Developers say they intend to move to forward with plans for a large apartment development off of Spout Springs Road, but it will not be annexed into the city of Flowery Branch.
Capstone Property Group and Spout Springs Captial, LLC are looking to build several hundred apartment units on at least 40 acres of land on the east side of Spout Springs Road just south of Hog Mountain Road. The project is being called "Capstone at Blossom Creek" and is also planned to feature some commerical development.
Five parcels of land had already been rezoned for Planned Residential Development by Hall County, but the developers were looking to annex those properties into the city and rezone an additional 11-acre tract of land already in the city to add to the complex. Those requests were unanimously denied by the Flowery Branch City Council Thursday.
Jonathan Collins with Capstone Property Group says the group still plans to build on the land currently zoned by Hall County.
"We're going to build some apartments," Collins said after the meeting.
The city parcel the group was looking to rezone would have given the project an access point to Hog Mountain Road. Plans called for the complex's entrance there to intersect the Stonebridge Village Shopping Center entrance.
Flowery Branch City Councilman Joe Anglin made the motion to deny the request. He said he felt the development could overload the city's traffic infrastructure, especially at Spout Spring Road's interchange with I-985, which he said is too narrow to handle much additional traffic.
"There's movements to try to improve that infrastructure and get it where it needs to be, but that's going to take a little bit of time," Anglin said. "The project itself, I mean, it's a solid project. It looks good, however the timing of it right now is what gives me pause."
Four residents spoke in the public hearing before the vote, with most expressing concerns over traffic and how the project would impact the incoming widening of Spout Springs Road. The road is set to be widened to four lanes with a median starting at Hog Mountain Road. Construction on the widening is expected to start in late Spring and take around two years.
Collins said the developers could build more than 300 units on the land currently zoned by Hall County. He did not say when Capstone Property Group would begin construction or if they would again seek to rezone the property fronting Hog Mountain Road in the future.
Had the sixth parcel been rezoned, Collins said the development could have featured more than 500 units.
Townhome development also denied
The Flowery Branch City Council also denied a rezoning request that would have allowed for a 72-unit townhome development on just over eight acres off of Atlanta Highway at Cantrell Road.
No residents spoke against the development, but city planning director Rich Atkinson said staff recommended denial of the rezoning because the property lies in one of the city's few industrial-zoned areas.
Council members voted unanimously to deny the request, with councilman Anglin agreeing with Atkinson that the property should be kept zoned for light industrial development.
