Peachtree City Planning Commission members at the March 11 meeting included, from left, commissioners J.T. Rabun and Michael Link, Chairman Frank Destadio, Commissioner Paul Gresham and alternate Commissioner Scott Ritenour. Photo/Ben Nelms.
The initial presentation of the Calistoa Lake McIntosh mixed-use development before the Peachtree City Planning Commission on March 11 was pulled from the agenda, and will not be rescheduled until the City Council takes up the issue of lifting the city’s ongoing moratorium on apartments.
Planning Commission Chairman Frank Destadio at the outset questioned if Calistoa would require rezoning, and was told by Planning Director Robin Cailloux that it would. She added that the item could return at the commission’s March 25 meeting if the council lifts the moratorium at its March 21 meeting.
That said, Destadio indicated that he did not believe the proposal should be a workshop item until the moratorium issue was decided. Commissioners J.T. Rabun, Michael Link and Paul Gresham agreed.
Clarifying his remarks, and given that the mixed-use proposal for the Aberdeen retail area, which also includes apartments, was heard as a Feb. 25 workshop item before the Planning Commission, Destadio said the commission agreed to hear that item because the current shopping center property is part of the soft roll-out for the emerging city center concept aimed at creating a downtown mixed-use area along portions of Ga. Highway 54 from City Hall past Willowbend Road to the west.
The Aberdeen proposal was the first piece of that concept, Destadio added.
Responding to the move that had the Calistoa agenda item pulled, developer Pace Lynch Principal Jason Pace said he had come to the meeting thinking that it was appropriate for the commission to hear the Calistoa presentation since the Aberdeen proposal had been heard by planning commissioners.
Pace told Destadio that he was respectful of the commission’s decision not to hear the Calistoa concept plan at that time.
As proposed, Calistoa Lake McIntosh would be a mixed-use destination by Pace Lynch and North Carolina-based Crescent Communities, and situated on 37 acres adjacent to Lake McIntosh and Planterra Golf Club.
“Mixed-use environments offer employees more than just an office, it offers them a community. They can walk to restaurants, retail or even home,” Pace said previously. “They can go outside and enjoy a greenspace or walking trail. These benefits of a mixed-use environment are why employers are interested in communities such as Calistoa Lake McIntosh and why we are currently in active discussions with several large corporate users seeking a new headquarters site.”
Commenting on some of the expectations for the project, Pace said that in addition to offices, Calistoa Lake McIntosh will feature residential offerings that are inspired by the modern farmhouse, showcasing historically-rooted architecture with a modern flair.
“From apartments in five-story elevator buildings to cottages and village single-family homes with front porches for socializing with neighbors, Calistoa offers a mix of for-sale and rental housing for millennials, families and empty-nesters alike,” Pace noted.
Commenting last month on the Calistoa proposal, Peachtree City Airport Authority Chairman Tom Fulton said, “We are pleased to see that the development team shares our desire to develop areas nearby the airport in a manner consistent with FAA guidelines and appreciate their willingness to work collaboratively with the airport.”
