seeking rezoning of nearly 20 acres along Interstate 75, off of Powers Ferry Road and north of the Loop, for a residential development.

According to plans filed with the City of Marietta, the applicant wants to turn that property—most of it a wooded lot fronting the interstate—into a townhome-focused community of up to 119 units.

The homes would be built by Traton Homes Inc., a prominent homebuilder based in Marietta, and the applicant has hired high-profile zoning attorney Kevin Moore to represent it before the City of Marietta.

An initial hearing before the Marietta Planning Commission is scheduled for next Tuesday (you can read through the filing here).

The application calls for 80 townhomes, with the rest single-family detached homes, for a density of 6.2 units per acre.

But the details present similar issues and concerns that foiled property owner Ruben McMullan’s attempts in 2021 to build a high-density residential development in the same community.

The Marietta City Council turned down plans for Laurel Park, which was proposed for 204 townhomes on much of the site that’s being proposed now.

That was part of a push by McMullan’s real estate interests to build in that vicinity. But Marietta also quickly rejected plans for what was proposed to be Nexus Gardens—featuring apartment buildings, a senior-living facility and restaurant and retail space—after heated community opposition.

That project also would have been accessed through neighborhood streets in the Meadowbrook subdivision off Powers Ferry Road, south of the Loop.

At the time, Moore said the Loop corridor between Roswell Road and Interstate 75 hasn’t seen new development in 50 years. The Nexus Gardens project, Moore said, is an opportunity that “would be fantastic for the city and fantastic for the nearby community.”

Before the 2021 vote, Moore whittled down the Laurel Park proposal—which stretched across 30 acres—to 134 units, but the council rejected both requests unanimously with little discussion.

There isn’t a name for the newly proposed community, nor are there any renderings. In its analysis, the Marietta zoning staff noted that a home would be demolished to create access to the new project from Crestridge Drive (see zoning map below). Three other residential lots, on Blanche Drive and Herbert Road, would be turned into another access point.

The analysis noted that projects like this usually require direct access to arterial and collector roads, but the RGM/McMullan proposal calls for access via local streets.

City zoning staff also noted that while the application says 80 townhomes would be built, the site plan (above) shows 113 units, with 52 of them three-story units, and the others two stories.

The analysis, which didn’t make a recommendation, also notes parking and stormwater runoff issues, and concerns expressed by the Marietta Fire Department regarding emergency access that may not meet city code. The city’s public works department also has asked for a traffic study to be done but the transportation department hasn’t offered any comments.

The zoning analysis concluded that the large wooded tract of land that’s zoned for large-scale retail along I-75 has never been developed for a reason.

“With access only available through existing single-family neighborhoods, developing a ‘regional retail center’ at this location does not appear feasible. Considering also current market conditions and the need for housing, rezoning the property for residential use is more suitable.”