Dunwoody area news - Trees gone, Factory going away, Doraville Strippers might be on way out and more Police Wanted in Chamblee

Trees clearcut to improve billboard visibility along Savoy Drive

The negative effects of Georgia’s billboard law have hit home for residents and visitors in the cities of Chamblee and Dunwoody as trees and vegetation were recently completely clear-cut along I-285 on Savoy Drive. (2011 HB 179 - Millar, Taylor & Jacobs all voted No.)

Residents were stunned when all of a sudden the trees and vegetation serving as natural visual, sound and air pollution barriers were gone. To make matters worse, the cleared land was filled with tons of litter and trash, previously obscured from sight by all the ground vegetation.

Doraville GM Plant Demolition officially begins to make way for a ‘city within a city’

The Doraville General Motors (GM) Assembly Plant demolition officially began in earnest Friday.   A ceremony was held to commemorate the event where a group of Federal, State, County and Local Government Officials – as well as citizens who once worked at the assembly plant – joined Integral Group Chairman and CEO Egbert Perry who talked briefly about the projects history and its future. Doraville Mayor Donna Pittman spoke to attendees about the great promise the new development holds for her city and the region.

Oasis and Doraville argue their cases in Georgia’s Supreme Court

Doraville’s counsel holds tightly to their claim that “nude conduct in sexually oriented businesses is not protected speech under the Georgia Constitution.” Bergthold argues that the regulations Doraville has imposed on Oasis are almost identical to those Brookhaven imposed on the Pink Pony.

The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled on Oct. 6 that Brookhaven had the right to ban adult entertainment businesses that sell alcohol. Bergthold says that Doraville has the same right to impose those provisions in their Sexually Oriented Business Ordinance that Brookhaven did.

Help Wanted - Chamblee Police Officer positions open

The City of Chamblee Police Department is now accepting applications from P.O.S.T. Certified Officers. Chamblee Police Department prides itself on being a progressive agency with very high standards that serves a diverse community. To apply, go here.

For more information contact: Michael Beller, Assistant Chief of Police Ph: (770) 986-5005

Doraville approves GM redevelopment and plans new connection to Dunwoody

Video

We all knew the redevelopment plans of the GM site was coming, but the connection to Dunwoody probably to North Peachtree Road and 285 was something that piqued my interest.  If I get a map or drawings, I will post them in the future.

Copy of the Doraville GM package that DeKalb County Commission is going to vote on today.

I have obtained the DeKalb Board of Commissioners documents regarding the Doraville GM plant redevelopment whereby the developer would get a 35 million gift from the DeKalb County Tax Payers in exchange for promises of development at a later date.  The proposed development down the road is too small and too far away in exchange cash up front to build something now that isn't needed nor will generate extensive tax revenue.  I think I heard Elaine Boyer call it empty promises.
DeKalb GM Vote Info for Aug24

Taxpayers Shouldn’t Become Developer’s ATM by Representative Mike Jacobs

Shopping centers empty like ghost towns in the Wild West

By Rep Mike Jacobs

Drive north on Peachtree Road and Peachtree Industrial Boulevard through Brookhaven, Chamblee, Doraville and into Dunwoody and the view is startling. Shopping centers are empty like the ghost towns of the Wild West.

Town Brookhaven is finally sprouting major anchor stores, but is having trouble filling its smaller retail store fronts. Chamblee Plaza? Nearly empty. The new “Super H Mart” center adjacent to the GM site? It’s nearly empty, too.

The CoStar Group, a national real estate analysis firm, says the vacancy rates of retail, shopping centers and offices in North DeKalb are at catastrophic levels when you compare them to the national average. With so many empty store fronts, why would county officials push so hard to use our tax dollars for a supersized mixed-use project at the site of the former GM plant in Doraville?

Consider this:

- In the North DeKalb zip codes 30319, 30338, 30340, 30341, 30346 and 30360, the vacancy rate for shopping centers is 23 percent compared to 14 percent in DeKalb County as a whole and 10 percent in the City of Atlanta.

- The vacancy rate for North DeKalb office buildings is 24 percent compared to 18 percent in the county overall and 20 percent in the City of Atlanta.

- Retail vacancy rates are 17 percent in those zip codes, 11 percent in DeKalb overall, and 9 percent in Atlanta, according to CoStar.

The county’s elected officials are considering using a special allocation of $36 million in federal stimulus bonds on the 165-acre GM site with visions of creating another Atlantic Station. These bonds come with a high price tag to the taxpayers. DeKalb officials would use the stimulus bonds as a $36 million “gift” to an out-of-state developer, New Broad Street of Florida.

