DeKalb Housing Authority to hold info meeting Feb. 7 for Brookhaven development

If you’ve driven near the intersection of Johnson Ferry and Ashford Dunwoody roads lately, you’ve probably noticed a lot of construction. So what’s going on?

The site of the old Johnson Ferry East housing project is getting a multi-phase makeover that will include senior apartments, townhomes and retail. The mixed-use development is known as Brookleigh, said Paula Gwynn Grant, director of communications and community development for the Housing Authority of DeKalb County.

“It’s a mixed use, mixed income community,” Grant said. “No one knows the difference and everyone is living side by side. It’s a community, and that’s what neighborhoods should really be all about.”

The Housing Authority will hold a public meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 7 at the Ashford Parkside Senior Residences for people to learn about the development and ask questions.

The third phase of the development- Hearthside at Brookleigh- is under construction. It will be senior housing similar to the first two phases of the project: Ashford Parkside and Ashford Landing, which are already complete.

The Housing Authority of DeKalb County is partnering with NorSouth to develop the 56-acre Brookleigh site.

“I think it’s a really good example of public-private partnerships,” Grant said. “That’s a great thing for the community and the neighborhoods that surround us.”

The fourth phase of the project will be townhomes that are expected to sell in the $200,000 to $300,000 range, Grant said.

A retail development, known as the shops at Brookleigh, is scheduled as the final phase of the development.

Madison Partners, LLC, the developer of the retail component, would not comment on the plans. But Grant said they are still in the process of finding tenants for the retail space.

“Right now, we don’t know who any of the retail partners are,” Grant said. “But it is shaping up.”

The Housing Authority sold an adjacent plot of land to The Worthing Companies, which will develop a luxury apartment complex called the Heights at Brookleigh. According to the Heights at Brookleigh website, it will be complete in September.

Grant said there have been changes to the plans for the Brookleigh development due to the downturn in the economy.

“The changes were all positive, it will be a smaller impact on the community,” Grant said. “So in the last year we’ve been able to gear back up and build what’s coming up and almost complete at Hearthside Brookleigh.”