A new

neighborhood shopping center is in the works for the

southern tip of Peachtree City on Ga. Highway 74.

The

Peachtree City Planning Commission Monday night voted to

recommend a rezoning from residential to general

commercial for 15.81 acres of what has been known for

years as the Black property.

The

rezoning vote did not officially any specific site plan,

but the developers have suggested an 84,000-square-foot

retail complex that would be anchored by a

55,000-square-foot Kroger supermarket. The total tract,

more than 170 acres, was purchased by Centex Homes and a

residential development is also planned for the remainder

of the area.

Holly Grove

Road will be extended through the property to connect

with Hwy. 74 as a condition of the rezoning. A traffic

light will be located at that intersection. There is

currently a gap of about 500 feet between the end of the

Centex development and the end of the paved portion of

Holly Grove Road.

The Black

property has been involved in litigation for more than 10

years, since the mid-1980s when the land was rezoned from

industrial to residential over the owners' objections. A

separate was filed as a result of the city's adoption in

1997 of a new buffer ordinance.

Another

condition of the rezoning states that all litigation must

be settled or dismissed before the rezoning takes effect.

Marvin Isenberg, a representative of the developers, said

that the Black family has agreed to a settlement and the

terms are being finalized in writing.

City

attorney Rick Lindsey confirmed this Tuesday, saying that

a settlement could be finalized within a few days or a

few weeks, depending upon whether any changes are made.

Isenberg

stressed that the developers are looking for a village

concept similar to what is already found elsewhere in

Peachtree City.

City

development director Jim Williams said that the plan

being looked out now is a great improvement from what has

been previously suggested, which he compared to the

Publix shopping center on Ga. Highway 54 just east of the

city. He commended Isenberg and his associates for their

work in that regard.

Williams

added that city has talked with Fayette County officials,

and there are no current plans for any commercial

development in the southern end of unincorporated Fayette

County.