The Flowery Branch City Council Thursday night voted in favor of working with Parkside Partners, LLC for the preliminary planning and development of phase two of downtown.
The unanimous vote of approval came in the form of a memorandum of understanding with Parkside Partners, LLC. The development company has previously expressed interest in acquiring the development rights for plots in the second phase of the downtown Flowery Branch development, according to city documents.
That space will reportedly include retail, office and residential components, giving Parkside Partners exclusive rights to develop the project “in one or more phases.”
“This process will include some professional services, architectural renderings, a master plan, but it would also include a lot of citizen input on what citizens would like to see on the parcels downtown that are included in phase two,” City Manager Tonya Parrish said. “So there'll be more to come and there will be more meetings advertised.”
The city has bid out a parking study with the goal of learning more about what the “best way for people to travel around downtown” would be, Parrish said Thursday. It is currently unknown if the final product will include a parking garage, but Parrish noted that city officials are aware of parking issues pertaining to the downtown district, and hope to address them in Phase II.
“I would hope that we'll be finished with this process, of at least identifying what we'd like to see, within about six months,” Parrish said.
A date for construction to begin is yet to be established as the preliminary designs get underway.
A video of an interview with Parrish can be viewed at the top of this page.
