Resident Wants Johns Creek To Buy Dean Gardens

JOHNS CREEK, GA -- A resident believes the city of Johns Creek's mission to expand parks and recreation amenities could be rolled out on an equal basis by possibly buying dozens of acres along the Chattahoochee River.

Irene Sanders is hoping the city will take a serious look at purchasing Dean Gardens, the famed property once owned by millionaire Larry Dean.

Dean sold the property to actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry for $7.6 million. Perry, Sanders said, never lived in the home on the property, but instead used the expansive land to fly airplanes. Perry eventually sold the property to home builder Lennar for roughly $10 million, she added.

Sanders, who is also a member of the Johns Creek Planning Commission, is asking the city to buy the land to provide residents south of State Bridge Road with more options for recreation uses. Lennar purchased the land with the intent to build dozens of homes on the property, but those plans have unfortunately stalled and the company is looking to sell the 58 acres.

Sanders views the real estate as a prime spot to provide park and recreation space for residents south of State Bridge Road. Dean Gardens, she said in a letter, could provide a park for "a significantly underserved area of Johns Creek."

"In the current land use plan, this property was identified as a Distinctive Area," she said. "Indeed, one of the primary goals for this distinctive area was to use the Metropolitan River Protection Act to investigate measures to protect the Chattahoochee River as an important resource. That document envisioned improvements being made to the Old Alabama Road corridor, with additional multi-use trails and sidewalks connecting adjacent neighborhoods to parks, including the Autrey Mill Nature Preserve, and creating a multi-trail network along the river that residents could enjoy. In short, this property could be an important part of a future greenway plan for the residents in lower Johns Creek."

Noting that Newtown Park is "terribly overused," buying Dean Gardens could serve as an alternative for residents who would prefer a more passive place for walking, biking or "simply enjoying an afternoon read along the Chattahoochee River."

In November 2016, city voters passed a parks bond that will use up to $40 million to acquire and develop parks and green space as well as improve Johns Creek's current inventory of parks.

The identified projects -- the linear park in Technology Park, the neighborhood park on Morton Road, the Cauley Creek property, the two pocket parks located on State Bridge Road and the intersection of Bell and Boles roads -- are all for projects north of State Bridge, Sanders argues.

Sanders said she hopes the city would "think about the residents south of State Bridge" and take a look at the property.

“We are not getting anything out of this park tax that we are all going to be paying for," she stated.

City spokesperson Jeff Breslau, who said details of real estate negotiations are generally not made public, noted the city has made an offer in the past to buy Dean Gardens, but that proposal was not accepted.

Johns Creek has four parks: Newtown Park, Ocee Park, Shakerag Park and Autrey Mill Nature Preserve. Out of those four, Breslau said the Newtown, Ocee, and Autrey Mill facilities are south of State Bridge Road.

"Shakerag is the only park north of State Bridge," he added. "Of the five new parks, two are right off of State Bridge Road: State Bridge pocket park and Morton Road neighborhood park."

Meanwhile, the city continues to add to its bank of park land. The City Council at its Monday, June 19 meeting approved the purchase of 58 acres sandwiched between the Cauley Creek land it already owns and the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. While there will be public input to determine the use of the land, the city believes the transaction provides an opportunity to revisit the Cauley Creek Park property to develop a master plan that incorporates the Quail Hollow property and Cauley Creek as a unified property.

Sanders expressed some optimism about the city's latest purchase, reiterating her stance that the parks bond will benefit residents primarily to the north of State Bridge Road.

"Although I think it is great to persevere green space especially along the river, it is also imperative that our city leaders remember that representing the citizens south of State Bridge is of equal importance considering these taxpayers are paying equal taxes for the parks bond and deserve equal benefit," she added.

Images via Irene Sanders