Newspaper Page Text
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
