High Street Residential and Third & Urban announced plans for Hillcrest, an 8.1-acre mixed-use development located next to the City Springs development on the southwest corner of Mount Vernon Highway and Sandy Springs Circle.
Hillcrest plans to break ground this month on the property, which was the original location of the Wesleyan School. Completion is expected in 2027.
Sandy Springs Economic Development Director Chris Burnett told the city’s Development Authority on June 5 that Hillcrest will include 362 premium apartment units, 30 luxury for-rent townhomes, and more than 18,000 square feet of retail space with a central greenspace plaza. The property will be an all-rental community.
Third & Urban will oversee the retail component. It will feature a mix of high-end and casual dining, an ice cream shop, a coffee shop, a fitness studio, and a wine bar. The businesses will open to a central plaza designed for community gatherings and outdoor leisure activities. A restaurant will be built on the corner of the two streets and will have outdoor seating. A second restaurant site will be built across from it.
The townhomes will offer two- and three-bedroom floor plans with two-car garages and rooftop patios. Amenities for the Class-A apartments will include a rooftop pool and clubroom with panoramic views of Sandy Springs and Buckhead, a golf simulator lounge, private movie screening room, sauna, state-of-the-art fitness center with a Pilates studio, a dog park, and a café-inspired work-from-home space.
The project’s apartment building will range from three to five stories. It will wrap around a parking garage that includes the 111 public parking spaces.
Related story:
• Free garage parking at events for three major events
The City Springs area needs those spaces because the Hillcrest development will cause the loss of 105 parking spaces that have been available for city use during events.
Council member Andy Bauman met representatives of Trammel Crow, the parent company of Hillcrest Residential, at a luncheon several months ago. Bauman asked if they would consider city parking spaces in their garage. Trammel Crow’s original site plan for Hillcrest called for a garage with 440 parking spaces. Trammel Crow agreed to add 111 parking spaces for the city in exchange for the tax abatement, which lowers the project’s up-front construction costs and improves the financial viability of the project.
The Development Authority voted to recommend approval of the tax abatement at its June 5 meeting.
Sandy Springs will pay up front an estimated $3.3 million in construction costs for those spaces as the parking garage is built, which the city estimates will take nine months to complete. Sandy Springs capital funds will be used in the project.
According to the proposed agreement, Trammel Crow will pay back over 10 years an estimated $4.88 million in property tax savings created by the tax abatement. Those funds will go to the capital fund to replenish the city’s investment in the project.
The city would also pay a prorated amount for parking garage maintenance based on its 111 parking spaces. The city would also receive any revenue from the 111 parking spaces designated for city use in a 50-year agreement.
The Sandy Springs City Council will consider the abatement at its June 17 meeting.
Sandy Springs United Methodist Church had been looking to sell the property since 2016. The church will use proceeds from the sale to fund significant improvements to the church’s primary campus.
“Churches were already experiencing downward trends in membership and tithes and offerings that was exacerbated by COVID,” Burnett said. “And so churches that have great real estate assets like this are now converting those into cash. They’ll go into endowment funds to help sustain their church operations or be used to build new facilities or renovate facilities.”
The development team includes partners such as Cooper Carry (architect), Square Feet Design (retail consultant and interior designer), New South Construction (general contractor), Citizens Bank (lender), and Wesley Community Development (church advisor). Amy Fingerhut and her team at CBRE will handle retail leasing.