The Atlanta City Council’s zoning committee has endorsed granting Galloway School special zoning regulations so it can renovate its campus facilities and construct a new building.
On Aug. 26, the committee voted 4-1 to approve the creation of the “Chastain Park Galloway School” special public interest district (SPI). An SPI provides development guidelines on zoning issues like setbacks, architectural consistency, and park space.
The Chastain Park Galloway School SPI designation would allow Galloway to change its existing site plan so it can construct a new 60,000-square-foot building. The new building would replace the historic Gresham Building demolished earlier this month despite opposition from many residents, preservationists, and alumnae.
Voting in favor of the new SPI were council members Jason Dozier, Marci Collier Overstreet, Amir Farokhi and Liliana Bakhtiari. Councilmember Howard Shook voted no. Zoning Committee Chairperson Matt Westmoreland abstained. Mary Norwood, who represents Chastain Park and the Galloway School, was absent.
SPI districts are typically assigned to large areas with numerous pieces of properties, such as Buckhead, Downtown and Midtown, where there is “special and substantial public interest in protection of existing or proposed character.”
Neighborhood planning groups and the city’s Zoning Review Board have voted twice to deny recommending Galloway receive an SPI designation. Critics worry the legislation could be considered “spot zoning” and that other private property holders may seek the same treatment.
“Just what public purpose is served by giving a private school zoning concessions nobody else has so it can build a 60,000-square-foot building in the middle of a public park?” said Gloria Cheatham, senior vice president of the Tuxedo Park Civic Association, in a letter to zoning committee members.
“Galloway leaders have already forever erased an historic icon that defined Chastain Park’s historic character, and the redevelopment they propose would drive a nail in Gresham Hall’s coffin, forever depriving visitors of a beloved public park of any semblance of its memory,” she said.
Galloway spokesperson Natalie Pitchford said the school was pleased with the Aug. 26 vote and administrators are hopeful the city council will approve the ordinance at its Sept. 3 meeting.
“All plans are predicated on the completion of zoning … and we remain hopeful that the SPI will be approved,” she said. “If the SPI is denied by Atlanta City Council, the Board of Trustees will assess our options and next steps.”
The council last approved a special interest district in 2023 for the Tuxedo Park neighborhood located south of Chastain Park. That effort was spearheaded by District 8 Councilmember Mary Norwood. Norwood has abstained from any votes on the Galloway School’s request for an SPI.
