Property along Ga. Highway 54 West in Fayetteville has been in the bulls-eye for developers in the past couple of years. That trend continued Feb. 12 at the Planning & Zoning Commission work session when East Point-based Heritage Creek Development revealed a proposed concept plan for 88,930 square feet of retail at The Villages. The plan is a down-sized version of the 2000 development agreement between the city and the original developer.

The property is located on 13.732 acres between Meeting Place Drive, the entrance for Hampton Inn, and Campaign Drive/North Lafayette Avenue, the split entrance to The Villages residential development. The proposal is a reduction in the overall 2000 agreement that called for 100,400 square feet of retail that approved 13 one or two-story buildings. Heritage Creek representative Wayne Kendall said his company’s proposal calls for six buildings, with only one being two-story, totaling approximately 89,000 square feet and a 1.26-acre outparcel situated along Hwy. 54. The proposal calls for 574 parking spaces.

The anchor for the development was originally intended to be a grocery store, Kendall said. That building, now a two-story structure proposed at 45,000 square feet, is located at the rear of the site adjacent to Lafayette Avenue. Kendall said locating a grocery store in the development will not be feasible. Noting the nearby presence of chains such as Publix and Kroger, Kendall said his company had approached chains such as Trader Joe’s, Fresh Market and Whole Foods, all of which had declined interest in the project. Kendall said a fitness center or some type of retail other than a grocery store might serve as the anchor.

As for the overall project, Kendall said his company has its sights on higher-end retail businesses.

“We need more upscale, speciality retail and high-end type restaurants,” Kendall said. “What this area needs is quality retail and that’s what we plan to bring here.”

Kendall said the development would interconnect with The Villages residential area. He suggested that traffic flow into the development could be more easily accommodated if the roundabout immediately to the west of Hampton Inn were eliminated and re-designated to the center of the retail property. That space savings would allow for fewer turns into the shopping area and would increase amount of greenspace inside the retail development, Kendall said.

Commissioners were generally favorable to the proposal, noting the decrease in the number of buildings and square footage and the need to maintain as much greenspace as possible.

Heritage brought the proposed concept plan to the board as a courtesy. The developer will take the proposal to the city council Thursday.

Commissioners also heard a proposal that would located an 11,900 square-foot retail/office building on Ga. Highway 85 near the Lowe’s store and just north of the Aldi grocery store and the NTB store. Board members suggested only minor modifications to the development plans. The proposal will return at the commission’s regular meeting Feb. 26.

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