02-5-2016 Dunwoody Reporter

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FEB. 5 - FEB. 18, 2016 VOL. 7 NO. 3

Actors playing actors gives a look behind the curtain p. 10

PCIDs study backs yover bridge extension on Pill Hill p. 18

Tra c is already horrible. Its going to get worse [in the Perimeter Center area]. ... Itll just mean Ill avoid that whole area. Itll change where I shop, where I go. Right now you have to plan when youre going to do stuf be-cause tra c is just horrible.SUSAN CLARKE

See more reaction to proposed highrises in the Perimeter area in Commentary, page 12. See BATTLE on page 20

BY DYANA [email protected]

Brook Run Park was packed on a re-cent warm Sunday afternoon as Steve and Anita Drange walked past the dilap-idated theater building, hidden behind shade trees with Keep Out signs post-ed on the welded shut doors.

It is a bit rundown, Steve Drange said over sounds of teens riding skate-boards at the nearby skate park. At one time there were buildings all through these woods. It was a hospital. This is the last one standing.

Those buildings Drange recalls in-cluded dormitories, an administration building and the theater, and were the part of the Georgia Retardation Center, a facility that operated from the 1960s to the late 1990s.

Due to as-bestos lin-ing the in-teriors, neglect, and wear and tear, the build-ings were torn down in the years follow-ing the centers closure. The theater building has so far been spared the wrecking ball.

Now efforts to save the Brook Run Theater have led to heated debate in Dunwoody among city officials and residents.

Some want the city to help foot the bill to reno-vate and repair what they say is a historic building that could be converted to a local, mod-ern theater and community gathering spot. Others say the building is too far gone and no taxpayer money should be used to save it.

I suspect it would be a tough battle

Flights of fancy The battle over Brook Runs theater

MAKING A DIFFERENCEA mother and her two daughters share their breast cancer journeysBY DYANA [email protected]

Fourteen years ago, Maxx Schube was in the carpool lane at Davis Academy in San-dy Springs waiting to pick up her children when she felt a lump in her breast and an-other one on her chest.

See FAMILY on page 6

PHIL MOSIER

Rick Merced, who calls himself a drone racer, pilots his small aircraft in a fi eld at Brook Run Park on Jan. 30. Merced said when he was a kid, he dreamed of being a superhero, and now, through his drone, he can watch the world go by and live out that dream. See additional photos on page 3.

a facility that operated from the 1960s to the late 1990s.

Due to as-bestos lin-ing the in-

neglect, and wear and tear, the build-ings were torn down in the years follow-ing the centers closure. The theater building has so far been spared the wrecking ball.

Now efforts to save the Brook Run Theater have led to heated debate in Dunwoody among city officials and residents.

Some want the city to help foot the bill to reno-vate and repair what they say is a historic building

OUT & ABOUTCelebrateBlack History MonthPage 8

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Community BriefsLOCAL RESIDENT NAMED TO STATE HOLOCAUST COMMISSION

Dunwoody resident Robert Wittenstein was recently sworn in as a member of the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, an educational agency that operates the Anne Frank in the World exhibit in Sandy Springs. Wittenstein is president of the Dun-woody Homeowners Association. He was appointed to the commission by Georgia House Speaker David Ralston.

JESTER PLANS TOWN HALL MEETINGS TO DISCUSS DEKALB BUDGET

DeKalb Commissioner Nancy Jester plans to host town hall discussions in Dun-woody and Tucker about the 2016 county budget.

A Feb. 9 meeting is planned for All Saints Catholic Church, 2443 Mount Vernon Road in Dunwoody; and a Feb. 23 meeting will be at the Reid H. Cofer Library, 5234 LaVista Road in Tucker.

Every dollar DeKalb County receives comes from, and belongs to, the taxpayers of DeKalb County. It is important to me that DeKalb County taxpayers have the opportu-nity to offer input into the budget development process. I want to hear directly from you about your priorities. Our budget demonstrates what we value, Jester said in the announcement.

DUNWOODYS STATE OF THE CITY SET FOR FEB. 25Dunwoodys seventh annual State of the City address will be Feb. 25 from 6 p.m.

to 9 p.m. at Crowne Plaza Ravinia. Mayor Denny Shortal will share his thoughts on the citys progress and his vision for the citys future growth. The event is open to the pub-lic, and is hosted by the city of Dunwoody and the Rotary Club of Dunwoody.

Crown Towers development ready for public input


Developers be-hind the Crown Towers develop-ment, an ambi-tious project of highrises pro-posed on the for-mer Gold Kist site off Ashford-Dun-woody Road, will meet with the Dunwoody Home-owners Associa-tion on Feb. 15.

The 15-acre site is zoned for a 20-story hotel and two 24-story high-rise office buildings. Crown Develop-ment last month filed a pre-application review with the city of Dunwoody for a rezoning request for 4.75 acres of the property that would allow the company to build two additional residential tow-

ers not to exceed 40 stories at the east-ern end of the project.

