The city of Sandy Springs now has a signed option agreement to purchase the Target site at Johnson Ferry Road and Sandy Springs Circle for a future city hall location and is proceeding with the due diligence study process to determine if there are any unexpected problems with the property.
The agreed to purchase price for the 7.75-acre site is $8 million. The city has the funds to purchase the site, but does not have funds in this budget to construct a city hall on the site.
“We are going to have some things done in terms of investigation of the property to ensure that what we are buying doesn’t present a problem later on,” city attorney Wendell Willard told the Sandy Springs Reporter on Aug. 4.
“Once that is done and during the course of time the contract and everything works out, the contract calls for a closing to occur in December,” Willard added.
Willard said the purpose of that timing is to ensure that Target will have moved to its new store location in the redeveloped Prado retail center on Roswell Road south of I-285. He said there is an option provision that if they should not have moved by the December closing date, the closing can be extended.
The Sembler Company, which is redeveloping the Prado center, has said that Target plans a grand opening of its new store there on Oct. 12.
“I am sure they want to be over there in time for the Christmas sales,” Willard said.
The city attorney said there has been pretty good communication and understanding on both side of reaching agreement on the city’s purchase of the property for a future city hall location.