by Arielle Robinson

Smyrna’s City Council meeting was back in city hall Monday evening after months at the community center due to construction. There, the council unanimously approved a mixed-use rezoning that creates 390 multi-family units and 5,500 sq. ft. of commercial space on the west side of Riverview Road.

A small portion of the property will also be between Riverview Road and the Chattahoochee River.

Brand Properties LLC requested to rezone 28 acres of property from heavy industrial to mixed-use conditional. The property was recently annexed from Cobb County and is currently used as a landfill and for construction debris.

The development will have the following:

• 390 units spread across three buildings
• Each building will be four to five stories tall
• Building 1 will have 188 units
• Building 2 will have 142 units
• Building 3 will have 60 units
• Out of the 390 units, 245 will have one bedroom, 129 will have two bedrooms, and 16 will have three bedrooms
• A central mailroom inside Building 1’s amenity space/leasing office along Riverview Road
• 5,500 sq. ft. of commercial space on the ground level with the multi-family units on the ground above
• 630 total parking spaces, 14 of which will be ADA-compliant
• The Riverview Road right of way will be enhanced with an 8 ft. sidewalk, an 8 ft. bike lane, a 6 ft. grass strip on the eastern frontage, a 5 ft. sidewalk, and a 2 ft. grass strip on the western frontage

The developer also plans to build a park for public use that will connect to the Riverview trail. The park is to be dedicated to the city once finished. Also, the Trust for Public Land plans a 2.7-mile RiverLands Showcase trail in the location that will go from Mableton Parkway to I-285.

The city’s Planning and Zoning Board approved this development 6-0 last month.

Real estate lawyer Kevin Moore spoke on behalf of Brand Properties Monday.

Moore said the project started just under a year ago and the developer was initially unable to annex the property into Smyrna from the county because of unincorporated islands along the area.

Moore said he and Brand Properties have met with community members as well as the county to discuss what they want to see there. He said residents have been very supportive of the proposal.

“One of the more surprising things for me, at least…is finding the overwhelming community support for this project,” Moore said.

Moore explained that a concrete plant had been proposed in the area several years ago and that heavy industrial uses dominated Riverview Road for years.

“That’s where heavy industry went—along the river or along active railroad tracks. So you had very heavy, intense industrial uses along Riverview Road, major outdoor equipment, storage, trailer storage, major tree type operations, and in fact, the operation that occurred on this property which is construction debris landfill—that’s what dominated this area of Riverview Road,” Moore said.

The attorney said that with the trail nearby, people along Riverview Road may not like the sight of the current heavy industrial area there. 

Instead, one of the ideas behind the development is to make the area a more welcoming place visually for people living there as well as trail visitors.

Moore said the development will have plenty of space for an outdoor patio restaurant-style mixed-use element. He described the development as a place where trail visitors will stop and spend their money.

“We think this is a fantastic example of how to transform not only this property, but to continue to transform along Riverview Road in a manner that can create a location in the city down at the river where there’s a trail, where people will want to live, and where people will want to go,” Moore said.

Councilmember Kathy Young said she thinks the development is consistent with Smyrna’s vision for Riverview Road.

“We have an opportunity to work with a quality developer, a reliable, respected developer, and I’m excited about the piece that this particular development would play in terms of the riverfront piece and the Chattahoochee RiverLands. It’ll really put Smyrna out there for being a destination in this part of the southern part of the city,” Young said.

Read more details about the development here.