No Kohl’s for west PTC

Tue, 06/12/2007 - 5:14pm
By: John Munford

A plan to locate a 89,000-square-foot Kohl’s Department Store on Ga. Highway 54 West in Peachtree City near the Cardiff Park and Planterra Ridge subdivisions has been withdrawn from consideration by the development company that initially proposed it.

But a new hand-drawn plan submitted by Capital City includes references to several stores including a Hooter’s restaurant and a QT gas station. It was not immediately clear at press time if Capital City Development has any definitive commitments from either of those companies.

Doug McMurrain of Capital City Development, which owns the 14.2-acre site, could not be reached for comment by press time Tuesday afternoon.

Capital City wanted to build a Kohl’s on the site, but there was no room to locate it there after taking into account setbacks from the city-owned Line Creek Drive and Line Creek Circle, according to City Planner David Rast.

McMurrain asked city officials if they would allow him to acquire the roadway, but the idea was rebuffed after an informal poll of individual city council members by City Manager Bernie McMullen, Rast said.

When plans for McIntosh Village were initially filed, the plan included a Kohl’s and a large Lowe’s Home improvement store. The Lowe’s was later removed, leaving just the 89,000 square-foot Kohl’s on the preliminary conceptual plan with two unnamed stores at 50,000 and 20,000 square feet.

The city’s big box ordinance limits stores on land zoned general commercial to be no larger than 32,000 square feet unless a special waiver is granted by the City Council.

The Kohl’s and Lowe’s were opposed by nearby residents including those in Cardiff Park, which is adjacent to the site. The site is bordered on one side by Planterra Way, the main entry road into the Planterra Ridge subdivision.

Tim Lydell, president of the Cardiff Park homeowner’s association, said Monday that residents there understand the property will be developed as commercial, but they prefer quality specialty stores as opposed to the current plan advanced by Capital City.

By featuring specialty stores the Capital City tract could mirror the plan of Flexxon Operating just a little bit further down Hwy. 54, Lydell suggested.

In addition to the suggested Hooter’s and QT gas station, the current Capital City plan also features a drugstore, a Japanese restaurant, a Mexican restaurant and other stores.

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