Plans to establish a granite quarry within the former Pine Log Wildlife Management Area are taking form, the first step in the proposed development of the 14,000-acre expanse of North Georgia wilderness.
But talks to preserve some — or even most — of the privately owned land for public recreation aren’t dead, according to the land’s owners.
The Neel family over the past century accumulated more than 19,500 acres in Bartow and Cherokee counties about an hour northwest of downtown Atlanta. For nearly 50 years, most of the land along I-75 was leased to the state Department of Natural Resources as the Pine Log WMA. But in May 2023, the family opted not to renew their lease, cutting off public access while forming a plan to sell the property for development.
Last year, Bartow County Sole Commissioner Steve Taylor approved a controversial “development district” that would allow millions of square feet of industrial space, 16,500 residences, hundreds of acres of commercial development and 500 acres for mining. It would also reserve 5,000 acres for green space.
A mining company filed state paperwork Thursday to pursue regulatory approval for the quarry.
Jim Ramseur, the Neel family’s representative, said the quarry represents a small portion of the property and the maximum area Bartow officials have approved for mining. But he said there are ongoing negotiations to sell some of the property to preserve as public green space or in a manner similar to the prior WMA.
“We are in conversations, and have been, with all of the known nonprofits, both public and private, as well as the National Park Service and DNR,” Ramseur told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday. “We’re still trying to figure out the best approach for preservation and conservation.”
Georgia Stone Products, a Cobb County-based mining company, filed a Development of Regional Impact application to pursue the rezoning and conditional approvals needed to establish a granite quarry. The 500-acre site is north of Stamp Creek Road and east of Old Furnace Road and will include a central rock pit for mining along with a granite plant.
The company, which operates six quarries across Georgia, Florida and South Carolina, did not respond to a request for comment.
The DRI process is a required infrastructure analysis for large projects that impact multiple jurisdictions and will be evaluated by the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission. The $40 million project is expected to be complete by the end of 2026, according to the DRI filing.
Ramseur said there’s valuable mining opportunities across the Neel family’s property, such as abundant limestone reserves. He said the family, however, wants the property developed across several uses, preserved for future wildlife use or some mix of both.
“It keeps our promise to the county and the citizens that with the (development district’s) zoning,” Ramseur said. “There was going to be a component that was mining, but a very small component.”
‘Bang for buck’
For many avid hunters, hikers and nature enthusiasts, it wasn’t obvious that the Pine Log WMA was privately owned until about two years ago.
That’s when the Neel family listed Pine Log and thousands of additional acres in Bartow and Cherokee counties for sale, beginning the countdown clock to the wildlife management area’s public closure. The area’s rapid growth, including multibillion-dollar solar panel and electric vehicle battery plant announcements, prompted the family to sell.
As the family considered development, it also engaged in negotiations to sell the WMA site to the state, but those talks stalled in mid-2023, Ramseur said. The parties were at a $30 million impasse on the value of the land, which Ramseur believes could be sold for hundreds of millions of dollars.
“Pricing is all based upon fair market value,” he said. “It’s just a matter of bang for buck.”
A DNR spokesperson said the agency “remains interested in finding a way to acquire the former WMA property for conservation purposes and outdoor recreational opportunities.” Ramseur added that the family is also in discussions with the National Park Service and several nonprofits, including the Trust for Public Land, the Nature Conservancy and the Conservation Fund.
Last month, the Virginia-based Conservation Fund partnered with Atlanta leadership to buy a 30-acre Buckhead estate for $13.5 million to develop a city park. Ramseur said the Neel family hopes to accomplish something similar.
“When you’re dealing with, for instance, the National Park Service, that’s a 3-year process,” he said. “It’s painstakingly slow, but necessary and part of their system. The good news is we’ve been working with these entities, in some cases, for three years. So we’re almost there.”
Coveted land
Formally called the “Planned Greenspace and Development District,” the Neels’ property received preliminary approved last year from Taylor, Bartow’s sole commissioner.
“The Neel family has kept this land intact for 100 years,” Taylor said in April 2023 when approving the development district’s creation. “Anybody else would have split it up years ago when real estate prices started getting high. This is a jewel of a piece of land, but … this is their right.”
The proposal prompted a “Save Pine Log” petition, which has amassed more than 14,000 signatures. Several residents said they were concerned development would sully the area’s natural beauty and would include too many apartments and too much density.
Bob Neel, the steward of his family’s land, told residents in the April 2023 meeting that dense development allows for more nature preservation.
“We should be looking at high-density development as a great thing,” he said. “We can concentrate development in certain areas and leave green space. … In 25 years, the population in this county is projected to be 150,000 people. It’s coming. Be prepared for it.”
Credit: Bill Torpy
Credit: Bill Torpy
Since closing Pine Log’s public access, the Neels began leasing it to Kansas-based Apex Outdoors’ hunting club. Ramseur said it helps generate revenue to offset property taxes while conservation negotiations and development planning continue. He expects new ground to be broken on both fronts by the middle of 2025.
“You probably won’t see dirt moving on the property until (the first quarter) of 2026,” he said of development. “It’ll take every bit of 2025 to engineer the master plan. And then you’ll see the phases of the various components coming online over the next 12 to 20 years.”
What’s next?
The Bartow County Planning Commission will hold a public meeting at 6 p.m. Dec. 16 to consider the requested quarry rezoning and other amendments. Bartow County Commissioner Steve Taylor will hold a subsequent public meeting Jan. 8 at 10 a.m. Both meetings will be in-person at the Frank Moore Administration and Judicial Center at 135 West Cherokee Ave. in Cartersville.
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