Dunwoody Enters into Purchase Agreement for 24 Acres in Georgetown Area

Monday night, minutes after finalizing the purchase of the 16-acre PVC farm, the Dunwoody City Council moved forward with a plan to purchase 24 more acres in the Georgetown area.

The council signed a sales contract for two pieces of land totaling 24 acres – 5 acres to help with the extension of Peachford Road and 19 acres to be used for new park land – site of the former Dunwoody Hospital.

The city will have 45 days to complete due dilligence on the property.

The total cost of the purchase would be $6.97 million.

The 5-acre property would be purchased with current city funds, whereas the purchase of the 19-acre property would be contingent on voters passing the parks bond referendum for land acquisition.  If the bond fails, the city would have 45 days to make a decision whether to purchase the property without penalty.

“I think this is an opportunity for us to transform Dunwoody,” said Councilman Danny Ross.

Further, he said such acquisitions give voters the opportunity to see what voting yes on the November referendum would mean.

The 5.2 acres of property at 4471 N. Shallowford Rd. would be used as part of an extension of Peachford Road to make an east-west connector in the area. More land would be needed to complete that project.

The 19.1 acres of property at 4552, 4555 and 4575 N. Shallowford Rd., the site of the former Emory Hospital, would be used for a park. Currently there are buildings on the 4552 and 4555 properties.

Of those buildings, there are still some tenants that have a ground lease through 2022. The city would either have to wait out that lease or buy the tenants out.

City Manager Warren Hutmacher pointed out that the city could wait out the lease and develop the 14-acre portion of the property north of Pernoshal Road.

Councilman Denis Shortal was the lone vote against the purchase.

“I don’t think this is good bargain for the citizens or a good value for the citizens’ tax dollar,” he said, who added that he’s very concerned about going into any debt.

Tom Statham of Dunwoody, who has worked in commercial real estate investment for 30 years, said he is not opposed to the city having more parkland, but advised the council to take its time with the purchase.

He said with the city of Dunwoody being the only buyer, the pricing could be better.

“I’m saying I think you need to step back and revisit the economics of the deal and then consider it,” he said.

Statham also stressed that this, along with the 16 acre PVC farm, takes 40 acres off of the tax rolls, saying maybe some of this land should be left for private development.

Mayor Ken Wright stressed that while this possible purchase has been public just the past several days, it has been on the council’s table during executive sessions for the last six to eight months.

 “I just want to clarify, this is not out of nowhere by any stretch of the imagination,” he said.

Dunwoody resident Bill Robinson said he supports the purchase, saying it is a great opportunity to expand the city’s parks system and give citizens what they want.

“I highly recommend you go forward with this,” he said.

Beverly Armento said that she supports the purchase, but urged the council to look around the city for places to put in baseball fields, which were an area of contention the city’s plan for Brook Run Park.

Armento, who lives in the Lakeview Oaks neighborhood, leading to flooding in her community and worried about the same thing with the hospital property, which is located south of her neighborhood.

“I’d like to not come to conclusions until we all talk about it,” she said.