Lumpkin Campground Road, LLC, the owners of the parcel of land where the Etowah Village development was proposed, made a new application to rezone the property for mixed-use development “in order to build a Master Planned Community on 518 acres bordered on the East by Ga 400 and Lumpkin Campground Road and on the West by the Etowah River.”
“The site is the former location of the defunct Southern Catholic College,” the application reads. “The existing zoning, based upon the Southern Catholic Master Plan, permits a variety of uses of which most are mirrored within the proposed development plans: Retail, Office, Multi-Family and Single-Family Residences. The applicant wishes to modify the arrangement of these uses and add a few additional parcels to create a viable alternative use for this tract that will become an asset to Dawson County.”
The application then goes on to describe the project, which would include 338,000 sq. ft. of retail and service space designed in the same style as the Avalon project in Alpharetta with second- and third-floor residential spaces; 243,200 sq. ft. of Class A office space with buildings up to ten stories; a hotel with a convention center; 770 units of multi-family residences; 254 units of single-family attached home residences; a 350-unit continuing care retirement community with both independent and assisted living; 265 single family homes dividing into 3 separate neighborhoods; 156 acres of parks and green spaces; and a site dedicated to a future fire station.
Per the application, “the proposed Retail Village will contain shopping, offices, and restaurants that will be integrated into the Residential Neighborhoods providing a walkable and sustainable live-work-play community. It will also serve the surrounding area and become a sister-destination to the Outlet Mall expanding the shopping visitor’s experience in Dawson County.”
“The Hotel, Conference Center, and Fine-Dining Restaurants will provide a much-needed overnight option for out-of-state and international tourists visiting the outlet mall. Maximizing the stay and experience of tourists maximizes the income for Dawson County,” the application continued.
“Pocket Parks and Sidewalks will be integrated throughout the Master-Planned community to create pedestrian-friendly environment and provide social gathering areas for the residents. By decreasing the size of lots, we increased open space. We are preserving a remarkable 156 acres of Open Space. This land will be utilized to create large usable and meaningful green areas that can realistically sustain wildlife habitats and be enjoyed by the entire community.”
The proposal does not include anything west of the Etowah River or any mention of the Chinese gardens that were main sources of contention the first time the project was being discussed.
Sources close to the Board of Commissions were close to point out that while the Mixed-Use zoning does allow the project to have more density, it gives the Board more supervisory control of the project, allowing them to approve the plans in each individual “pod” into which the project is broken.
The proposal will be heard at the Dawson County Planning Commission meeting on September 17 at 6:00 p.m.