A developer is eyeing the former headquarters of Cox Enterprises at 1400 Lake Hearn Drive in Brookhaven’s portion of the Perimeter Center for a mixed-use development.
Atlanta-based Pope & Land Real Estate submitted a rezoning application for the 21-acre plot to the city on July 1. The property is currently owned by TGPL Lake Hearn Owner, LLC and the developer would be AMLI Residential, which is a Chicago-based luxury apartment developer. The development is estimated at $260 million, according to the rezoning application.
“We believe this parcel, and specifically this proposed site plan, represents an opportunity to provide new uses which will enhance the existing area while also creating a sense of place that reinforces Brookhaven’s strong identity as a city that its citizens are proud to call home,” the rezoning application letter reads.
The rezoning application is set to be reviewed by the Planning Commission at its Oct. 7 meeting, according to the project page on the city’s website. The City Council is set to vote on the rezoning request on Oct. 27.
If approved, the redevelopment would include office, residential and commercial space, according to the letter of intent for the project. The developers plan to have 25,000 square feet of commercial space, 615 residences, 5 acres of greenspace and a three-quarter-mile trail, according to the rezoning application.
It will also include workforce housing, which is a requirement of the zoning district. The city defines workforce housing as households earning no more than 80 percent of the area median household income (AMI) for the Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The current zoning code is O-I for Office Institution, according to the city’s property map. That zoning code does not allow for a mixed-use building. The developers are requesting to change to MPD, or Master Planned Development, which was created in 2018 as a “floating” overlay in the city that favors mixed-use development.
The developers are also asking the city to permit construction within a stream buffer on the site to allow for a roadway and sidewalk, among a few other zoning variances.
“The stream will be protected despite the encroachment into the buffer zone surrounding the stream,” the letter of intent states. “There will be no downstream impacts felt from the redevelopment of the site.”
Without construction in the stream buffer, “any development would be far too limited to be practicable and functional,” the letter of intent states.
The developer plans to create a stormwater management plan to make up for the encroachment into the stream buffer zone, according to the rezoning application. There are also two small wetland areas in the project site, which will not be affected by construction, according to the rezoning application.