Coweta County Commissioners Tuesday night approved Pathway Communities rezoning request to establish Twelve Parks retail and office component to complement the larger residential project previously approved near Sharpsburg. Commissioners approved the RC (Rural Conservation) zoning category change to O-I (Office – Institutional) and C-7 (Commercial Major Shopping District).

The 23.7-acre property is located at the southeast corner of Ga. Highway 54 and Reese Road and is intended to serve the company’s upcoming adjacent residential development featuring 694 homes and others in the southeast Coweta area.

The shopping center was approved for a total of 77,500 square feet of retail space, including a 45,000 square-foot anchor, a 24,000 square-foot retail space and a 3,500 square-foot retail space. Included in the project are two office buildings totaling 15,000 square feet. The shopping center will also contain three one-acre outparcels along Hwy. 54.

A number of conditions accompanied the approval. Among those was the requirement to have the rear of the anchor building either all brick or have the rear architecturally consistent with the stone, brick and metal building materials that will be used on the front and sides of the building. The condition mirrored the same concern expressed by several residents and commissioners at a previous meeting.

County Director of Planning Robert Tolleson said some of the other conditions in the approval included the installation of a left turn lane on Reese Road, truck assess of Hwy. 54 but not off Reese Road, a minimum 75-foot setback of the main building and outparcels, no signage on the rear of the anchor building, maintaining the canopy trees along Reese Road, trash receptacles to be located in the rear of buildings and screened with brick and no dry cleaning establishments on site where cleaning would be done on the premises.

Pathway has already completed rezoning for the Twelve Parks residential component of the development located along Hwy. 54, Reese Road and McIntosh Trail. The community will have 694 homes ranging from $200,000-400,000. The development will also feature a Georgia Environmental Protection Division-approved residential water re-use wastewater treatment facility.