The land sits on I-285 along the west-bound entrance ramp at Ashford-Dun-woody Road, adjacent to the citys MAR-TA station and next to Perimeter Mall.

Veteran real estate developer Char-lie Brown, who is leading the charge on the project, and attorney Doug Dil-lard met with a handful of people at a Feb. 1 public meeting to lay out what is planned for the property.

I think this is one of the best piec-es of property in metro Atlanta or even the Southeast, Brown said.

Concerns about residential high-rises on the property were raised, but Doug Dillard, who has worked with nu-merous developments in metro Atlan-ta, tried to ease those concerns with ex-amples of past development. Plans are for high-end condos, not rental units.

When we did 33 floors at the Ravin-ia, people went crazy, and now we see what it is, he said. Or the King and Queen buildings. This is an opportu-nity to take Perimeter Center national. All were asking is for 4.75 acres be re-zoned residential.

Brown explained plans for an east-west connector through Dunwoody would greatly help with traffic in the area. The property owners are set to donate 2 acres of land to go toward that project.

The $20 million connector road would come off I-285, go under Ash-ford-Dunwoody Road and connect with Perimeter Center Parkway. The road is part of a network of connectors planned for the area as new, highrise developments are being built.

DYANA BAGBY

Charlie Brown, who is heading up the Dunwoody Crown Towers proposed development, explains a model of the

planned project to a handful of people at a Feb. 1 meeting.

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Flights of fancyRight, Rick Merced, a drone racer, takes a visual look at his drones path as he navigates the skies over Brook Run Park on Jan. 30.

Merced stated he dreamed of being a superhero when he was a kid, and now, by piloting his drone, he can see the world go by and realize his dream.

PHOTOS BY PHIL MOSIER

James Corn, left, chats with Rick Merced about recreational flying of drone aircraft at Brook Run Park on Jan. 30.

Corn, a contractor for U.S. power companies, uses drones to inspect power lines.


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City approves mini-cell towers


The city of Dunwoody has agreed to allow two companies to install mini- cell towers to existing city-owned utility poles at a cost of $500 each year for each installation.

Crown Castle and Mobilitie, wireless providers, will have 90 days to install the equipment designed to boost network reach mostly on utility poles around the mall and in the Perimeter area.

The original contract between the companies and Dunwoody called for 120 days to install the equipment. How-ever, Councilwoman Lynn Deutsch said this length of time would be too inconve-nient for residents. The council approved her amendment to shorten the time to 90 days.

Effi ciency is key. You get in, get it done, get out, Deutsch said. Some of her constituents have complained about workers in front of their homes at 8 p.m., she added.

The smaller devices attach to existing utility poles. The technology is housed in what looks like a box or a cabinet, con-taining wires and antennae designed to bring faster Internet, and allowing wire-less technology users access to more data.

Ellen Smith, attorney for Crown Cas-tle, noted that the council has discussed this issue at its November and December meetings.

If approved, this would be advanta-geous to the city, she said. It would be removing right of way clutter and be free revenue for the city.

Both contracts are good for fi ve years.

LEFT, CROWN CASTLE; ABOVE, FILE PHOTO

Above, the city of Dunwoody has agreed to have mini-cell towers installed on existing utility poles, enabling faster

Internet and access to more data.

Left, wireless providers will have 90 days to install the equipment around

the mall and Perimeter area.

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As MARTA seeks more funds, Fulton o cials take a regional approachBY JOHN [email protected]

The political battle is just beginning over MARTAs request, fi led in the Gold Dome Feb. 1, to seek an additional half-penny sales tax from DeKalb and Fulton voters on the November ballot.

But whatever happens, a new era of regionally-minded transportation plan-ning seems to be dawning in parts of Ful-ton County.

Fulton Chairman John Eaves has been convening a group of Fulton mayors for several months to hash out a possible menu of road and mass transit projects to put before voters. And Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul has said hes asked City Manager John McDonough to gath-er staff from various Fulton cities to talk about the nitty-gritty of regional projects.

I think youre going to see something miraculous this year as the mayors col-laborate on a possible transportation funding package to send to voters, Eaves said at a recent meeting of the Buckhead Coalition.

The Fulton County Commission, I give them credit, Paul said in an inter-view last fall, when the meetings were

just beginning. Theyre taking leader-ship in getting everyone at the table.

Under existing legislation, DeKalb and Fulton can ask voters to approve a special local option sales tax of up to 1 penny on the November ballot for trans-portation projects. The tax would sunset in fi ve years.

The MARTA proposalfi led by state Sen. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta)would devote up to half of that penny to MARTA for more than 40 years, to match the lifetime of the transit agencys exist-ing 1 penny tax.

Extending the Red LineMARTA says the additional SPLOST

money could fund extension of the Red Line to Alpharetta, including a new Northridge station in Sandy Springs; a light rail connection through the Emo-ry University area between Buckheads Lindbergh station and the Blue Lines Avondale station; and a rail extension along I-20 to Lithonia.

