On Monday August 17 2015 the Smyrna City Council approved a mixed use development consisting of 65,000 square feet of retail space, 290 apartments, and a parking garage. The proposal was carried in a 4-3 vote.
Kevin Moore spoke on behalf of the owner and developer, Halpern Enterprises of Doraville Georgia. Halpern was the developer of another significant Smyrna project, the Shops at Belmont.
Moore emphasized the presence of a major retail grocery store in the project, stating “The major grocer being downtown is what other cities want. It’s what other cities of the size similar to Smyrna want … that can’t get.”
During the public comment period, Howard Martin of Lee Street, a resident of Smyrna for 51 years, spoke out against the presence of apartments in the project, saying “Something that bothers me, this council, for the last several years has spent millions of dollars to tear down apartments … things that become undesirable from apartment projects … I don’t like the word apartments. I think people that come into Smyrna need to buy a home.”
Lindsay Chason, another neighbor, expressed support for the project, stating that the plan had already been approved earlier, and this vote was only to modify the already approved plan, “And so what is up for debate isn’t whether or not to include apartments, but how many.”
She expressed excitement for the grocery and retail component of the development.
The project was approved in a 4-3 vote of the council. The full discussion, including public comments is available for viewing in this clip from the Smyrna website.