News flash: Peachtree Road is slated for another residential tower in Buckhead. The 15-story edifice will move forward in Peachtree Hills following a meeting with neighborhood groups who approved the most recent iteration of the proposal at Terrace Drive and Peachtree, in front of the Peachtree Battle shopping center, according to BuckheadView. While the proposal by Brand Properties had been stalled for months due to neighborhood displeasure, many of the concerns were addressed before the meeting in January (thanks to a series of powwows since November). This paves the way for a peaceful path forward.
Plans call for a 251-unit tower — comprised of one- and two-bedroom apartments — to rise on 1.8 acres currently occupied by a Burger King, Design Within Reach and an antique store housed in an old book bindery. Neighbors had previously expressed concern about the height of the building, site density and even historic preservation. The community involvement echoes the recent contentiousness for the Brand Properties Garden Hills site just north on Peachtree Road. That plan was drastically altered and later approved.
The biggest changes to the plans involved scale. Plans shared this month reflected large revisions in height — a reduction from 21 stories to 15 stories — and space devoted to retail, a decrease from 30,000 to 15,000 square feet. Major concerns also stemmed from increased traffic passing through Peachtree Hills, resulting in the investment of $120,000 in developer impact fees to the improvements of sidewalk and road infrastructure within the neighborhood. Additionally, Branch Properties will improve the intersection at the rear of the shopping center by adding a median strip and stop sign and shrinking the road width to slow down traffic. On top of the infrastructure improvements, $1,000 per month will be provided for any security the neighborhood feels it needs to offset the impact of the development.
In what's possibly the most notable among the concessions (and a major victory for preservationists), Branch Properties will safeguard the future of the historic book binding building on the site. While part of the building — a modern addition — will be torn down, 2,600 square feet will be maintained and incorporated into the retail space of the new building.
· Branch Properties, Peachtree Hills work out high-rise project changes [BuckheadView]
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