ALPHARETTA, Ga. — The Alpharetta City Council unanimously approved a new downtown mixed-use development at its June 3 meeting.
The four-story project will include 36 for-sale condominiums and 7,000 square feet of commercial space. It is slated to be built on the 1-acre parcel at 55 Canton St.
In his motion to approve the project, Councilman John Hipes stipulated that the development’s commercial space must be occupied by only specific types of businesses: coffee shops, clothing boutiques, bakeries, florists and grocery stores are all acceptable. The approval will also require the developers, Atlanta-based firm Place Maker Design, to plant ornamental vegetation along Canton Street and Old Canton Street.
According to a city staff report, the project will be the densest residential development approved in the downtown central business district, just beating out Alpharetta Lofts across the street, which contains 36 condominiums and about 6,000 feet of commercial space on 1.16 acres.
Tim Vaccaro, Place Maker Design’s founder, told councilmembers that the majority of the condominiums in the development — 25 of the 36 — will be two-bedroom units, eight will be three-bedroom units and three will be one-bedroom units. The city’s approval conditions require that no more than 10 percent of the condominiums will be allowed to be rented out.
The development’s below-ground parking structure is set to include nine tandem parking spaces long enough to accommodate two cars. However, because the tandem spaces cause one of the two cars to be blocked in by the other, the council rejected a request that each tandem be counted as two parking spaces to fulfill the city’s minimum parking requirements.
Because the development does not meet the city’s required parking minimum, developers will pay a parking in-lieu fee of $94,500. The city may use the money to develop new public parking accommodations.
Hipes said he was proud to support the project.
“It just seems like every project that comes along, each success of the applicant is raising the bar, raising the standard for Alpharetta,” Hipes said. “To me, this is yet another one.”
The City Council also held the first of three public hearings regarding the city’s proposed fiscal year 2025 budget at Monday’s meeting. No members of the public spoke during the hearing.
The city will hold the other two public hearings on June 24, the first at 11:30 a.m. and the last at 6:30 p.m. Council members are set to vote on the proposed budget immediately following the final public hearing.
The current budget proposal would hold the city’s millage rate steady, though a slight decrease in the debt service levy may save homeowners money despite an estimated $10 million increase in expenses. The proposal also calls for seven new full-time city staff members to be hired after the 2025 budget takes effect on July 1, 2024.
Source: www.appendmedia.com