Authority contracting with firm to design sketches for Lexington Circle

The Development Authority of Peachtree City is trying to encourage some creative thinking for a high-profile undeveloped area on the city’s east side that’s actually zoned to have a significant amount of commercial space.

The authority voted Monday to enter a contract with a design firm that will prepare schematics of what other type of development would be a good fit for the remaining parcels at Lexington Circle, officials said. The parcels are located at the corner of Ga. Highway 54 and Walt Banks Road, across from Holy Trinity Catholic Church.

The authority chose the lowest priced of the two proposals which also happened to come from an Atlanta firm that has already done a number of similar projects.

A Newnan firm also submitted a proposal but its fee was more than twice as much although it hadn’t done any similar projects in part because it is a relatively new venture, explained authority member Todd Strickland.

The project should be completed in less than a month, which is significantly faster turnaround than the rejected proposal, which indicated the work wouldn’t be complete until March.

Strickland said the winning firm projected a cost topping out at $14,500, which was more than he initially planned to spend, but he feels it will be worth it to try and influence what ultimately happens on the parcels.

There have been some concerns about what ultimately be built on some of the parcels because some landowners are holding out for a price of $400,000 an acre, which is basically unheard of in Peachtree City. There has been some commercial development nearby, but there is enough commercially-zoned property to approximate the size of the Kedron Village retail center, City Planner David Rast has said.

Land for the third phase of the Kedron Village shopping center was sold for closer to $100,000 an acre, officials have said.

Residents in nearby Lexington Park, a residential subdivision attached to Lexington Circle, have complained that the land for Lexington Circle has been cleared for quite some time although construction hasn’t begun on the lion’s share of the development, leaving an eyesore.

At a previous meeting the authority discussed possible residential uses for the property, but any such change would assuredly require a rezoning to be approved by the City Council. The current zoning allows for some townhomes and some “live-work space.”

One of the major property owners, Bill Lassiter of Palm Beach Properties, has indicated that he has no immediate plans to develop the property or sell it to be developed, city officials have said.