Political opinion varies on whether MARTA should get more SPLOST funds and if so, how much. Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker has been skeptical. Atlanta

Mayor Kasim Reed backs the half-penny and will not support any proposal that does not fund transit, which our region needs to grow and prosper, according to city of Atlanta spokeswoman Jenna Gar-land.

Paul supports the MARTA expansion and has been discussing SPLOST options with other Fulton mayors. He declined to comment on the state of those talks, say-ing its too early for details.

Regional planningBut in previous interviews and re-

ports at City Council meetings, Paul has talked about the importance of region-al planning and fi nding a compromise mix of road and mass transit projects that voters would approve because they would actually use them.

As [poet] John Donne said, were not an island among ourselves, Paul said in an interview last fall. And, he said, elect-ed offi cials need to bridge the gap be-tween the existing short-term SPLOST vi-sion and MARTAs long-term plans.

Weve got to get them both on the same page[in a] comprehensive, ratio-nal plan, he said.


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Doctors told her not to worry, the lumps were nothing. But she insisted on a biop-sy. The biopsy came back positive for can-cer. She then also insisted on being tested for the breast cancer susceptibility gene (BRCA) as an Ashkenazi Jew, she knew she was at a higher risk of having the gene.

That test also came back positive for the BRCA 1 gene mutation, meaning she was likely to get either ovarian or breast cancer before age 70. She underwent treatment and is now a 13-year survivor of breast can-cer.

As a mother with daughters and a son, she wanted them to be tested for the gene as well. Her two daughters, Rochelle and Alana, were positive; her son was negative. Now, her daughter, Alana, 24, is in treat-ment for a recurrence of breast cancer af-ter undergoing just last year a double mas-tectomy and chemotherapy.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ex-pect my daughter to have breast cancer in college, Maxx Schube, 55, said. This is not an old woman disease anymore.

Rochelle Schube, 29, is a previvor who chose to take action after an irregular MRI by having a double mastectomy and recon-structive surgery in June before any diag-nosis of cancer.

When someone tests positive for BRCA, they are encouraged to be tested for can-cer every six months. Rochelle said twice a year she would be on an emotional roller-coaster, wondering, Is this my time?

It gets emotional. Every six months youre worried. And especially after my sis-ter was diagnosed this was not something she was given the chance to do, Rochelle Schube said. After they found something with my MRI, I got scared and decided to have surgery to remove all doubt.

Because the Schube women speak openly about BRCA and their journeys with breast cancer, they are being honored at the Greater Atlanta Hadassahs Breast Strokes The Big Reveal event on Feb. 20 at The Stave Room at American Spirit Works.

The event raises funds for breast cancer research and genetic research programs at the Hadassah Medical Organization in Je-rusalem and for breast cancer education, advocacy and prevention in the U.S.

We wanted to be a wake-up call to the younger generation, Maxx Schube said. I can be mad this has happened to us or I can believe this is happening to us so we can let other people know [about BRCA], educate other people and be there for others to lean on.

Rochelle Schube also tries to see the

Continued from page 1

MAKING A DIFFERENCEFamily speaks openly about cancer ght


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positive despite the harrowing journeys she and her mother and sister are on.

This happens to whole families. Its not fun. If I can find a silver lining in all this, its that we as a family have come togeth-er and support each other. We are empow-ering each other in a powerless situation, she said.

Maxx Schube praises Alanas fight against cancer, saying she rocked it dur-ing last years surgery and chemo.

As a mom, to watch your daughter go through this is a nightmare. She has an amazing attitude, she said. She is ready to fight this.

Maxx Schube said because she and Al-ana discovered their lumps themselves, they were initially told there was nothing wrong with them.

More people need to not be afraid to speak up and insist they check it out, she said.

When Rochelle Schube decided to take preventative care through surgery, her in-surance company at first denied her claim. She took on the insurance company and went from being scared to fighting for the thing I was scared to do.

Rochelle Schube now volun-teers with Bright Pink, an organiza-tion helping young women dealing with breast and ovarian cancer. She facilitates a monthly support group and works individually with women.

When I found out I had [BRCA], I felt very alone. Now I have a com-munity, she said.

Rochelle Schube stress-es that having a preventative dou-

ble mastectomy a surgery made famous when actress Angelina Jolie came out pub-licly as having the surgery after she learned she carries the BRCA 1 gene is not a deci-sion made lightly.

People have asked, What else are you cutting off your body? And thats not what this is about, she said. I will forever re-member when my sister and mom were di-agnosed with cancer, going to chemother-apy its heartbreaking, she said. I didnt want to be the next one.

And her decision to speak out about her journey is simply a way to help others. Too many myths and misconceptions exist that stigmatize women who decide to have pre-ventative surgeries, she added. People have even asked her if she was just unhappy with her breasts.

Mastectomy is not the same as aug-mentation. Its painful and its different, she said.

Somebody needs to take a stand. And whats the alternative to not speaking out? To internalize this and let others stumble? No.

