About Sandy Springs reporter. (Sandy Springs, GA) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 2, 2020)
2 | Community Facebook.com/TheReporterNewspapers ■ twitter.com/Reporter_News ^Community Briefs AFFORDABLE HOUSING AGREEMENT REMAINS IN PLACE FOLLOWING LUXURY APARTMENT COMPLEX SALE An affordable housing agreement be tween the city and a luxury apartment complex in the Pill Hill area will stay in place following the recent sale and re branding of the building, the city and purchaser confirmed. The 287-unit complex, The Hill, previ ously owned by North American Proper ties, was recently bought by Cortland, a multifamily real estate investment com pany headquartered in Atlanta. Cortland said it could not disclose the purchasing price. The apartment complex, located at 1160 Johnson Ferry Road, is within walk ing distance of the medical center, which includes three hospitals — Northside; Emory Saint Joseph’s and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite — as well as many medical offices. NAP had a 10-year workforce agree ment with the city at the Hill apartment complex, offering 30 units exclusively to workforce employees at discounted rates. Cortland and the city both said the workforce housing agreement is not af fected by the purchase and will stay in place. NAP did not respond to a request for comment. The agreement, part of the 2016 zon ing approving the units, stipulates the workforce units are to be made available to households with incomes less than 120% of area median income and that rent cannot exceed 35% of the residents’ income. The complex must also show marketing efforts to hospital employees. As of June 30, 29 of the 30 units were leased at The Hill, with the workforce housing rents ranging from Si,295 to $1,370. JUDGE ORDERS BILLBOARDS TO COME DOWN NEAR CITY SPRINGS; COMPANY FILES APPEAL Following a lawsuit that was drawn out for over a year, a judge has issued an order that allows the city to take down the billboards across from City Springs. The company that owns the billboards, OutFront Media, has filed an appeal against the order. “Subsequent to our last meeting, the judge ruled on our motions and willed in our favor on all counts,” Mayor Rusty Paul said at a Dec. 3 City Council meeting. The city received the ruling on Nov. 27, city spokesperson Sharon Kraun said. According to the Fulton County court records, OutFront Media filed a notice of appeal on Dec. 3 for both rulings. The property is a triangle of concrete and gravel across the street from City Springs, the city’s civic and art complex, that has remained untouched since com mercial buildings were torn down by the city in August 2018. The city has long had plans to create a mini park, called Triangle Park, that would face City Springs, as well as proj ect estimated around $30 million to re construct the Johnson Ferry/Mount Ver non Highway intersection into dual roundabouts to decrease traffic and in crease walkability in the downtown area. The issue with the property dates back years. In 2016, the city sought to purchase the property via eminent do main. The city and the former owner reached a purchase agreement for about $4.8 million and the condemnation was dismissed. According to City Attorney Dan Lee, prior to the purchase, the former owner extended the lease with the lessees that rented the three billboards on the prop erty. The amendment to extend the lease held a clause that said if the property was sold to an entity that could condemn it, the lease would cease to exist, Lee said. After learning of the clause, the city sued for an eviction warrant, and the case was heard in Fulton County Superi or Court in December 2018, according to Lee. Simultaneously, OutFront sought at torney’s fees, saying if a city files a con demnation and then dismisses it, the condemnee is entitled if they have an in terest in the property. According to the notice, OutFront has appealed the judge’s ruling on the bill boards having to come down and on the ruling for the company not being entitled to attorney’s fees. CITY COUNCIL PURCHASES PROPERTY FOR $465K FOR STREETSCAPE PROJECT The City Council approved on Dec. 17 a $465,000 purchase for a property need ed to complete a streetscape project. The city originally offered the own er, WA.G. Sandy Springs Properties, LLC., $280,400 for the property located at 6025 Sandy Springs Circle. The property is needed to complete the Sandy Springs Circle streetscape project. The Sandy Springs Circle streetscape project is a $7 million redesign of Sandy Springs Circle between Hammond Drive and Mount Vernon Highway. It will con vert four travel lanes to two, plus a turn lane and on-street parking, and add side walks and a multiuse path. The city has a pending condemnation action against the property scheduled to be heard by a jury trial in January 2020 that will now be dropped. CITY TO WORK WITH MARTA ON ROSWELL ROAD TRANSIT ACCESS The city will work with MARTA on a $7.8 million project that will provide walk-up access to transit along Roswell Road from the city of Atlanta to 1-285. The City Council approved at a Dec. 3 meeting a memorandum of understand ing that says MARTA will provide project oversight and Sandy Springs will execute the project. The project is estimated to cost $7,804,719. Per the MOU, MARTA will provide $6,243,775 from Federal Transit Administration funds. The city will be re sponsible for a 20% match of the federal funding, which is $1,560,944. ss
