PTC to pursue land swap for shopping center

Proposal would give city tract including lake at nature area

The Peachtree City Council has agreed to explore a land swap with a commercial developer wanting to build an upscale shopping center on Ga. Highway 54 West near the city limits and the Coweta County line.

City staff can now seek appraisals of both parcels involved, each roughly 3.8 acres in size. The city-owned parcel has 250 feet of frontage along Hwy. 54, and the property owned by Flexxon Operating Inc. includes part of the lake at the city-owned Line Creek Nature Area, which is to the southeast of the Flexxon tract.

The city’s parcel is likely to have a higher value due to the highway frontage, and City Attorney Ted Meeker reminded council that the city must gain land of equal or greater value in the swap for it to take place.

Councilwoman Judi-ann Rutherford said council was not guaranteeing it would approve the land swap, but comments from council members suggested they were open to the idea because it would provide a tract of land the city has sought for some time and protect the Line Creek Nature Area.

“It depends on what it’s going to cost, and what we’re going to gain,” Rutherford said.

Flexxon Operating Inc. of Sugar Hill is proposing to build the shopping center with a Tuscan architectural theme. The company also hopes to purchase an adjacent parcel located east of the city-owned parcel it is seeking.

A site plan has not been presented to city staff for consideration, but the company has indicated the main entrance to the property would line up with the traffic light at Hwy. 54 and MacDuff Parkway, said City Planner David Rast. There would also be a right-in, right-out only entrance on both sides of the main entrance, Rast said.

The company’s intent is to make the shopping center look “like something that you would find in Tuscany today” with nice landscaping that includes plenty of color, a company representative said.

Rast noted that Flexxon is interested in participating with the city on the construction of the approach paths to the “gateway” golf cart path bridge planned for the area.

Rutherford bristled at the idea for two reasons: first, she said, the City Council has not approved funding for that bridge and second because this would be a new location for the bridge.

Rast noted that the bridge concept was approved as part of the recommendations of a citizen panel studying the future of the corridor. The project is on the city’s Public Improvement Plan of projects to fund in the future, but no specific funds have been directed yet by council.

Rutherford was visibly upset that there was no need for the Wynnmeade tracts, which are right off Hwy. 54 and are on either side of the subdivision’s entrance. Back in June 2002 under then-Mayor Steve Brown, the City Council voted to purchase the property for $825,000 in part because of the bridge location and in part to protect the parcels from commercial development.

“I was not involved in making that recommendation,” Rast said, noting that building a bridge there would require an “enormous” cost because the ground is much lower than the highway, requiring a significant amount of fill dirt. Instead it would be better to build the bridge on a higher point, Rast noted.

Rast said he also has been working on the bridge concept with officials for Applebee’s restaurant, which would be home to the northern leg of the bridge.

login to post comments