Residents push back on apartment proposal at Northlake Mall

Key Points:

• Representatives meeting with neighbors about a proposal to build 500 apartments at Northlake Mall were met with overwhelming opposition.
• Attendees questioned whether its development would improve economic conditions in the area.
• Developers plan to make application with the city for a Special Land Use Permit in about a month.

Developers who want to build a 505-unit apartment complex at on an 11-acre site at Northlake Mall held a neighborhood meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 17, to gather feedback about the plan, but the majority of attendees disliked almost everything about it.

Northlake Mall, located on 80 acres, when built in 1971, was one million square feet, making it at the time the largest mall in the area. Over time, multiple anchor tenants have left, and the parts of the complex have been redeveloped to house several Emory University’s administrative offices, including Emory HealthConnection, the Emory Healthcare Network and its Office of Risk & Insurance Services.

Attorney Dennis Webb of Smith Gambrell Russell said the Trammell Crow development would be “part of incremental improvements to the mall to bring it back” to economic viability.

Webb said Emory’s entry into the Northlake Mall area was the first step, with the construction of retail outlets on out parcels that face Briarcliff Road being the second. The third, he said, would be building the mostly one-bedroom unit development in the area that formerly housed the JCPenney, to “knit the area together.”

The five-story complex, with 65 percent of them being studio and one-bedroom units, would be surrounded by surface parking. The typical unit at 800 square feet, would rent for about $1,600 to $1,800 per month, with two-bedroom apartments around $2,000 per month.

Trammell Crow would also develop a public park near the complex to bring “a boulevard and urban feel” to the area, Webb said.

Related story:
• Tucker City Council lukewarm on Northlake apartment proposal

Building a 500-apartment complex on the site would involve the approval of a Special Land Use Permit (SLUP) to increase the density in that district, NL-1, from 21 units per acre to about 48 units per acre. NL-1 would allow developers to build 300 units on the site without the SLUP, Webb said.

The development would be built in two phases, which would take about two years each after all permitting and site work is completed, he said.

Even before Webb completed outlining the plan, attendees peppered him with questions and accusations, with most expressing doubt about whether the construction would bring more economic benefits to the area and questioning the impact of the development as it relates to schools, traffic, and an already-overburdened infrastructure system.

About half of the attendees reported that they reside at the Northlake Condominiums, about two miles from the site in unincorporated DeKalb. Several said its construction would adversely affect their property values and further pollute North Lake, which is located within the condominium complex.

Webb said developers plan to meet with DeKalb County School District officials to measure the impact on the system, as well as the Georgia Regional Transit Authority and other entities to ensure the development is compliant with all codes and mandates.

Developers plan to make application with the city in about a month, Webb said, but promised that he and Trammell Crow officials would continue to meet with residents to answer questions and provide data about possible impacts to the area.

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