Worse yet, county taxpayers would have to pay the principal and a majority of the interest on these bonds. It’s very likely that means higher property taxes for you and me because the county doesn’t otherwise have the money to make the payments.

In ordinary times, the developer wouldn’t have to rely on county taxpayers. There would be more private investment to help finance the project. But these are no ordinary times. We’re in the midst of the worst commercial real estate market in memory. Private investors don’t want to provide the financing for an overly ambitious mixed-use project consisting of shopping, apartments and offices. The county wants the taxpayers to step in and do what private investors won’t do: bear the risks of this project.

If a new restaurant, retail shop or gas station, for example, wants to open for business, investors take the risk whether it prospers or fails. The same should be true for this project. DeKalb taxpayers are not a bank. They are not in the business of providing corporate welfare to jump start a project the private sector would never finance.

This is the most ambitious project we’ve ever seen county officials attempt to tackle, and it comes during a deep recession. It is not the taxpayers’ job to finance the next Atlantic Station and add to the already glutted market a new supply of retail and commercial space.

The definition of insanity, according to Albert Einstein, is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. We should heed the lessons of the “real estate bubble” and steer clear of risking taxpayer funds for further overdevelopment. After the bubble has burst, don’t use our tax dollars to create another bubble!

There are two final things to consider:

1. The GM site ultimately will be redeveloped if the county does not intervene. It’s arguably the most valuable parcel of available commercial property in the county. It’s on a major highway (I-285), a major north-south artery (Peachtree Industrial), and a MARTA station. In better economic times, something that private investors and market forces will support will be built there. I’m confident of that.

2. These particular stimulus bonds are supposed to be used for public infrastructure projects, not for private development. When used properly, they are a cheaper way of financing these projects. The county already has a list of infrastructure needs a mile long, not the least of which is the water and sewer system upgrades that they plan to fund with massive increases in our water bills. The bonds could be used to defray those costs. They also could be used for projects such as street repairs, new sidewalks, intersection upgrades, and parks.

The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners will vote on this matter tomorrow, Tuesday, August 24.
 
Commissioner Elaine Boyer has pledged to vote against it. I encourage you to contact the other six county commissioners (Rader, Johnson, Barnes-Sutton, May, Gannon, and Stokes) and urge them to vote “no” as well. In particular, Commissioner Jeff Rader appears not to have taken a position as of yet. You can find the commissioners’ telephone numbers and e-mail addresses by clicking here.

Taxpayers Can’t Afford to Subsidize another Atlantic Station by DeKalb Commissioner Elaine Boyer

By Elaine Boyer

Milton Friedman, Nobel laureate and economic advisor to Ronald Reagan, coined a memorable term that withstands the test of time in economics and politics: “There is no such thing as a free lunch.”

DeKalb County’s CEO Burrell Ellis, the county’s development authority and a private developer seeking to remodel the former General Motors plant in Doraville might consider that wisdom. Taxpayers would wind up on the hook for this 165-acre project deemed to be the region’s next Atlantic Station.

The so-called “free money” or federal stimulus money being touted for this project along Interstate 285 is nothing more than $36 million in bonds that someone would have to pay off. That someone is DeKalb County taxpayers.

It was revealed last week that to cover the cost of the bonds of the mixed-used project offered by New Broad Street, the county would levy a 1 percent sales tax or a .12 property tax increase. The 10,000 residents of the city of Doraville also would pay a 33 percent property tax hike.

There is nothing free or beneficial about this deal at all to the residents of our county.

The audacity of county officials and the private developer is what has turned the American public against government in this age of tea parties and hostility toward incumbents. Ever since the 2008, $787 billion federal bank bailout, taxpayers have had enough of government financing of anything in the private sector.

All they hear about is bailouts ranging from a proposed $23 billion bailout for teachers; to rescue packages for Chrysler, Ford and GM’s corporate headquarters in Detroit. And let’s not forget about Bear Stearns and other financials saved by American taxpayers and the ability of our federal government to print money with no forethought of what would do to our economy and the lives of our children and grandchildren.

Here in DeKalb, our local economy is suffering just as is the rest of the nation. The county’s unemployment rate is 9 percent, and homeowners can’t afford a property tax increase for another retail, office and multi-family complex. Nor should our sales rise to the highest in the region to pay for such a development – no matter how many jobs it might create.

It used to be when the private sector wanted to build a restaurant, a dry cleaner’s or a shoe store, for example, it loaned the money to an investor who took the risk. The builder never expected taxpayers to help foot the bill. Today, too many developers are seeking corporate welfare to finance their projects. If New Broad Street or another firm doesn’t have the cash to rebuild the GM site, then it shouldn’t do it. The taxpayers are not a bank.