SPECIAL

From left, Rochelle, Maxx and Alana Schube all carry the BRCA 1 gene mutation, which significantly

increases the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

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VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTSHARP & VIOLINSunday, Feb. 21, 4-5 p.m. Oglethorpe Uni-versity Museum of Arts Skylight Gallery Con-cert Series presents Lynne Aspnes, harp, and Justin Bruns, assistant concertmaster of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, performing works by Bach, Manuel de Falla, Kreisler, Ca-mille Saint-Saens and more. General admis-sion: $10; free for OUMA members or with a Petrel Pass. 4484 Peachtree Rd., Brookhaven, 30319. Email: [email protected] or visit: http://museum.oglethorpe.edu/events/ for details.

KARLA HARRISSunday, Feb. 21, 4:30-6:30 p.m. The Her-itage Winter Classics series concludes when Karla Harris, accompanied by the Ted Howe Trio, sings the Dave and Iola Brubeck Song-book. $5 for HSS members; $10 non-mem-bers. Held indoors. Call 404-851-9111 or email: [email protected] to learn more. Heritage Hall, 6110 Bluestone Rd., Sandy Springs, 30328. www.heritagesan-dysprings.org. http://karlaharris.com.

LEARN SOMETHINGSELF-PUBLISH Th ursday, Feb. 11, 6-7:45 p.m. Ebooks have made self-publishing more popular than ever. Topics: the importance of editing and re-writing; building your writers platform; eb-ooks vs. print; marketing; approaching a pub-lisher/agent. Free and open to the public. For beginning adult authors. Reserve a spot by calling: 404-814-3500. Buckhead Branch Li-brary, Small Meeting Room, 269 Buckhead Ave., NE, Atlanta, 30305. Email: [email protected] with questions.

BIRD COUNTSaturday, Feb. 13, 9:30 a.m. The Dunwoody Nature Center holds classes for adults and chil-dren to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count. Learn species identifi cation, the impor-tance of the bird count, basic observation and how to enter the tally. Computers onsite. Addi-tional classes on Feb. 12, 11 a.m., and Feb. 15, 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. Open to all. Free, reservations recommended. Call 770-394-3322 for details. Visit: www.dunwoodynature.org to sign up. 5343 Roberts Dr., Dunwoody, 30338.

STARTING SEEDSSaturday, Feb. 13, 10-11:30 a.m. Does winter create dreams of spring lowers? Jumpstart your spring planting and learn about winter sowing techniqueswstarting seeds in recycled plastic containers to pro-duce hardy, strong spring seedlings. Bring one or more plastic containers; supply your own

seeds if you wish. $10, adults; $5 for children; free for those 3 and under. RSVP to 678-315-0836. Regis-ter online and see more: www.bhnp.org. Blue Heron Nature Preserve, 4055 Roswell Rd., Atlanta, 30342.

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COOKIE ARTMonday, Feb. 8, 4-5:30 p.m. Create and decorate works of art on cookies. Attendees will take home their masterpieces to share...or not! Free. All are welcome. Suitable for youngsters 7-13. Open to the fi rst 15 partic-ipants. Call 770-512-4640 or visit the Dun-woody Branch Library to register. 5339 Cham-blee-Dunwoody Rd., Dunwoody, 30338.

GET SWEET!Wednesday, Feb. 10, 3-4:30 p.m. Make de-licious chocolates for your valentine or for yourself! Free. All are welcome. Appropriate for those aged 10-17. Open to the fi rst 15 par-ticipants. Registration began Jan. 18. Visit the Brookhaven Branch Library or call 404-848-7140 to sign up. 1242 North Druid Hills Rd., Brookhaven, 30319.

HOLIDAY CRAFTSSaturday, Feb. 13, 10-11 a.m. Explore old and new holiday traditions with make and

SELMA, LORD, SELMATuesday, Feb. 9, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Bring the family to see the movie Selma, Lord, Selma, about a young girl, in 1965, who becomes a devoted follower of Martin Luther King Jr. Free and open to the community. Rated PG. Snacks provided. Open to the fi rst 20 par-ticipants. Brookhaven Branch Library, 1242 North Druid Hills Rd., Brookhaven, 30319. Call 404-848-7140 to fi nd out more.

MOSE TOLLIVERFriday, Feb. 12, 4-4:45 p.m. In honor of Black History Month, join others for a discussion of Mose T., one of the Souths most famous folk art-ists. Be inspired, and create a masterpiece of your own! Free. Open to the community. For those ages 7-12. Limited to the fi rst 10 participants. Call 770-512-4640 or visit the Dunwoody Branch Li-brary to register. 5339 Chamblee-Dunwoody Rd., Dunwoody, 30338.

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take crafts and games geared toward Val-entines Day. Free. For kids aged 5-10. Her-itage Sandy Springs Museum, 6075 Sandy Springs Circle, Sandy Springs, 30328. For de-tails, email: [email protected], call 404-851-9111x2 or visit: www.heritag-esandysprings.org.

