A once-per-generation-sized mixed use project, entitled The Grove, will present to the Henry County Zoning Advisory Board in November 2024. Update: the request has been postponed to a later date. The project is proposing 7,160 housing units and two million square feet of commercial space. MHF News first reported on the proposed project in January 2023.
The zoning advisory board will consider the rezoning request on Thursday, November 14, at 6:30 pm Date TBA. The board meets at the Henry County Administration Building in McDonough. The county commissioners will consider it at a later date.
The Grove Mixed Use Project
Henry County Land Company, LLC of Duluth, GA and Geosam Capital propose The Grove. The mixed-use development would take an estimated 25 years to build.
Henry County Land Company purchased the property in March 2022. It consists of 1,277.62 +/- acres. The property is off US Highway 19 / 41 between Hampton and Lovejoy.
The developer, Geosam Capital, has developed over ninety communities with over 5,000 residential lots in Georgia. Some examples in Henry County include the following:
- Hamilton Pointe and Parkside at Avalon subdivisions in McDonough,
- Derringstone Manor in Locust Grove and
- Clark Estates East in Ellenwood.
The company also has projects in Florida and Texas.
The Grove proposes to build 7,160 housing units. This includes single-family homes, townhomes and apartments. A full breakdown is in the chart below.
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In addition, there’s more than two million square feet of retail and commercial space. This would be concentrated along US Highway 19 / 41. The developer proposes to set aside seven acres for public safety facilities. This could be a fire station and / or police precinct built by Henry County. Next, a historic homestead on the property would be preserved as “The Grove Reserve.” Finally, there’s 150 acres of open space. Amenities include eight miles of trails and multi-use paths, 35 pocket parks and six amenity areas.
Zoning Board
The zoning board will consider the developer’s rezoning request. The applicant is requesting a rezoning to MU (mixed use). Presently, the property has various zoning districts including RA, R-3, RM, C-2 and C-3. As part of the rezoning request, there’s a draft development agreement. The agreement would establish the legally-binding conditions under which the project can build.
A key factor the county considers is conformity to the future land use map. The county’s 2018 FLUM labeled the area for mixed-use development. The 2023 FLUM, passed one year ago, changed the designation to low-density mixed-use. The LDMU category supports up to eight net units per acre. The project has a gross density of 5.6 units per acre, according to the county staff report.
Henry County staff are recommending approval of the rezoning request. All applicable zoning conditions for the project will be in the development agreement. This includes items such as home sizes, street standards and permitted uses. The draft agreement is available on the county website (PDF link – 33 pages).
Finally, the developer is requesting to modify the county’s development code. This amendment specifically applies to development agreements. The present code has development agreements; the change would expand their use. The code amendment would allow development agreements to permit uses not presently found in the county code. It would also modify the land requirements to be part of an agreement. A large portion of the Grove property is located within the watershed protection district. The existing code prohibits that area’s consideration in a development agreement. The change would permit its inclusion.
The zoning board will recommend either approval or denial on each item. The Henry County Board of Commissioners will consider the rezoning request and code amendment later. That meeting will presumably be sometime in 2025.
Featured image shows a subdivision. Stock photo.
