Sandy Springs Marks "Big Day" At City Center Site

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Walking around the City Springs construction site, it’s clear City Manager John McDonough takes pride in witnessing first hand the creation of downtown Sandy Springs.

McDonough, who has helped carry out this vision of city leaders and residents, stated Friday was a “big day” for the city, as crews began pouring the foundation for the stage of the Performing Arts Center component of City Springs.

Crews so far have moved 280,000 cubic yards of dirt for the project, a plan that “so many different moving components,” said Hayes Todd, project manager with Holder Construction.

Todd stated he’s worked on various projects, ranging from parks to government buildings, but nothing where the work entails simultaneously building several pieces virtually at the same time.

Just how involved is the City Springs project? Just factoring in the manpower will give one a general idea of its size and scope.

Currently at any given moment, the construction site is bustling with 100 workers coming and going to ensure each moving part is running effectively.

Once structures start coming out of the ground, which will start to take shape in 2016, that number can climb as high as 250 workers, Todd said.

• See also: video documenting the order of construction for the City Springs project

Goals for the City Springs project include the creation of a unique, vibrant, walkable city center, which incorporates mixed-use development introducing new dining, high-end residential living, amenity retail and entertainment options.

The project also will create an appropriate setting for a new civic/cultural center that will contain multiple uses such as city offices, meeting space and a performing arts facility. The city block will also include a green space network to accommodate a variety of activities.

Along with the setting the foundation for the Performing Arts Center stage, McDonough said crews are also constructing the walls of the underground parking deck and are also performing underground foundation work.

Once the legal matters are settled, McDonough said he expects Carter-Selig will begin construction on the private components of the site sometime next summer.

Another leg of the project: McDonough said Georgia Power is also working independently with other utility companies to eventually bury the “visual clutter” surrounding City Springs.

Other simultaneous projects ongoing on the site include preparations to construct parking deck, civic building, retail, residential living spaces and greenspace.

Subsequently, road work will also begin in connection to the project, including improvements to Sandy Springs Circle, Mt. Vernon Highway and Johnson Ferry Road. A new road -- the Blue Stone Road connection -- will also be installed to connect Heritage Sandy Springs to the site.

In an effort to keep businesses in the loop on the work, McDonough also said city staff meets once a month with surrounding establishments to keep them in the loop of activities.

McDonough praised the work of the Holder team, which meets and updates city staff and leaders on the progress of the work that’s underway. Holder’s on-site construction offices are filled with sequence plans of which areas crews will tackle as the project takes shape.

“They’ve done a really good job with construction updates,” McDonough said, adding Holder has a good reputation in metro Atlanta for the work the company has done.

City Springs started with the Goody-Clancy master planning process for the area, which McDonough noted had some “lofty” goals -- one of which was to create a “sense of place” in Sandy Springs.

Now that these “lofty” goals will soon go vertical, McDonough expressed optimism about what’s in store for the city that recently marked its first decade of incorporation.

“It’s exciting to see the community vision become a reality here on this site,” he said. “The progress that is made on the weekly basis...is pretty impressive.”

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Photo 1: City Manager John McDonough, right, discusses the City Springs site as representatives from Holder Construction listen.
Photos 2, 3 and 4: employees work to pour concrete for the foundation of the Performing Arts Center stage.
Photo credits: Kristal Dixon