An indoor skydiving facility will soon add to the growing number of entertainment options around the new Atlanta Braves stadium.
iFly, which uses a wall-to-wall vertical wind tunnel in a flight chamber to simulate a freefall skydiving experience for flyers over the age of three, is under construction near the location of a recently proposed golf and entertainment facility.
In order to secure the prime location on the corner of I-285 West and Cobb Parkway, though, the company had to bend to the will of the Cobb County code.
In March 2015, an engineer on the project said the facility needed to be eight feet higher than the standard 50-foot restriction because "the building cannot function as intended at this height," according to a document submitted to the Cobb County Zoning Division.
"The building height and design is a critical component of the indoor skydiving experience, as the entire building comprises a circuit of duct work which makes flight possible within the internal flight chamber," the letter said.
The request was denied. Other requests, such as reducing the depth of a parking stall and increasing the area for a wall sign, were also denied.
Patrick Framel, iFly vice president of development, said the company typically would have found a different location after being denied approval.
But this was a unique situation, so iFly redesigned a facility specifically for the Cobb County location. The size of the building had to be contracted to house the wind tunnel, but Framel said the structure operates "exactly the same."
"We're excited to be part of everything happening in Cobb County," he said.
Though the changes caused a time delay, the project is set to open early November.
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