Update: the request is scheduled to appear before the board of commissioners on Wednesday, January 20, at 6:30 pm. Anyone wishing to speak during the public hearing must sign-up in advance by Tuesday, January 19.
The Henry County Zoning Advisory Board considered an updated concept for additional apartments off Jonesboro Road during its meeting on Thursday, November 12. The location was previously considered for rezoning one year ago in 2019, but that request was withdrawn prior to being presented.
The property — consisting of 31.1 +/- acres — is located on the north side of Jonesboro Road west of McDonough Christian Church. The applicant, South City Partners, LLC of Atlanta, GA is requesting a rezoning from RA (residential agricultural and R-2 (single-family residential) to MU (mixed use).
The zoning advisory board unanimously recommended approval of the rezoning request with conditions. The case will be scheduled for a public hearing before the board of commissioners at which time a final decision will be made.
About the Development
The proposed development consists of commercial, medical office, and residential space. The multifamily portion of the development would be located on 20.9 +/- acres and include 268 units in five 3–4 story buildings with 12 garage-carriage units.
The total of 280 units would consist of approximately 65–70% one-bedroom units, 25–30% two-bedroom units and 3–5% three-bedroom units. Rental prices are estimated to begin in the $1,200s per month for one-bedroom units, $1,400s for two-bedroom units and $1,500s for three-bedroom units.
The commercial development would be located along the Jonesboro Road frontage consisting of 10.2 +/- acres. Preliminary plans include a restaurant outparcel, 10,000 square feet medical office building, and 65,000 sq ft of retail space. The retail space may include a grocery store as one possible anchor tenant.
The applicant has opted to exclude 11.13 +/- acres located off Mt Olive Road and reduce the square footage of proposed development to fall below the required threshold to warrant a development of regional impact (DRI) review by the state and Atlanta Regional Commission. The DRI threshold of 500,000 square feet is not met with proposed development estimated by the applicant to be near 400,000 square feet.
If additional development is submitted for zoning consideration within five (5) years that would exceed the DRI threshold, then the entire site would be reviewed as one development of regional impact. The property falls within the highway corridor overlay district and will be required to comply with all applicable development standards.
Transportation and Road Access
Primary road access would be off Jonesboro Road with the main entrance aligning with Vinings Drive. A traffic signal may be constructed at the intersection subject to a traffic impact study and distance requirements from Mt Olive Road. Henry County has plans to install a traffic signal at Jonesboro Road and Mt Olive Road next year. A private roadway would also provide access into the rear of the development from Mt Olive Road.
Henry County cannot deny the zoning application based on traffic congestion (Victoria Corp. v. Atlanta & C. Mart 1960). The widening of Jonesboro Road between I-75 and US 19 / 41 in Lovejoy is a state-funded project budgeted in the 2030s. Widening part of the corridor through local revenues has been mentioned as a possible transportation SPLOST project subject to a voter referendum being considered for 2021.
The featured image is an aerial photo of Crofthouse Fairburn Apartments developed by South City Partners, LLC. Photo credit to McShane Construction Company.
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