201-Unit Senior Apartment Project Delayed in Sandy Springs

SANDY SPRINGS, GA -- A plan to rezone property to accommodate a proposed senior housing project has been delayed by Sandy Springs leaders.

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to defer a request by Parc Communities LLC to rezone about 5.62 acres at 6025 and 6029 Glenridge Drive from R-2 (single family dwelling) to A-L (apartment limited dwelling district) to build a 201-unit senior living development.

Chip Collins, a former City Council member who is now serving as the applicant's attorney, said the deferral will allow the company to submit new plans to the city to consider.

Those plans should be submitted by June 2, he said.

The primary concern expressed by residents of the development, Collins told the Council, is the height and density of the project as it currently stands. He also said the deferral will allow Parc Communities to perform the necessary testing to see if the grade could be lowered.

“We believe that this is a solvable issue, and we hope to come up with a project that the neighbors can live with," he added.

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Two residents spoke in opposition to the project, and they expressed concerns about the project's proposed height as well as the density set forth by the applicant.

Both city staff and the Sandy Springs Planning Commission recommended denial of the project.

Councilman Tibby DeJulio, who noted the project could be classified as an "intense" use of the land, said the applicant and adjacent property owners should sit down and work out their differences.

DeJulio also alluded to the financial situation of the current property owner, Apostles Church of Sandy Springs, as having “one foot in the grave and one on the banana peel."

With that in mind, the Council member said redevelopment of the property is inevitable, so it's imperative that there be a plan in place that would protect the adjacent neighborhoods.

The proposed development would encompass four buildings, a five-level concrete parking deck and an open-air pool and amenity area. Parc Communities also sought variances to reduce the number of parking spaces, minimum unit size, landscape strip and rear buffer setbacks.

Once new site plans are resubmitted to the city, the case will be heard by the Planning Commission at its June 16 meeting. It will come back to the City Council at its July 19 meeting.

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