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8A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, September 14,2022
Construction underway for affordable housing
Julia Fechter Dawson County News
The Peaks of Dawsonville apartment complex is expected to
be finished in April 2023.
By Julia Fechter
jf e c hte r@d a wson n ews. com
Units for an affordable housing
complex are taking shape near Ga.
53’s intersection with Ga. 400 in
Dawson County.
The Peaks of Dawsonville
apartments are now expected to
open in April 2023, said
Landbridge Development princi
pal Gary Hammond.
Supply chain and site work
holdups pushed back the comple
tion date, which was originally
slated for November 2022.
The 80 multi-family apartment
homes will be located on about
14.3 acres at 65 North 400 Center
Lane, behind CVS.
Last September, the
Development Authority of
Dawson County’s board of direc
tors formally approved a resolu
tion for $10 million in tax-exempt
bonds to help finance the residen
tial project. The bonds are backed
by the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development
(HUD).
Prior to that decision, the
Dawson County Board of
Commissioners renewed their
approval for the DADC to move
forward with a bond resolution for
the apartment complex.
Landbridge Development, an
Atlanta-based firm, proposed the
project in spring 2019. The com
pany and Hammond will be part-
owners, along with the complex’s
limited liability company. Fairway
Management Co., who has previ
ously worked with Landbridge,
will manage the development’s
daily operations.
Then-DADC chair Tony
Passarello called the decision “the
first revenue bond we’ve done to
help the living-wage housing
effort in the county,” and
Hammond previously told DCN
he was pleased that workers in
food, retail and related industries
would have the opportunity to live
closer to their jobs, cutting down
their commute times.
Hammond told DCN via email
that rent and income levels have
not yet been set for the Peaks of
Dawsonville, and those figures
will be evaluated closer to the
complex’s projected April 2023
opening, taking into account
changes in Area Median Income
(“AMT’).
“Also, with our financing, rents
do not fluctuate based on house
hold income but are set to be
affordable to households at 50%
and 60% of AMI,” Hammond
said. “Currently, maximum allow
able gross rent [including utilities
and internet] ranges from $900 to
$1,500 per month depending on
number of bedrooms, while maxi
mum household income ranges
from $34,000 to $57,000 per year
depending on household size.”
The rents may end up being lower
than stated, Hammond added.
The complex will have 12 one-
bedroom, 40 two-bedroom and 28
three-bedroom units spread across
five two-story, walkup residential
buildings. Each apartment will
feature a full-size, Energy Star
washer and dryer, stove, refiigera-
tor, microwave, garbage disposal,
dishwasher, ceiling fan, central air
conditioning, a patio or balcony
and outdoor storage closets.
A forthcoming 1,735-square-
foot community building will fea
ture a kitchenette, wellness center
and gym areas. Outdoor amenities
will include a playground, picnic
pavilion with a grilling area and a
community garden, as well as a
passive park.
Once the complex opens, its
management will have a responsi
bility to report HUD compliance
with housing a proportion of low
er-income residents and connect
ing them with services like health
care, exercise or transportation.
Mixed-use project
Crews have started moving dirt
for one planned Dawson County
development near Dawson Forest
Road and Ga. 53. Land prep has
begun for The Enclave at Dawson
Forest, a mixed-use development
aimed at senior and younger
workforce residents.
The project includes a planned
145 semi-attached homes and 15
commercial buildings of various
sizes, according to county docu
ments. It is one of multiple new or
proposed developments along
Dawson Forest Road.
At their July 15, 2021 meeting,
the Dawson County Board of
Commissioners voted to approve
two rezones covering four tracts
for developer Georgia 400
Industrial Park LLC.
The rezone for the project’s
planned housing area, which was
approved 3-1, changed 30.48 acres
from Residential Agricultural to
Residential Multi-Family zoning.
District 1 Commissioner Sharon
Fausett cast the opposing vote.
The rezone for the business
area, which the BOC unanimously
approved 4-0, changed 23.11 acres
from RA and Commercial
Community Business to
Commercial Highway Business.
