A commercial developer has scaled down its commercial rezoning request for property on Ga. Highway 74 south near Holly Grove Road.

Columbia Properties is asking for a 21-acre tract to be rezoned from general industrial to general commercial for a “local shopping center.” Until recently, the same site was the subject of a proposed large-scale regional shopping center that would have included a Lowe’s Home Improvement and another big box retail store on a 49-acre tract.

Columbia withdrew that proposal after seeing city planner David Rast’s recommendation that a commercial rezoning only be allowed for property along the highway, which in essence would have prevented the Lowe’s and the other large store from being built. The city’s planning commission also recommended the project be denied after numerous residents spoke against the project, many of whom live in the Wilshire Estates neighborhood on Holly Grove Road just off Hwy. 74.

A separate developer is pitching a proposal to put up to 350 senior apartments on a 26-acre site, leaving 77 acres undisturbed to provide a nature reserve for residents. Dominion Partners says the project will include planned activities and amenities specifically designed for adults 55 and up, including an on-site features such as a beauty salon/barbershop, a convenience store and a private banking office.

The commercial rezoning proposal will be considered by the planning commission Monday night at its regular meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. Because it is a rezoning petition, the commission will only form a recommendation to the city council, which has the final say on the matter.

The site plan that Columbia has proposed includes a 20,000 sq. ft. hardware store, a 12,000 sq. ft. pharmacy and a 4,400 sq. ft. bank along with five other outparcels with no specific retail uses as of yet. The project will be accessed at the existing traffic light on Hwy. 74 for Holly Grove Road, which is also where the new road path for Rockaway Road is proposed.

The parcel is just north of Rockaway Road and the Meade Field recreation complex.

Columbia Properties is estimating that the shopping center will be worth $8 million and contribute $107,000 a year in property taxes.