The northern end of Sandy Springs is due for some freshening and redevelopment, and the city is looking to its residents to provide ideas for improvements.
Home to aging and abandoned shopping plazas as well as high-end homes and older apartments, the northern end of Sandy Springs — located along Roswell Road north of Dalrymple Road — is the focus of a community meeting Thursday with TSW planning consultants.
“The north end is not blighted,” said Mayor Rusty Paul. “The problem is the weak retail. The world of retail is changing so dramatically. A lot of retail space there is being under utilized. We are trying to figure out how to strengthen it.”
Land is a precious commodity in Sandy Springs, according to the Mayor. "We've got very expensive real estate."
Work to redevelop the city’s north end has been slowed by a community-wide difference of opinion about how Roswell Road, north of Dalrymple Road to Dunwoody Place, should be made over.
Sandy Springs is a melting pot of cultures, lifestyles and home values. Just off one side of Roswell Road homes in Huntcliff subdivision are priced at more than $1 million. On the other side of the road sits the Community Assistance Center, where clients rely on its food pantry daily. Also in the mix are residents of older apartment complexes and townhomes, some with a of fear displacement or rising housing costs.
“We have a lot of younger families who would like to own a home in the community where they grew up,” said Paul. “There is very little product for them. The goal is to try to figure out how we can create housing ownership opportunities. And we’re struggling with how to do that. In the last recession, we cut out a lot of people who would like to own rather than rent.”
On Thursday, Sandy Springs will hold the first in a series of input meetings led by TSW planning consultants at 6:30 p.m., at City Hall. The firm was hired last year to develop a conceptual plan to convert four shopping centers into new mixed-use centers. Following a presentation, attendees will gather in groups to discuss potential uses for North Springs Shopping Center, North Ridge Shopping Center, North River Shopping Center and the former Loehmann’s Plaza shopping center.
“The property owner may like the idea and want to go with it,” said Sharon Kraun, Sandy Springs communications director. “Or the concept can go to another location elsewhere. The whole purpose is to come up with ideas on the redevelopment, and what we need to do to make that happen.”
In January, the city formed an advisory committee of representatives from neighborhoods that could be impacted by redevelopment, including homeowners, renters and local business owners. Also on the committee is Tamara Carrera, executive director of the Community Assistance Center.
“They are a sounding board for us,” said Kraun of the committee. “They will be at the input meetings providing feedback. This meeting is all about trying to get a baseline of what residents in the community like and don’t like. Everything is on the table.”