To the west of the developer’s
land is the Walmart. The forth
coming neighborhood is also bor
dered by Dawson Forest apart
ments to the northwest;
Farmington Creek Apartments to
the northeast and Byrd’s Storage
and Advenir at Dawson Hills to
the south.
“All these [surrounding] apart
ment developments were devel
oped at six units per acre,” devel
oper consultant Jim King said at
the 2021 meeting. “We are asking
under five units per acre (4.8 units/
acre) on this particular develop
ment.”
Application site plans showed
the residential units surrounded by
the commercial ones on the prop
erty. During his presentation, King
added two buildings will be on
each site, with one facing the resi
dential area “to give a nice
streetscape” and another in each
pair facing Dawson Forest Road.
Loading areas will be in between
the structures but blocked from
view from both sides.
The county included more than
20 stipulations for the rezone
approvals, including a restriction
on rentals in the residential part of
the development and a prohibition
on fully attached units.
The mixed-use project’s resi
dential amenities will include two-
car enclosed garages, a picnic area
and five-foot sidewalks on both
sides of the residential streets.
Within the commercial portion, a
five-foot sidewalk will be along at
least one side of all connecting
internal streets.
Signs will prohibit on-street
parking.
A mulch trail will also be
installed connecting the neighbor
hood to Dawson Forest Road and
Farmington Creek Apartments,
but as King noted at the time, the
path won’t be continued through
the latter complex because of its
HUD funding. There will be an
eight-foot multi-use sidewalk
along Dawson Forest Road and
Ga. 53, part of the county’s forth
coming greenway network.
In terms of traffic infrastructure,
the developer will have to con
struct a left turn lane on Dawson
Forest Road and align The
Enclave’s entrance with the central
entrance for the Advenir apart
ments.
Per the stipulations, the devel
oper is also expected to contribute
a total of $250,000 toward con
struction for the expected intersec
tion improvements at Ga. 53 and
Dawson Forest Road.
In June 2022, the county
announced plans to realign
Thompson Creek Park Road in
preparation for a roundabout at its
intersection with Ga. 53. Once
commenced, that project is expect
ed to take 6-8 months to complete.
Also included in the stipulations
was a condition for construction to
begin on at least one of the com
mercial buildings by the time half
of the residential units are com
pleted. Then, certificates of occu
pancy can be issued for the
remaining homes.
King told DCN on Sept. 7 that
this kind of stipulation directs
developers to avoid building resi
dential land uses without commer
cial aspects. It’s something that
BOC members like District 2
Commissioner Chris Gaines have
spoken to in recent months, King
said.
Development Authority of
Dawson County chair Brian
Trapnell also told the BOC in May
that the county’s tax collections
are being driven by residential
land uses, which comprise 68%
of 2021 tax collections.
Residential land in Dawson
County only makes about $61,000
an acre versus $75,000 an acre for
commercial or industrial uses,
Trapnell said.
A 2021 analysis from Georgia
Tech noted that the county’s resi
dential digest doesn’t fully pay for
its services. The study called
$431,000 the “break even point”
for a home in Dawson County to
cover the cost of county services.
Additionally, the study said
sales at North Georgia Premium
Outlets and other area businesses
prop up Local Option Sales Tax
collections, which are typically
based on more property taxes.
“One of the reasons that the
county residential deficit is so
small is due to the amount of
L.O.S.T. that is paid by out-of-
county residents,” the study staled.
“While this is a positive situation
for Dawson County, new growth
still demands capital expenditures
(e.g., roads, traffic lights, fire sta
tions, etc.) which could place a
burden on local government
finances.”
In July, Gaines voiced concern
about a recession possibly leading
to a decrease in the L.O.S.T. reve
nue on which the county relies,
and therefore, a heavier burden on
property taxes.
Multiple factors can influence
property tax collections, such as
homes’ assessed values and coun
ty and school system millage rates.
In his conversation with DCN,
King called the ratio of residential
to commercial land uses “a deli
cate balance,” given all the
dynamics involved.
“You need the commercial
[uses] for the tax base,” King
added, “[but] with all of the com
mercial businesses we have now,
there’s almost no place for the
people that work there to live.”
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