Drive into the suburbs or virtually anywhere in the Atlanta region and there are empty storefronts, shopping centers, apartment complexes and office buildings, thanks to this Great Recession. The last thing we need to do is use taxpayer money to add to the supply.

Economics revolves around supply and demand. For the Atlanta economy to rebound to a sustainable condition, government must get out of the way and let market forces align so it can recover on its own. The economist Friedman was also quoted as saying: “Governments never learn. Only people learn.” Let’s hope this worst recession since the Great Depression will teach elected officials a lesson. Let taxpayers keep more of their own money.

Boyer, a Republican, represents District 1 on the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners which includes Doraville and the site of the General Motors plant.

DeKalb Falcons in Sembler Stadium? Item may be up for discussion on Thursday in Doraville.

WSBTV News Clip

Monday night the Doraville City Council went into executive session specifically to discuss the possible acquisition of property. That same day the Georgia Supreme Court told DeKalb County’s development authority that it needs voter approval to sell bonds to pay off the debt on a new performing arts center. (See Atlanta Unfiltered.)

But the impact of the ruling could be much broader, subjecting virtually any bond issue by the authority to a public referendum. In a footnote on page 3, the court said a 2007 law requiring voter approval applies to bonds issued for “any new buildings or facilities or improvements to existing buildings or facilities.”

Since the cat is out of the bag with DeKalb County and others thinking of purchasing the GM plant in order to build a new football stadium for the "Doraville" Falcons, the Supreme Court ruling may have just thrown a wrench into their plans.

Thursday's town hall meeting on the future of the GM site is scheduled for Thursday evening at 6:30 pm at the Forest Fleming Arena, 3037 Pleasant Valley Drive, Doraville, GA 30340.

This land deal is by far the most important development project in the history of the City of Doraville and Council-member Bob Roche is so concerned over DeKalb Counties Plans that he has stated that if this happens that "Doraville might cease to exist"

If Doraville is going to give away the GM plant, maybe someone besides DeKalb County could help?

http://thedoravilleproject.com

Joesph over at Dorablog states that Doraville is thinking about de-annexing the GM Plant back to the control of DeKalb County. If Doraville sees the GM plant as a problem to develop, so much so that they want to unload it onto someone else, maybe another one of their neighbors might be interested in moving their city border a little south? Would this be feasible, who knows but it would be interesting to explore and contemplate the uses for this site?

Below is an except from the Dorablog but please read the full item there since the comments appear to tell the story of why Doraville would make such a move.

Big news about the GM plant site — councilman Bob Roche just confirmed for me a rumor that I heard earlier this weekend that Dekalb county is considering a purchase of the site in partnership with a developer. The implications of the development deal are big. According to councilman Roche, the city will no longer have any zoning power over the former GM property, and will lose tax revenue from it (several hundred thousand a year). It will be effectively de-annexed from the city (although Doraville will still set closing times and other similar ordinances). The county has suggested that they can patrol the site using Dekalb PD, therefore not taxing our current police forces.

The developer is New Broadstreet, based out of Orlando. The company’s president, David Pace, helped develop Disney’s Celebration USA outside Disney World. The company’s website says it is committed to New Urbanist principles — which include walkable neighborhoods, and mixed-use developments that adhere to the work-live-play philosophy.

What would you do if you had 165 acres of prime real estate ITP and it was tied to MARTA?

The City of Doraville is looking for developers with deep pockets and a vision. If this is you, check out the sales pitch and the college project for ideas.



Atlanta Business Chronicle article

General Motors Corp. officials said the automaker has received at least 1,000 inquiries, including interest from international firms, about redeveloping its Doraville Assembly plant.

GM officials, speaking at a June 19 press conference in Doraville, Ga., said the company would probably narrow its list of developers to three-to-five candidates by August. It wants to name a developer as early as October to remake the 165-acre assembly plant -- a landmark in Doraville since 1947 -- into what could be the largest transit-oriented mixed-use development in metro Atlanta. A MARTA train runs adjacent to the plant and Peachtree-DeKalb airport is a few miles away.

The plant stands next to Spaghetti Junction and borders the city of Chamblee. GM said it's looking for a developer with experience redeveloping brownfields, or tracts of land previously developed for industrial uses and that often contain pollutants.

The automaker wants a developer that has deep pockets, especially in the current lending environment in which financing is often more difficult to obtain. And it also wants a developer that shares the vision of the city of Doraville and DeKalb County, GM officials said.