A mixed-use

community now under development at the corner of Walt

Banks Road and Ga. Highway 54 is moving along smoothly

toward a projected summer construction start.

After years

of controversy surrounding the site, the city took it

upon itself last year to find a planner and put together

a master plan for the property.

Bob Adams

of Bob Adams Homes, who already controlled 20 acres of

the 73-acre tract, eventually gained control of the

entire area and has begun clearing and grading for the

initial residential section.

Adams said

this week that he tweaked the city's site plan a bit,

mainly looking at the marketplace to see what was

economically feasible, but there has been very little

change between the original plan and what he will present

to the Planning Commission this month.

He is on

the agenda for Monday night's meeting, but he plans to

ask for a continuance so that a required traffic study

can be completed. Doing such a study during the holidays

was not practical because traffic patterns change so much

during that time, Adams said.

Adams

expects to be ready to go by the time the Planning

Commission's Jan. 24 meeting rolls around.

The total

square footage for the commercial section is set, but

individual tenants can be somewhat flexible, within a

40,000-sq. ft. maximum. "No big boxes are

allowed," Adams said.

Construction

should begin in June on the 63 or so homes that are to be

built on the northeast corner of the site. Adams' company

will build and sell the homes, he said.

For the

commercial portion, Adams has joined with G. K. Johnson,

an experienced commercial developer, to take over

construction after the initial development of the land.

Adams said his firm's strength is in residential

building, so he thought it best to find another company

for the commercial construction.

Providing

the city approves the conceptual site plan, things should

keep moving right on schedule. "We're pretty much on

our way," Adams said.