Woodstock Leaders Approve PLAE Headquarters

WOODSTOCK, GA — The Woodstock City Council on Monday unanimously voted to approve a controversial project that would allow a company to build its headquarters on the site currently home to Magnolia Hall and Magnolia Thomas House. Council members approved PLAE's conditional use permit and variances for 2.5 acres at 108 Arnold Mill Road.

PLAE's plans call for relocating from its current office at 105 Towne Lake Parkwy and building two new buildings and a demonstration field on the Arnold Mill Road property. These plans also call for demolishing Magnolia Hall and the Magnolia Thomas House, a reproduction of a historic structure that was nearly destroyed in a fire about 10 years ago, keeping the existing parking areas intact, with the buildings and field between them.

PLAE originally wanted to have an 18-foot-tall net that would run parallel to its Arnold Mill Road frontage in front of the demonstration field. However, the company altered it plans, moving the field to the center of the site, thus no longer in need of the net. PLAE also asked to install branded track material covering it produces on the public sidewalk along the front part of the property.This request, city staff said, was also taken off the table for consideration.

The Woodstock Planning Commission on Jan. 4 tabled PLAE's request because members wanted better renderings of the project. The case was brought back before the Commission at its Feb. 1 meeting, and moved forward to be considered at the Feb. 26 City Council meeting.

The new headquarters would include two 14,400-square-foot buildings and the demonstration field. One building would be used as office space and furniture store for the lobby and showroom while the second facility would serve as a fitness center.

City staff members did not feel comfortable with allowing PLAE to deviate downtown parking minimum standards. PLAE is 11 parking spaces short for the new uses it wants to bring to downtown, and the city has previously rejected similar requests from companies seeking to bypass parking standards for uses guaranteed to generate parking needs.

City staff said it encouraged PLAE to seek out "shared parking opportunities," and among the Planning Commission's stipulations included allowing the company to "share parking with themselves across their different operations, which have different peak visitor times," the staff report states.

Woodstock previously owned the building and leased it to the DDA, which leases out the structure to the Magnolia Thomas Restaurant. At the time of Monday's request, PLAE closed on the property and now owns the land. The eatery previously criticized the proposal, adding it was a "little disappointing" to see the plans move forward.

PLAE specializes in offering personal training in group settings, and its Woodstock studio "is designed to provide professional, education-based coaching, world-class technology, a team-oriented atmosphere, and engaging ground-based programming based on demonstrated science and proven results," according to its website.

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