A proposal to build 14 townhomes ranging from the high $300,000 to low $400,000 in Sandy Springs’ north end was approved unanimously by the City Council July 16. The project is planned for 1190 and 1194 Hope Road, which runs between Roswell Road and Dunwoody Place.
The townhomes were touted by the planning staff and the developer as a way to begin achieving the city’s goal to spur redevelopment in the north end and provide workforce housing, but one resident was doubtful it would be affordable enough. The developer needed a rezoning from residential estate, which requires a 1-acre minimum lot size, to residential townhomes.
At the June 25 Planning Commission meeting, Gary Callicott, the developer, said he believes this price would attract first-time homebuyers, public safety and public service employees, like teachers.
Linda McCain, who said she lives in a subdivision near the site, doubted this is the type of the development the north end needs and that the prices would attract anything but professionals.
“Where are the affordable options?” she said at the Planning Commission meeting.
The site is behind the Publix on Dunwoody Place and near the North River Village Shopping Center. It’s also adjacent to an area identified for a possible large-scale “catalyst” project a city-created North End Revitalization Task Force recommended last year. The catalyst project is intended to spur retail development and would create a “sense of place” and be walkable and mixed-income. A major thrust was creating more homeownership.
Ronda Smith, the president of the Sandy Springs Council of Neighborhoods who also served on the North End task force, said she believes this is a step in the right direction and spoke in support of it.
The proposal also complies with the Next Ten comprehensive plan goal of increasing the housing supply and type of housing, planning staff said in its report.