Apartments, Costco Project Postponed By Woodstock

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WOODSTOCK, GA -- Residents who were hoping Woodstock would soon make a decision on a plan to construct an apartment complex and Costco store had their hopes dashed on Monday, as the City Council voted to postpone acting on the proposal.

Council members unanimously voted to table a request from Ridgewalk Holdings, LLC to obtain two conditional use permits to allow an 18-pump gas station to accompany the Costco and 320-unit apartment complex.

Along with the proposed 153,272 square-foot Costco -- complete with a liquor store and gas station -- and apartment complex, the development would also contain 23 single family homes, an additional 62,182 square-foot retail store, civic space and seven stormwater ponds and other undefined uses.

The property consists of 68.88 acres on both the north and south sides of Ridgewalk Parkway east of I-575, and west and north of Ridge Trail.

The project, City Manager Jeff Moon said, is easily the largest project he's come across in his more than eight years of serving Woodstock.

Additionally, city staff and its legal team had issues with some of the conditions imposed by the Woodstock Planning Commission, many of which Moon classified as "unworkable."

With that in mind, the legal team as well as city staff came up with another set of conditions that would be more reasonable for the applicant to follow.

Ridgewalk Holdings' application also came with a total of 44 variances relating to block, lot, parking, architecture and thoroughfare standards; private and public frontage; civic space requirements; building intensity, residential unit density; and signage.

Woodstock Senior City Planner Katie Coulborn said staff members recommended denial of the conditional use permit for the apartment complex since no developer has been identified for the proposal. Additionally, Woodstock has a goal of maintaining its housing ratio as 80 percent owner-occupied to 20 percent multi-family.

However, that ratio is slightly off, with 75 percent coming in as owner-occupied and 25 percent as multi-family.

Staff members did recommended approval of the conditional use permit for the Costco-related operations. The Planning Commission's recommendations for the project mirrored that of staff, Coulborn added.

Parks Huff, attorney for the applicant, said Ridgewalk Holdings has wanted to do something with this property long before the new Ridgewalk interchange at Interstate 575 opened to the public.

Horizon Group Properties, the company behind the Outlet Shoppes at Atlanta, became the lead developer in the area, and has also been working on coming up with a project “that’s a positive for everyone.”

Two public participation meetings, which Huff said was well-attended by citizens, have been held, and the most telling component about the project's chances was the fact that the Chambers at City City weren't "stacked with a room full of people" during Monday's meeting, Huff added.

"We’ve done a really good job of addressing the concerns, and addressing the questions (of residents)," he added.

He also pointed to the financial benefit the city will see, adding the apartment complex will generate about $480,000 in impact fees that can be used for parks and recreation projects.

One resident, Jack Tubb, said he wanted to hear more about the single family homes proposed for the project, adding he'd like to see if there's an estimate on how much the homes would be sold for.

Huff said the intentions are to have the homes' starting price right around $300,000.

Alluding to the city's current ratio of housing, Tubb also wondered why the consideration for more apartments was on the table.

Throughout the meeting, Council members kept their opinions about the project to themselves. However, Councilman Warren Johnson wanted to know if the city had enough right-of-way needed to accommodate the widening of Ridgewalk Parkway in the future.

Moon noted the long-term relief to Ridgewalk Parkway will be the Arnold Mill bypass project, an initiative the city has had on the books for several years. That project would create a new road on the northside of the intersection of Arnold Mill and Neese roads that would run northwest until it dead ends in the vicinity of Ridgewalk Parkway and Main Street.

Moon also said there are topographical challenges to Ridgewalk Parkway that would make widening the road a challenge, such as a steep drop-off on the north side of the property and the location of the Meridian at Ridgewalk subdivision.

Council members tabled the project until its next regular meeting, scheduled for Monday, May 9.

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