SAT PREPSunday, Feb. 21, 2-5 p.m. Get ready for the new SAT at this study session hosted by C2Education. Light snacks and water pro-vided. Advance registration required by call-ing 404-303-6130. For teens. Sandy Springs Branch Library, 395 Mount Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs, 30328. Questions? Email: [email protected].

FUNDRAISERSBOOK SALEFriday, Feb.12, 12-6 p.m. The Friends of the Northside Branch Library sell donat-ed books. Browse nonfiction, science fiction, health, childraising and much more. Thurs-

day, Feb. 11 for members only, 12-6 p.m. Open to the public Friday, Feb. 12, 12-6; Saturday, Feb. 13, 10-4. 3295 Northside Parkway, Atlanta, 30327. Call 404-814-3508 or email: [email protected] with questions.

TASTE OF DUNWOODYSaturday, Feb. 20, 7 p.m. Come out for food and drinks while supporting Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta, at the 12th annual Taste of Dunwoody event. Tickets, $100 (includes two drinks). Attendees enjoy dishes provided by more than 25 Dunwoody restaurants, silent auction, cash bar and live music. The Westin Atlanta Perimeter North, 7 Concourse Pkwy., NE, Sandy Springs, 30328. Visit: www.choa.org for additional details and to buy tickets.

Facebook.com/TheReporterNewspapers twitter.com/Reporter_News10 | Out & About

BY JOE [email protected]

This theater season, plays really are the things at the-aters in San-dy Springs and Dunwoody.

At least thats the idea. The two local theater compa-nies are putting

on plays that center on actors. Their stag-es will fi ll with actors playing actors and plays within plays.

Patrick Hill, director of Act 3 Theaters version of Moon Over Buffalo, which opens in April and closes out the theaters

2015-2016 season, says it gives his audience a free trip backstage.

Theater pa-trons like to see the background, whats going on behind the scenes, said Hill, whose show fol-lows the Feb. 20

conclusion of the run of the theaters current production, Dogfi ght. Youre giving the audi-ence exactly what they want. You get a look be-hind the curtain.

In Dunwoody, the Stage Door Players are presenting I Hate Ham-let, a play that puts its theme right there in the title. Its about a television actor who resists portray-ing Shakespeares famed character onstage, only to fi nd hes being haunted by the ghost of legendary actor John Barry-more, said Robert Egizio, the Players pro-ducing artistic director and the director of I Hate Hamlet.

Plays about plays have been around since at least Shakespeares day, but they still draw a crowd. Egizio said I Hate Ham-let packed the theater on its opening weekend.

Besides, the directors said, staging plays about plays can be as much fun for the ac-tors as the audience.

It defi nitely appeals to theater people, Egizio said. Part of the appeal comes from the challenge as the actors must portray several characters at once the actor and the character the actor is playing. Youre playing two characters, in essence, he said.

You get the chance to play the actor and you get to play the actor within the actor.

In essence, my Gemini personality gets split into three. Its fantastic.

But part of the fun in some of these plays-within-plays, both Hill and Egizio said, comes from watching the characters onstage deal with backstage meltdowns. The actors love it because they can relate to it, Egizio said. Weve all been through that crap.

Hills play at Act 3 is a farce that takes place backstage during a theatrical perfor-mance and actually includes bits of two other plays Cyrano de Bergerac and Private Lives that the characters pres-ent as part of the story. Some of the humor comes when they mix up the two, Hill said.

Its funny because its almost like an in-side joke, like a little love letter to the the-ater community, Hill said.

Hill, a 33-year-old accountant who lives in Sandy Springs and is a member of the theaters board of directors, said Act 3 de-cided to stage the play because our audi-ence wanted a good comedy.

At the same time, the show seemed like it would be fun to put on. Its one of those things, a show about theater people. We know the humor so well, we can execute it. We can fi nd the punch lines and make [the audience] feel like theyre peeking behind the curtain.

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Moon Over Bu aloAct 3 ProductionsWhere: 6285-R Roswell Rd., Sandy SpringsWhen: Performance times and dates: April 15, 16, 22, 23, 29 and 30 at 8 p.m.; April 24 at 3 p.m.Tickets: $23 for adult reserved; $20 for student/senior reserved; $18 for adult general admission; $15 for student/senior general admission.For more: 770-241-1905 or act3productions.org

Actors playing actors gives a look behind the curtain

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Dan Ford, left, as Andrew Rally, listens to Robin Bloodworth, portraying John Barrymore, as he is given some last-minute

secrets, tips and tricks of the trade on opening night.

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Steve Grossman has a passion for the arts, but not the restaurant business.

So, after nearly four years of operat-ing Steves Live Music in Sandy Springs, a place where musicians and artists have performed to appreciative audiences over hummus or vegetarian quesadillas, the venue itself may soon be closing unless Grossman can find a partner willing to take on the food side of the business.

Im not going to continue running a res-taurant past June, Grossman said. Steves Live Music could cease to exist in this loca-tion if I dont find a partner. Cultural arts are real important to me and I know one space is not optimal in terms of trying to create music in the community.

