The Peachtree

City Development Authority has signed an agreement to purchase the Drake

Point area (between City Hall and Lake Peachtree) from Pathway Communities

for $1.25 million.

Development

Authority Chairman Tom Farr, announcing the deal Wednesday morning, said

it would allow Drake Point to remain a city park although it is currently

zoned for commercial use. Over the years, Pathway has allowed the 10.26

acre area (also known as Drake Field) to be used as a city park, Farr

said.

But recently,

Pathway informed the city that it had been approached by several parties

interested in purchasing the land for commercial use, Farr added.

"At some

point, the property was going to be put on the market," Farr said.

"We felt it was really up to the city to be able to preserve that."

The Development

Authority will seek financing for the purchase, which has to be closed

on by Oct. 1, Farr said. The date to finalize the deal has not been set

yet, he said.

Pathway has

already received an earnest payment of $160,000 for the property, Farr

added. The land was appraised for $1.31 million recently, Farr noted.

The city may

eventually purchase the land from the Development Authority if funds can

be sought from another source, Farr said. There's a possibility state

funds could be used from a greenspace preservation program, he added.

The authority

has granted the city an option to purchase the land in the future if such

a grant, or another funding source, materializes.

The Development

Authority and the city had been discussing the fate of the property over

the years, and with little commercially zoned land left in town, that

likely meant the land would have eventually sold as a commercial location,

Farr said.

Instead, city

residents will still be able to use the land to feed the ducks on the

lake, watch the annual fireworks display and fly their kites on windy

days, Farr said.