Project Would Build 2,000 Homes, Hotel, Riverwalk In Emerson

EMERSON, GA — Since plans for a 'Hunger Games' amusement park are now off the table for consideration, developers for the site in question aren't giving up on an idea to transform the area into a mixed-use community in southern Bartow County.

Jacoby Development is eyeing the 1,150-acre piece of property along Interstate 75 just south of the Etowah River in Emerson. Villages at Red Top would be near sites such as Allatoona Lake, Red Top Mountain State Park and the popular LakePoint Sporting Community.

According to plans on the Sandy Springs-based developer's website, the project would include 2,000 residential units and roughly 1 million square feet of commercial and retail space. These components would be housed in three distinct "village environments": Etowah Village, the so-called town center featuring a hotel, shopping, dining and entertainment district, offices and residential uses, festival green and a riverwalk; Lakeside Village, an active adult residential community with lakes, clubhouses, walking trails and a golf course; and Hillside Village, a community of luxury homes with "panoramic views of the Etowah Valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains, and hiking trails along the ridge tops," according to the company's stie.

Broken down, the Etowah Village would have 609 multi-family units, 255 single-family homes, a 100-key hotel and 290,000 square feet of commercial space. Lakeside Village would be packed with 947 single-family homes for residents age 55 and older and 80,000 square feet of retail space while Hillside Village would have 192 residences.

Other components are 150,000 square feet of medical office space, 50,000 square feet of gateway retail space, open space and hiking trails, the golf course with a club house and a riverwalk trail.

The area in question was formerly being eyed to develop into a "totally immersive, technology driven theme park drawing on the expertise of Hollywood's leading visual effects professionals," according to documents filed in 2015 with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

AVATRON Park's plans called for the project to include up to two hotels, retail operations and a music performance venue, according to the initial Developments of Regional Impact filing. The plan, however, fell through, as one of the key partners had to suspend its participation in the project.

Jacoby Development's latest proposal would most likely have to go through the DR review process. DRI's are described as large-scale projects that would have ripple effects beyond the jurisdictional boundaries in which they reside. The process requires each of these developments to be reviewed by the regional commission district it falls in, which in this case would be the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission.

You can learn more about Villages at Red Top by visiting Jacoby Development's website.

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