Powers Ferry Corridor Alliance Public Meeting May 8, 2019

The OLD Kroger site News

EōS Fitness Center to transform the long-vacant site!

EōS uses dazzling design in its fitness centers across the country.

The old Kroger site at 1122 Powers Ferry Road is set to become the newest EōS Fitness Center, one of 200 across the country. The 4.8-acre property and its 48,000 sq. ft. building will get a massive makeover.

From the EōS website: “EōS Fitness is not just a gym, but a place where you belong. From serious athletes to those wanting to maintain a healthy lifestyle or looking to make a positive change, EōS Fitness provides a wide variety of amenities to take your fitness experience to the next level (whatever level that may be!).

Visit the EōS website and check out their free trial.

Read more in East Cobb News.

From the bad old days...

4.7-acre site is critical for revitalizing Delk Road.
It's in The City Of Marietta, not unincorporated Cobb.

Why is this site is so important?

With access from both Delk and Powers Ferry Roads, the site is essentially at the corner of Delk and Powers Ferry. Unfortunately, Delk Road's decline has increased since the pandemic. The longtime Firestone Service Center remains empty, and several restaurants on Delk have also shuttered.

The situation makes this prominent site all the more important. High quality redevelopment there would be a turning point in turning around Delk, and it would also extend the Powers Ferry rejuvenation all the way up to Delk Road. On the other hand, allowing the site to languish has serious downside risk to the community. An empty building is a known magnet for crime. And even if the existing building gets a tenant, we've all seen old stores rented out to less than stellar tenants that scrape along as the property declines.

The site is still zoned as it was for the old Kroger store: CRC (Community Retail Commercial). However, there are valid concerns about the viability of standalone retail for a redevelopment. Multi-use with residential and retail would seem to have more potential. For quite a while, developers have not been willing to build owner-occupied residential, but we're reaching out to developers and the City of Marietta in hopes of making progress in that direction.

The site is owned by Habersham Partners LLC. Kroger was simply a tenant.
If you have a suggestion you feel could make clear economic sense for a developer, let us know.

The 4.7-acre site is within the City of Marietta.

The Zoning Authority is the marietta city council, not the cobb county board of commissioners.

Most of us are used to dealing with Cobb County government, but zoning decisions for this site are made by the City of Marietta. The initial review is done by the Marietta Planning Commission, which then sends the application to the 7-member City Council for the final decision. The City Council is presided over by the Mayor of Marietta, who has veto power, which can be overruled by a vote of 5 council members. This is a key difference with Cobb County, where the Chair of the Board of Commissioners doesn't have veto power. This is just something to be aware of.

PFCA works with City of Marietta and Property owner to End Illegal Truck Parking At Old Kroger Site

While it took nearly a year, the PFCA prevailed in getting an effective solution by working cooperatively with the City of Marietta and the owner of the property, where the old Kroger was located.

The problem
18-wheelers were illegally parking on the property, day and night.
There were multiple issues that led up to this situation, but ultimately, when Kroger moved down the street, the once bustling 4.7-acre property became 4.7 acres of empty asphalt. Faster than you can say “Found me a nap trap,” 18-wheelers turned it into an illegal parking lot, all day and all night, and all despite “NO TRUCK PARKING” signs with towing warnings. Area businesses also had increased vagrancy issues. The first barriers put up by the property owner were run over. Getting the trucks towed was like playing whack-a-mole.

The solution
We worked with the City of Marietta and the property owner.
The PFCA leadership team met with Marietta City Manager Bill Bruton and the head of Marietta’s Code Enforcement Division, Rusty Roth. Thanks to good suggestions, good communications, and good follow through by the property owner in getting stronger barriers, the problem has been solved.
A City of Marietta Code Enforcement officer now does a weekly check of the site, and we're keeping an eye on it.

As of early September, the property remains for sale.

veto of redevelopment proposal by Marietta Mayor leaves vital site empty and vulnerable

In April of 2023, a high quality, multi-use proposal was submitted to the City of Marietta, where the site is located. The proposal was recommended by the Marietta Planning Commission and was approved 7-0 by the City Council at its meeting on April 12, 2023. However, it was promptly vetoed by Marietta Mayor Tumlin. There were not enough votes to overturn the veto.

The proposal by WC Acquisitions was to build a 5-story mixed-use development to include 322 luxury apartments with 6,000 square feet of retail space anchoring the street level. The veto was disappointing, because the project could have been a major and very timely step in turning around Delk Road, which is in serious decline. Read more in this East Cobb News article.