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Store eyes church site

By J. FRANK LYNCH
jflynch@theCitizenNews.com

On the spot where the newly converted were baptized for more than 100 years, commuters may one day be pumping unleaded gasoline at discount prices.

Quik Trip has its eye on the former Line Creek Baptist Church property in western Peachtree City.

The company hopes to build one of its huge convenience stores and gas stations along Ga. Highway 54 West on property where the church has stood since shortly after the Civil War.

Line Creek held services for the final time last Sunday and moved from the site this week after closing on a deal to sell its seven acres to RAM Development.

RAM, which was responsible for Wal-Mart and Home Depot in Peachtree City, has plans to redevelop the entire stretch of Hwy. 54 from the CSX Railway tracks to the Coweta County line.

Purchasing the church property was a key component of the long-range project.

The Quik Trip would be located at the corner of Hwy. 54 and the entrance to Home Depot and Wal-Mart.

Brian Corbin, representing Quik Trip, said the company intends to build a quality store with 20 fueling stations which would far and away make it the largest gas station in the city.

“I don’t think anybody in Peachtree City or Fayette County has a gas station that looks like this now,” he said. “This will be a radically different look for QT.”

But the Quik Trip project is far from being a done deal. In a workshop session Monday night, represenatatives from both RAM appeared before the Peachtree City Planning Commission to talk about how best to go forward with the plans.

City Planner David Rast prefaced the discussion by pointing out the difficulty of the task.

“It’s going to be a challenging tract,” he said. “It’s not a square piece of property and it’s going to take some innovation to make it work.”

The plans shown Monday night by RAM didn’t meet that requirement, several members of the Planning Commission indicated.

Ray Green of the commission implored RAM to “think outside the box.”

RAM proposed grading the hill where the church sits so that it’s level with Home Depot and Wal-Mart. The church cemetery, which stays on the site, would be surrounded by high concrete retaining walls, with graves located high above the surrounding commercial buildings.

Commission member Marty Mullin was aghast at the preliminary plans shown by RAM, specifically the plans to isolate the Line Creek cemetery high above asphalt parking lots.

“It’s a big mistake, a big mistake,” Mullin complained, even after RAM said they’d landscape the high concrete retaining walls to make them appear less daunting.

“You can plant all the ivy you want, but it’s still going to look ridiculous,” Mullin said.

After several minutes of discussion, RAM official agreed to go back to the drawing boards and try to come up with a plan to develop the church acreage and keep the hilly terrain intact, so that the cemetery isn’t left jutting up above the surrounding area.

That might mean reconsidering the design and location of the Quik Trip, they conceded.

Mullin encouraged Corbin of Quik Trip to consider extreme designs as well.

“I would ask you, beg you to think outside the box on this one too,” he said. “If you do, people here will thank you, they’ll applaud you.”