The Dunwoody Planning Commission deferred consideration at its March 11 meeting a zoning change that would allow a 98,000 square-foot office building to be torn down and a 122-unit townhome community built in the space.
The site, at 56 Perimeter Center East, consists of one 6.3-acre parcel, and a 357-space parking lot. The building, according to a zoning application filed with the city, has a vacancy rate of 37 percent, which is declining, it said, despite a recent renovation.
The applicant, listed as the Providence Group of Georgia, LLC, wants to change the zoning from O-I (Office-Industrial) to PD (Planned Development) to allow the site to be redeveloped into 122-townhome condominiums, ranging from 1,100- to 2,100-square feet.
The development would not exceed four stories or 50 feet high, according to the application.
At the planning commission meeting, developers said the units will be two- to three-bedrooms, with a proposed selling price of about $500,000 and up.
“The project will also include interior driveways, resident amenities, and a formalized connection to the Georgetown Trail,” the filing application said. “As part of the PD [Planned Development] zoning requirements, the applicant has provided an Overall Development Plan, which creates unique and specific zoning requirements for the subject property.”
The application mentioned that office buildings in the Perimeter Center East area “are empty and given the pandemic’s impact on the office market are expected to stay that way.”
The application stated that the buildings will most likely be constructed in a modern style and consist of brick, stone, stucco, and/or “cementitious fiberboard.”
All the units will be controlled by a condominium association and, when completed, be for sale, with a minimal rental allowance.
The design will be unique for Dunwoody, according to the application.
“The condominium buildings will look like town homes from the exterior. Some units will be stacked one on top of the other, others will be front to back and some units may be designed as flats,” it said. “Each unit will also have one interior parking space and one exterior parking space.”
On Jan. 15, the development review committee, composed of members from Dunwoody’s City Management, Community Development, Planning and Zoning, Public Works, and Economic Development, recommended the passage of the zoning change.
The city staff memo regarding the rezoning effort recommended deferral of the application, as it has requested a more detailed landscape plan and additional elevations from the applicant, but hasn’t received them.
Attorney Alex Brock of Smith Gambrell & Russell, representing the developers, said he was “generally supportive of the deferral.” The panel voted unanimously for the deferral.
At the public hearing portion regarding the proposal, with three people speaking in favor of its development. The proposal will be considered at the next scheduled planning commission meeting.