— Planning Commission voted 6-0 against rezoning request; Strada Communities not giving up on senior living plan next to Crowne Plaza Conference Center —
Developers have decided to back off temporarily on plans to seek apartment rezoning for a 14-acre plot on Aberdeen Parkway, according to a letter written to the Peachtree City Council last week. The letter is reproduced below in its entirety.
According to Seven Oaks Co. principal Robert P. Voyles, “At the most recent Planning Commission meeting (October 28th), our application received a 6-0 negative recommendation, which provided that the Commission, for various reasons, did not want a facility like this built on this site, and desired to ‘preserve this as a commercial parcel.’”
That negative recommendation was next headed to the Peachtree City Council for a vote that may have ended negatively for the project. By withdrawing the proposal before a council vote, the developer buys some time to “hopefully discuss the Strada project further with those elected officials and your community.”
Voyles said the property was an unlikely site for any commercial or office tenant because it was “Suboptimal for commercial retail or office as it lacks signage, visibility, and necessary traffic counts for retail….”
Instead, Voyles wrote, “we had expected that the project would be embraced positively, as it would generate significant tax revenue (similar to other commercial uses) and have no impact on schools.” Developers had said the “active senior” apartments would rent for between $4,500 and $5,000 per month.
Here’s his letter to the council:
November 6th, 2024
Mayor, City Council members, and interested Peachtree City residents:
As you may know, Seven Oaks (www.sevenoakscompany.com) is part of the Strada Senior Living development team, led by Connie Engel, which has proposed an independent living facility to be developed on a portion of undeveloped land next to the Crown Plaza Conference Center on Aberdeen Parkway in the City.
Connie assembled an experienced team (three partners with over 200 years of experience among the firms’ principals) for this project, including our firm, ACS Architects (www.acsarchitects.com) and Thrive Senior Living (www.thrivesl.com).
We have each enjoyed meeting with many good people from the Peachtree City community. While we have encountered various vocal opponents, there have also been also an equal number of individuals from your community who support this project, quietly encouraging us to proceed. It has been a healthy exchange, and hopefully we have made a few friends along the way.
At the most recent Planning Commission meeting (October 28th), our application received a 6-0 negative recommendation, which provided that the Commission, for various reasons, did not want a facility like this built on this site, and desired to “preserve this as a commercial parcel.” Ironically, in most communities, this “independent living” use we are proposing falls under the applicable jurisdiction’s commercial zoning category, not residential.
So why this site, and why Peachtree City? Looking at the demographic data for the Atlanta metropolitan region, Peachtree City has one of the oldest median age per household averages (44.2) in the entire metro region. This is compared to the regional average, which is only 33.6.
There are numerous folks in your community who no longer want to or are otherwise unable to take care of their large homes and lots, desiring a more easily navigable residence with less space, close to commercial services they are familiar with, as well as existing friends.
It is well-proven that seniors living in a community rather than living alone enjoy a longer and happier life. The long waiting lists for other existing age-restricted communities in PC [Peachtree City] reveal a significant demand, which will only continue to grow given the city’s aging demographics.
Our proposed three-story 175-unit project is an ideal size to provide the services and amenities desired by this target community and has minimal impact on the surrounding area. To address neighbor concerns, we offered to enhance landscape buffers, and when compared to any of the array of potential commercial uses that could go on this site under the existing zoning, both our traffic projections and discrete design pay careful respect to the character and traffic along Aberdeen Parkway.
Suboptimal for commercial retail or office as it lacks signage, visibility, and necessary traffic counts for retail, we had expected that the project would be embraced positively, as it would generate significant tax revenue (similar to other commercial uses) and have no impact on schools.
Also, our traffic engineers have stated that our use would be one of the least impactful uses of any possible commercial alternative on the subject property.
Finally, the owners of the Crowne Plaza Conference Center had committed to reinvest a substantial portion of their land sales proceeds back into the facility itself, updating and modernizing it.
One of the principals on our development team grew up in Peachtree City and developed a special respect for the special character of your community. In addition, the City’s founder and visionary Joel Cowan was a mentor to me for over 40 years in the business. While I cannot speak for Mr. Cowan, I think he would approve of this use and would also view an independent living facility as actually a commercial use, with its institutional ownership, professional management, and taxed as such.
You have a fine city, something unique and rightfully proud of, and we hope that if you choose to reconsider, that as elected officials you will agree to meet with us and allow us to make our case properly.
In the interim, we will focus our efforts elsewhere and are requesting that the City Council approve a withdrawal of our zoning application, while we can hopefully discuss the Strada project further with those elected officials and your community.
Robert P. Voyles Founder/principal
Seven Oaks Company, LLC
On behalf of Strada Communities
Atlanta, Ga.
Wise move. I believe most PTC citizens were against the location of this proposal for good reasons. And the Planning Commission agreed.