Wieland sees townhomes on industrially zoned 88 acres in PTC

Tue, 12/04/2007 - 4:44pm
By: John Munford

John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods wants to build townhomes and single-family detached units on its 88-acre parcel off Ga. Highway 74 North across from South Kedron Drive, a company official has said.

The company was scheduled to host a planning meeting at City Hall Tuesday night after The Citizen’s print deadline, seeking public input on how citizens would like the property to be developed.

The 88 acres is located on a parcel perhaps most famous for housing the old Wometco Cable Company building and a 300-foot cable tower. Both the tower and the building are gone now. The land is currently zoned for industrial use but is designated for office use in the future on the city’s future land use map.

The parcel is also home to the Peach Pit, a closed construction landfill that is not contaminated, as confirmed by tests ordered by Wieland officials.

As to the mix of townhomes and single-family detached units, Wieland vice president Dan Fields said Monday that the company was hoping to get some direction from the citizens at the planning meeting last night. He noted that the company is moving ahead with engineering on the extension of MacDuff Parkway, which will connect with Senoia Road and allow access to Ga. Highway 74 from all neighborhoods currently situated along MacDuff.

The MacDuff extension will be two lanes and not four in the hopes of discouraging cut-through traffic from vehicles hoping to avoid the intersection of Ga. highways 54 and 74. The extension will travel through a 379-acre parcel Wieland recently got annexed into the city, with that parcel having 475 single-family homes.

To the north, a 403-acre parcel was annexed this year for a 650-home “active adult” subdivision by a developer that has backed out of the plan. But the landowner has told city officials they plan to develop the site according to the annexation plan approved by the council.

It’s still possible for Wieland to consider deeding the city space on the 88-acre site for soccer fields, Fields added.

An unresolved matter, however, is that of how the site will be accessed, as it is not yet clear if the current at-grade crossing located near the old cable building site will remain open. The rail line, owned by CSX Railroad, was recently expanded in the area with a rail siding, which allows a full-size train to divert off the main railroad line so others can pass by.

The rail siding has sparked citizen complaints about trains being parked along the tracks, increasing the amount of time some train cars carrying hazardous chemicals spend in Peachtree City.

login to post comments