His lease expires in July on the build-ing on Hildebrand Drive where Steves Live Music has been located since mid-2012. Grossman actively is seeking partners, say-ing his venue is ripe for a new chef or res-taurateur to come in and make a mark while enjoying a built-in fan base of music and dance lovers.

At the same time, Grossman said he is exploring ways to broaden his reach by working with area restaurants, dance stu-dios and other venues to bring in live per-formances, not only in Sandy Springs but in neighboring cities as well. However, San-dy Springs, he believes, is ground zero for a musical awakening. I see Sandy Springs as fertile ground for becoming the next Nash-ville or Austin for the music scene, he said.

With the many restaurants and mixed-use developments going up, Grossman has a vision of people strolling the streets and walking past restaurants or theaters where they could step in and listen to live music. City Springs, the new city center and the de-velopment surrounding it, is where Gross-man believes live performances could real-ly take off.

Since he opened, Grossman said more than 1,500 musicians have played Steves Live Music. From folk to bluegrass to a Bea-tles cover band to Gypsy Opera and Celtic

dancing, Grossman serves a niche in metro Atlanta. I probably get emails from five or six people a day wanting to play here. That adds up, he said.

With his contacts with artists and ven-ues, Grossman wants to expand to just booking acts. Already he is booking tours for some bands in North America and Eu-rope, he said.

My real passion is music. I want to bring music to the community. I want to bring art to the community. I just want to bring live music to everyone, he said.

Steves Live Music owner singing a new tune in entertainment

DYANA BAGBY

Steve Grossman, owner of Steves Live Music in Sandy Springs, says changes are coming to his business, including possibly closing down his popular venue.

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Facebook.com/TheReporterNewspapers twitter.com/Reporter_News12 | Commentary

Q&A: Perimeter tra c

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Published by Springs Publishing LLC 6065 Roswell Road, Suite 225

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Phone: 404-917-2200 Fax: 404-917-2201

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Contributors

Robin Jean Conte, Julie Herron Carson, Phil Mosier, Clare S. Richie, Megan Volpert

CorrecionThe story Mixed-use develop-

ments are a hot trend, but theyre not for everyone in the Jan. 22 - Feb. 4Perimeter Business section gave an incorrect name for Steve Tart of Gen-esis Real Estate Advisers and the San-dy Springs Planning Commission.

More than a dozen new o ce or residential projects are being proposed or are underway throughout north Atlanta and the Perimeter area. Do you think local communities will be able to absorb the new development?

My only problem with it is infrastruc-turetraffi c [and similar issues]. I cant blame people

for wanting to live in my neighborhoodI

just dont like the push for density, which seems to be the policy in all these munic-ipalities.

Clinton Horn

I think its all a good idea as long as we can manage our traffi c.

Richard Ellis

We already have streams of traffi c go-ing through the neighborhood. I dont know how theyre going to get there and get home.

Karen Whitehead

They always say its all there at MARTA, but

how many peo-ple are going to use

MARTA? Traffi c is al-ready horrible. Its going to get worse. ... Itll just mean Ill avoid that whole area. Itll change where I shop, where I go. Right now you have to plan when youre going to do stuff because traffi c is just horrible.

Susan Clarke

I do feel the wave ... of peo-ple moving into public schools and supporting public schools is rising. Id like to see more parental interest in our public schools and involvement.

Kirsten Neufeld

Traffi c, traffi c, traffi c!Cheryl Dupree

Im 100 percent opposed to any building above four or fi ve sto-ries simply for the fact I bought in Brookhaven for its maintained tree can- o-py and beautiful curb appeal. Traffi c is going to be a major problem. I live off Peachtree Road and its an absolute disas-ter every day. [More development] means extended rush hours.

Charles Jones

A lot of build-ings in the Perim-eter area are day-time occupancy. Some of these resi-dential developments seem like there should be more theaters. If we continue to put in these large complexes, I think we should re-quire more entertainment opportuni-ties so we can keep it from being a ghost town like downtown Atlanta was before the Olympics.

Greg Crnkovich

My concern is [there are] already

traffi c problems around that entire area. I think its go-ing to be a huge

traffi c problem. My concern about develo-

ment around the city is, I see some-thing totally different from when I grew up. Developers used to build around treesI see huge areas that are being to-tally wiped out.

Donald Gilner

No. They havent taken the steps in the past that are needed to pave the way.

Richard Whitehead

FEB. 5 - FEB. 18, 2016 www.ReporterNewspapers.net Commentary | 13

SS

Letter to the Editor

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If you havent been under the pecan tree yet, please think of us for hostess, baby, wedding, birthday and just because gifts. We have jewelry for all ages, and we have an ever-expanding mens gift section. We have a great selection of Valentines Day Gifts! Please visit our website for a list of brands we carry and then visit us!

