GAINESVILLE – No longer an automated car wash, but a medical office building instead: that’s the new plan being offered by the developer of 5.7-acres on the east side of Thompson Bridge Road.
So far reaction by residents at Lanier Village Estates (LVE) has been ardent and concerted in opposition to the construction of an automated car wash and self-storage facility adjacent the upscale retirement community.
As a result developer D. Barrett Investment Properties, LLC, has changed strategy, dropping the idea of a car wash and replacing it with a medical office building.
On June 7th LVE residents filled the Hall County Government Center to voice opposition to the project as it came before the Hall County Planning Commission. (In addition over 100 written comments opposing the development have been received by Hall County.)
That evening, at the request of Planning Commission members, applicant Dustin Barrett agreed to rework his site plan and come back with something more palatable to the LVE residents.
Dependent upon specific changes to that site plan taking place, the Planning Commission gave Barrett’s rezoning request conditional recommendation for approval and sent it on the county commission to make a final decision on the application.
Barrett’s team went to work but found they needed additional time to complete the changes, so a request to table the rezoning of the site - between the Kroger shopping center and the main entrance to LVE at Price Road - was approved on July 8, 2021.
At Monday’s Hall County Commission work session Planning Director Sarah McQuade told commissioners, “The applicant at the end of last week has provided us with an updated site plan...which shows, as opposed to the proposed car wash that was at the front of the property, it is now a 15,000-square foot medical office building, and then the three-story climate-controlled facility that was to the rear of this remains the same.”
“The applicant provided an updated Narrative (required part of a formal application) to accompany these changes,” McQuade added.
After the work session McQuade said the change from car wash to medical office was totally the developer’s idea. “The applicant, I think, took into consideration some of the comments he had received from the adjacent property owners and went back to the drawing board to see what would be a good alternative to a car wash.”
Still Hall County officials are expecting a large turnout from LVE residents at Thursday’s voting session as many residents are still in opposition to the height of the three-story self-storage facility included in the plan.
The Hall County Commission meeting begins at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 26, in the Hall County Government Center. The public is invited.
