Dunwoody Planning Commission to consider fourth version of 84 Perimeter Center East development

Another special land use permit has been requested by the developer for a site at the corner of Ashford Dunwoody Road and Perimeter Center East. (Photo by Cathy Cobbs) After deferring a revised proposal to expand the permitted uses at a site on 84 Perimeter Center East, the Dunwoody Planning Commission on Aug. 12 will consider the plan again, with more specifics from the developer. At its July 8 meeting, the panel heard from attorney Dan Webb, representing the applicant, JSJ Perimeter LLC, about a fourth iteration for the 2.86-acre site, which used to be the site of a bank.According to a staff memo regarding the proposal to expand the allowed uses, the property has undergone “a series of zoning amendments” over the past 15 years. “In 2008, the property was rezoned from O-I to C-1 conditional to allow for the development of a hotel, a 7,050-square-foot, full-service restaurant, a 5,369-square-foot meeting space, and a 70,000 square-foot fitness club,” the memo said. At the time, the site also received a special land use permit to increase the height of the hotel from two to 12 stories. In 2019, the property’s site plan and zoning conditions were amended to allow a 11-story, 160-room hotel and two additional multi-story buildings containing approximately 43,140 square feet of commercial uses, including restaurants and retail, patio and rooftop terrace seating, and a multi-story parking deck. In 2020, the applicant removed the plans for a hotel and proposed to replace it with a 14-story building with 225 units of age-restricted rental housing, which prompted a rezoning to PC-2 and several special land use permit additions. In 2023, the developers asked for and received an extension that required a land disturbance permit to be obtained by Sept. 8, 2023. The latest request, according to Dunwoody Senior Planner Madalyn Smith, is “a significant departure from the previously approved site plan and exhibits.” Related stories• Dunwoody age-restricted housing will no longer require lessee to be 55 or older• Aging-in-place options in Atlanta scarce “The applicant requests to amend the site plan and conditions to provide flexibility in the use for the 14-story building to be either age-restricted multi-family housing (as currently approved), for-sale, non-age-restricted condominiums, or a hotel.” In addition, JSJ, has also requested 4,700-square-foot quick-service restaurant with drive-though lanes, a two-story, a 10,000-square-foot retail building and a parking deck. Webb said Partillo’s, a Chicago-based franchise known for its hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, chopped salad, and cheese fries, has expressed interest in the restaurant site. “This restaurant is a unique opportunity for Dunwoody,” Webb said. “Partillo’s is different type of restaurant that doesn’t operate like a traditional drive-through … kind of an upgrade of the Varsity, with the calibre and quality of the food being a little higher.” The applicant has also provided a phasing plan for the proposed development, Smith said, that would involve constructing the restaurant and retail spaces, along with three stories of the parking deck, followed by the larger structure and the remaining parking deck installation. The proposed site plan for 84 Perimeter Center East (Planning Commission documents) Planning Commission members and staff expressed concerns about the lack of a detailed plan for some of the buildings, a specific landscaping plan, the presence of yet another drive-through facility along an already-congested road, and specifics about the phasing program. “We really question the phasing plan,” Smith said. “We don’t think it would be possible necessarily to keep the parking deck open during active construction.” City staff did not recommend the plan be approved by the commission, but Webb circumvented a decision by asking for a deferral until the panel’s next meeting on Aug. 12. Webb said more detailed plans will be shared at the next commission meeting. The post Dunwoody Planning Commission to consider fourth version of 84 Perimeter Center East development appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.