Gateway project near Chastain Park approved

By Dan Whisenhunt
After a contentious meeting, Sandy Springs City Council voted 5 to 1 to approve zoning for a mixed-used development that will also require a massive intersection improvement.
The council also approved the plan for the intersection improvement, voting to spend $3.7 million to realign the intersection of Roswell Road and Windsor Parkway.
Council members John Paulson, Dianne Fries, Chip Collins, Gabriel Sterling and Tibby DeJulio voted yes on both issues. Council member Karen Meinzen McEnerny voted no on both issues.
The development is located at the Intersection of Roswell Road and Windsor Parkway, near Chastain Park. The developer is JLB Partners.
Traffic from the project will affect both Sandy Springs and Atlanta’s Buckhead Community, and Buckhead residents have attended meetings in Sandy Springs about the project.
The zoning approval had been delayed for several months while developers tried to work through their differences with residents. Some neighborhood groups, like the High Point Civic Association, support the project. Others are concerned about the project’s density and the traffic it will create.
The project will consist of 630 apartment units, reduced from 700 the developers initially proposed. The development will also include office and retail space.
The realignment of Windsor Parkway and Roswell Road will cost millions and will be funded with a combination of impact fees, money moved from other projects and potentially some bond financing. Its estimated cost is $3.7 million, the least costly of three options, according to city staff estimates. The road would be realigned to a 90 degree angle.
The road realignment became a factor after the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority issued its ruling on the mixed-use gateway development. Due to its size, GRTA assessed the project as a development of regional impact. The city reported that there were 103 accidents there from 2009 to 2013.