Residents push back on apartment proposal at Northlake Mall

Dennis Webb from Smith Gambrell Russell shows residents plans for a proposed -unit apartment complex at Northlake Mall Photo by Cathy Cobbs Key Points Representatives meeting with neighbors about a proposal to build apartments at Northlake Mall were met with overwhelming opposition Attendees questioned whether its enhancement would improve economic conditions in the area Developers plan to make application with the city for a Special Land Use Permit in about a month Developers who want to build a -unit apartment complex at on an -acre site at Northlake Mall held a neighborhood meeting on Wednesday Sept to gather feedback about the plan but the majority of attendees disliked almost everything about it Northlake Mall located on acres when built in was one million square feet making it at the time the largest mall in the area Over time multiple anchor tenants have left and the parts of the complex have been redeveloped to house several Emory University s administrative offices including Emory HealthConnection the Emory Healthcare System and its Office of Threat Insurance Services Attorney Dennis Webb of Smith Gambrell Russell disclosed the Trammell Crow expansion would be part of incremental improvements to the mall to bring it back to economic viability Webb mentioned Emory s entry into the Northlake Mall area was the first step with the construction of retail outlets on out parcels that face Briarcliff Road being the second The third he disclosed would be building the mostly one-bedroom unit enhancement in the area that formerly housed the JCPenney to knit the area together The five-story complex with percent of them being studio and one-bedroom units would be surrounded by surface parking The typical unit at square feet would rent for about to per month with two-bedroom apartments around per month Trammell Crow would also develop a inhabitants park near the complex to bring a boulevard and urban feel to the area Webb noted Related story Tucker City Council lukewarm on Northlake apartment proposal Building a -apartment complex on the site would involve the approval of a Special Land Use Permit SLUP to increase the density in that district NL- from units per acre to about units per acre NL- would allow developers to build units on the site without the SLUP Webb announced The expansion would be built in two phases which would take about two years each after all permitting and site work is completed he explained Even before Webb completed outlining the plan attendees peppered him with questions and accusations with majority expressing doubt about whether the construction would bring more economic benefits to the area and questioning the impact of the enhancement as it relates to schools traffic and an already-overburdened infrastructure system About half of the attendees shared that they reside at the Northlake Condominiums about two miles from the site in unincorporated DeKalb Several noted its construction would adversely affect their property values and further pollute North Lake which is located within the condominium complex Webb noted developers plan to meet with DeKalb County School District authorities to measure the impact on the system as well as the Georgia Regional Transit Authority and other entities to ensure the enhancement is compliant with all codes and mandates Developers plan to make application with the city in about a month Webb explained but promised that he and Trammell Crow bureaucrats would continue to meet with residents to answer questions and provide material about viable impacts to the area The post Residents push back on apartment proposal at Northlake Mall appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta