Approval for a 163,000 sq. ft. retail and office center at Poplar Road and Newnan Bypass East received unanimous approval Aug.19 from the Coweta County Commission.
Located primarily on the east side of the bypass, the majority of the 79.38 acres is situated immediately south of Poplar Road, north of Turkey Creek Road and adjacent to Interstate 85. Divided into two rezoning requests, Big Poplar LLC asked that the larger tract totaling 74.66 acres be rezoned from RC (rural conservation) to C-7 (major shopping center) and the 4.72-acre tract on the west side of the bypass be rezoned from RC to C-6 (minor shopping center).
The conceptual site plan for the project shows the larger tract on the east side of the bypass with 140,900 sq. ft of retail and office space while the smaller tract west of the bypass would include 22,000 sq. ft of retail. A portion of the 74.66-acre tract would front Poplar Road. In total, the large tract would include 21 lots, according to the concept plan. Of those, 14 would have buildings totaling 3,350 sq. ft, three would have buildings of 4,200-4,400 sq. ft., one lot for a gas station would total 6,000 sq. ft, two of the lots would serve buildings of 22,000 sq. ft. while the remaining lot of 31,000 sq. ft. would be a potential hotel site.
County planning staff recommended approval of the project request with a number of conditions. While there was no timetable discussed in terms of initial construction, the volume of traffic in the area is expected to continue to increase once the interchange is constructed at Poplar Road and I-85.
The project is progressing and it is expected that construction will begin sometime in 2016. A short distance to the north of the Big Poplar site, at the bypass and Lower Fayetteville Road, is the location of a future 250,000 sq. ft. medical office campus recently approved by the Newnan City Council. Immediately to the south of Turkey Creek Road, construction is beginning to extend the bypass to Ga. Highway 16 and U.S. Highway 29.
The project will have bypass extended from Turkey Creek Road a distance of approximately 1.7 miles down to Hwy.16 where it will intersect just west of East Gordon Road. The entire span of the roadway will include four lanes and a median.
The intersection with Hwy. 16 will involve widening the roadway to four lanes beginning just west of the 1-85 overpass and extending it approximately one-half mile to Hwy. 29. That section of roadway will also be widened to accommodate four lanes and a median. Until warranted by the Ga. Dept. of Transportation, the intersection of the bypass at Hwy. 16 will utilize a stop sign. The project will see a major reconfiguration of the intersection of Hwy. 16 and Hwy. 29.
A traffic light will be installed at the intersection along with left-turn and right-turn lanes. The bypass will extend straight across Hwy. 29 and will take a 90-degree right turn behind existing businesses. The new road will extend a short distance and will be connected to the existing Pine Road. The current intersection of Pine Road and Hwy. 29 will be removed. T
he section on Hwy. 29 between Hwy. 16 and the traffic signal on the north side of I-85 will undergo a similar transformation and will feature four lanes divided by a median. The large transportation project is expected to be completed in June 2016.
