The city of Sandy Springs announced today, March 15 that the ball is rolling on redeveloping its downtown area, currently planned around the city-owned former Target property at 235 Johnson Ferry Road.
On March 6, the City Council hired Boston-based firm Goody Clancy to help the city draw up its blueprint for redeveloping what will be the heart of the city. According to a city press release, the firm is getting to work, interviewing city leaders, property owners, residents, business leaders and local preservation and advocacy groups.
“The final plan for Sandy Springs will be a detailed plan unique to the city with places and activities that benefit every member of the community,” David Dixon, Principal-in-Charge of Planning & Urban Design for Goody Clancy, said in a city press release. “To build that plan, we will conduct our work in phases. As we go through each phase and each step in the process, we will engage the community to update them on our progress as well as gather feedback.”
The city will hold public meetings, starting with the first one on May 8, to get more public input. Each meeting will focus on a phase of the planning process, the city’s press release said. The May 8 meeting will focus on city assets, the challenges of redeveloping downtown and asking residents about their vision for downtown.
The city expects to have a draft of the downtown master plan this fall.
The Sandy Springs Council of Neighborhoods is getting head start on the public input process. The neighborhood group will host a town hall on the city’s redevelopment plans next Thursday, March 22, at 7 p.m. The meeting will be held at Sandy Springs City Hall.
