Dunwoody’s Urban Redevelopment Agency is actively seeking commercial developers for 2.5 acres located in what’s designated at the city’s Project Renaissance urban redevelopment plan.
The URA approved a request for proposals at its March 3 meeting and is expecting to have all submitted by mid-June, said Michael Starling, director of Dunwoody’s economic department.
The acreage, at the intersection of North Shallowford Road and Dunwoody Park, is part of the Dunwoody Green commercial site within the larger Project Renaissance development encompassing the Georgetown area.
“This is simply not a land sale,” Starling said. “We want to benefit Georgetown and Dunwoody Green.”
The land is owned by the URA, not the city of Dunwoody, Starling added. “The URA is excited to get this on the market … we’re hoping to get a lot of interest.”
The site is an extension of a public purpose of Project Renaissance, the creation of parks , new residential units, and multi-use trail system, Starling explained.
Plans are to have the commercial development be a catalyst for additional development activity in the Georgetown area and North Shallowford Road Corridor while also creating a sense of place for the community, he added.
Visions for the small, commercial plot includes restaurants and retail with restaurants facing the park and retail spaces wrapping around the site. And rather than businesses such as nail salons, Starling said the URA is hoping for local general retail businesses.
Adjacent to the commercial site, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods is building a residential neighborhood called Dunwoody Green. John Wieland Homes is incorporating two public parks, linear greenways and pedestrian connections to weave this property together with the surrounding neighborhoods. This new community will offer 68 new residential homes ranging in price from $400,000 to $650,000.
The Project Renaissance development was begun in 2012 and is planned on two pieces of property on North Shallowford Road that total 35 acres. One parcel is the 16-acre property known as the “PVC Farm” that City Council purchased for $5 million in 2011. The other is the 19-acre site of the former Emory Dunwoody Hospital.