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To the editor:Thank you for writing the article [Dun-

woody Reporter Jan. 22-Feb. 4] updating the status of the Donaldson-Bannister Farm & Cemetery. This property is truly a treasure for the citizens of Dunwoody, and has be-come an iconic property similar to the Cheek-Spruill Farmhouse located at the corner of Mount Vernon and Chamblee-Dunwoody roads.

Dunwoody Preservation Trust (DPT) owns the Cheek-Spruill Farmhouse and is responsible for its listing on the Nation-al Register of Historic Places. Dunwoody Preservation Trust is also responsible for listing the Donaldson-Bannister Farm & Cemetery on the National Register of His-toric Places.

The relationship of DPT to the Donald-son-Bannister Trust is outlined under a Fa-cilities Usage Agreement between DPT and the city of Dunwoody. DPT has not been contracted by the city of Dunwoody to ren-ovate and repair the Donaldson-Bannis-ter property. Rather, DPT is working with the city in the rehabilitation of the proper-ty. That rehabilitation includes the demo-lition of the rear (non-historic) barn and replacing it with ADA bathrooms and a multipurpose room. This project has been arranged via a 2015 grant that includes city funding, DPT funding, and corporate con-

tributions of supplies and materials. The initial facilities usage agreement

provided for city funds for capital improve-ments that are presently being utilized in the stabilization of the house. These funds have been carried forward from prior city budgets. The 2016 city budget includes $100,000 in funds that have been allocat-ed toward the rehabilitation of the prop-erty. The total amount of city funds spent and committed to the rehabilitation of the property during the last three years is $450,000. The total amount of DPT funds spent and committed to the property dur-ing the last three years is $190,000.

While rehabilitation is far from com-plete, DPT will be opening the property for tours beginning in late February. Rehabil-itation activity will continue throughout 2016 and well into 2017, however, the prop-erty will be open for community use this year and throughout the rehabilitation. We are actively seeking community volun-teers (groups) who are interested in work-ing on the rehabilitation.

DPT looks forward to adding this prop-erty to the roster of parks available for community usage.

Jim WilliamsVice president,

Dunwoody Preservation Trust, Inc.

DO OR DIETIve tried to diet, but Im not good at de-

nying myself. For 23 years I havent tak-en a shower without someone knocking at the door with a question that cant wait another two minutesso yes, Im going to eat that cookie.

My mind and my body have an agree-ment. I dole out positive reinforcement treats to my body throughout the day, and it gets me out of bed in the morning.

There are so many theories, so many methods for dieting, and Ive danced with them all and sent them home happy.

Ive heard to eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pau-per. I pretty much eat breakfast, lunch, mid-morning snacks and mid-afternoon happy hours like an exiled prince, and dinners like a freaking emperor. So, to use a more accurate comparison, I have the diet of a sumo wrestler. I nibble and nosh throughout the day, and I eat the heaviest, most caloric food in the last two hours be-fore I go to bed, so that all of the calories can join hands and turn into layers of fat overnight.

Ive heard to limit yourself to one sweet thing a week. I tried that and end up mak-ing myself a weekly dessert the size of a Hawaiian island.

Ive heard to count calories. The prob-lem with this method is that I am an un-scrupulous cheater. I will not count the spoons full of ice cream that I eat, straight from the box, or the brownies that are stuck to the side of the pan that I have to pry out and consume before putting to-gether a tray for the class party, or the melted peanut butter-chocolate power bar that I find between the minivan seats while Im waiting in the carpool line. I only count lettuce and rice cakes. So, no matter how much I actually eat during the day, my calorie count always amounts to roughly 235.

Ive heard to eat six mini-meals a day. My mini-meals turn into one constant land-cruise buffet. There might as well be an ice sculpture of a swan on my kitch-en counter, right beside the uneaten fries and the container of Boy Scout popcorn.

Ive heard about the Starbucks dietthat one wom-an lost 85 pounds by eating exclu-sively at Star-bucks. I have been pretty close to do-ing that diet myself, but the pumpkin bread and cake pops kept winning out over the oatmeal.

The frustrating thing for me is that it wasnt always this way. Despite giving birth to four children, despite the fact that two of them were born at the same time, despite the fact that my body weight in-creased by half during that twins preg-nancy, I always managed to return to my normal weight and jeans size, and main-tain it steadily.

Not true now. I have had another birth-day and there are squatters at my belly. The poundsabout 10 of themhave set-tled along my mid-section and are mak-ing plans to retire there. I dont want to take them with me when I finally, one day, become an empty nester. I want to leave them in the basement along with the box-es of kindergarten artwork.

My mother has stayed slim and trim well into her senior years, and when asked how she does it, her standard reply is, I eat whatever I want and I never exercise.

Ive tried that method too, but it doesnt seem to work as well for me. Ive decided that the only thing left for me to do is fol-low another piece of moms adviceto stand up straight and suck in my stomach.

Robins NestRobin Jean

ConteRobin Conte is a writer

and mother of four who lives in Dunwoody. She

can be contacted at [email protected].


DHA names Dennis Crean Citizen of the YearBY DYANA [email protected]

Dennis Crean was loved by many people.

