A developer has relented to resident concerns and will now seek rezoning for a proposed mixed-use project that only has for-sale units and no apartments.
Grubb Properties is bringing back to the city next month a slightly revised version of its proposed mixed-use development on approximately 20 acres on Perimeter Center East, where Dunwoody City Hall was formerly located.
The developer withdrew earlier its proposed plans earlier this year after the City Council balked at density and raised traffic concerns.
Original plans for the proposed project included five residential towers with 1,200 apartments and condos, a 19-story office tower and several parking decks for the project.
At the Dunwoody Homeowners Association Aug. 5 meeting, representatives from Grubb Properties said the company was lowering residential units from the originally proposed 1,200 to 900 and that all 900 would be sold as condos.
“Most importantly, there is no rental multi-family units,” Andrew Rosti of Grubb Properties said at the DHA meeting.
Rosti of Grubb said the decision was made after feedback from city staff, DHA members and other community members that for-rent apartments are “not a desired use” in the city at this time.
DHA President Adrienne Duncan thanked Rosti and Grubb for the changes, noting that the proposed apartments were a “big sticky wicket.”
Grubb plans to make submit its rezoning request Sept. 5.
There is no definite timeline on when the project would start if it is approved by the city, Rosti said. With for-sale units only, the proposed project’s financing is “completely at the whims of the market,” he said.
The specific sizes and designs of the residential buildings depend on what the market wants, he explained. If the market supports housing for those 55 and older, for example, the project would make way for one building to support this demographic.
Ground won’t be broken until 50 percent of the units in the first residential tower to be built are sold. What that threshold is remains unknown at this stage, Rosti said. Original plans for the mixed-use development included phased construction of the entire project over 10 to 15 years.
“We want to be responsive to the market as possible,” he said of not have plans completely defined.
The new plans also allow for more green space in the development