That was evident at the Dunwoody Homeowners Association meeting Jan. 31 as his wife, Marie Cre-an, and daughter, Alison Rosch, accepted a plaque honoring him as the or-ganizations Citizen of the Year.

I was very honored, Marie Crean said of the standing ovation they re-ceived in tribute to her late husband. He would have been very humbled. He was just loved by so many people. Its such a good feeling for the fam-ily.

I was just feeling the love in the room, she said.

Dennis Crean, a longtime DHA board member and Dunwoody volunteer and city activist, preferred to work behind the scenes, his wife said.

He was a board member of the Na-ture Center and also of the Citizens for Dunwoody, a nonprofit group that led

the effort in incorporating Dunwoody. He was active in Dunwoodys Rotary

Club, Knights of Colum-bus and All Saints Catho-lic Church.

This is a bittersweet presentation this year, said DHA President Rob-ert Wittenstein. Dennis contributions to the city of Dunwoody are enor-mous. He will be dearly missed.

Marie Crean said her husband worked hard to make Dunwoody an inde-pendent city because he believed residents should be able to make their own decisions when it comes to governance. Being part of a city also gave resi-dents a sense of pride and community, he believed.

She said she loved her husbands willingness to be involved in community activities and his friendli-ness with others.

He never met someone he couldnt talk to, she said.

Dennis Crean, who suffered from pulmonary fibrosis, a scarring of the lungs, died Nov. 1, two weeks after a se-

Dennis Crean

rious fall.He fell while we were going to Stage

Doors Players, she said. The fall fur-ther injured his lungs and he wasnt able to recover.

We had just gotten back from a three-week trip to France, she said. It was a shock.

A large portrait of her husband sits in their great room. The plaque present-ed by DHA now sits next to it.

Its there so everyone can see it, she said.

DYANA BAGBY

Dunwoody Homeowners Association President Robert Wittenstein, left, presents a plaque honoring Dennis Crean as Citizen of the Year to his wife Marie Crean, center, and their daughter

Alison Rosch. Dennis Crean died Nov. 1 due to complications from pulmonary fi brosis. He was a longtime board member of the DHA and worked for many years to incorporate the city.


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Dunwoody Homeowners Association presents annual awards on Jan. 31

PHOTOS DYANA BAGBY

Clockwise, from top left, Dunwoody City Councilwoman and Fourth of July Parade co-chair Pam Tallmadge announced this years parade theme is Duty, Honor and

Country. Grand marshals will be a police officer, a firefighter and an EMT.

U.S. Rep. Tom Price attended the DHA meeting and discussed ways Republicans are working to back a single piece of health care legislation to replace President Obamas Affordable Care Act.

The Dunwoody Nature Center announced its biggest honor, the Dave Adams Award, went to UPS. In 2015, UPS donated $30,000 for the centers Wildcat Creek Restoration and Milkweed Project to protect the monarch butterfly. UPS employees also participated in five volunteer

events, giving nearly 200 hours of their time. Amy McMorrow, far left, board president of the Dunwoody Nature Center, presents Norma Brown and Ken Glaus of UPS with the trophy.

DHA President Robert Wittenstein presents Bloom Orthondotics, headed by Dr. Sunya Sweeney, far right, with the DHA Business of the Year award.


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Historic auto shop delays roundabouts and park planBY JOHN [email protected]

The former Eddies Au-tomotive on Mount Vernon Highway in Sandy Springs is historic, according to the state preservation offi ce, a decision that has thrown a monkey wrench into city plans to replace the auto shop with new round-abouts and a park.

The city and state transportation of-fi cials dispute the designation. We have checked and we have not been able to fi nd any evidence George Washington had his horse fi xed at Eddies Automo-tive, Mayor Rusty Paul joked in a recent speech to a Buckhead community group, expressing the citys frustration.

But Jennifer Dixon of the state Histor-ic Preservation Division said the shopnow called Magic Mikes Automotiveis a historic artifact of the car-driven devel-opment boom along Roswell Road during the 1960s.

Therefore, it is HPDs opinion that the auto service garage is signifi cant as a good and representative example of this time period of development within the Roswell Road area and Sandy Springs as a whole, Dixon said in an email. Fur-thermore, it is HPDs opinion that the auto service garage is a good and repre-sentative example of Contemporary ar-chitecture as applied to commercial de-velopment.

The city sees the situation as anoth-er headache for its Mount Vernon round-abouts plan, which already had to be re-drawn to accommodate another historic designation for an entire neighborhood off Johnson Ferry Road. That required taking more land in front of the Mount Vernon Towers senior residences, which has triggered intense controversy.

For years, the city has planned to re-confi gure the unusual, X-shaped inter-section of Mount Vernon Highway and Johnson Ferry Road into dual round-abouts. The plan involves acquiring the western triangle of land in the intersec-tion where the auto shop sits near oth-er commercial buildings that are now vacant. About half of the triangle would be taken up by one of the roundabouts, while the rest, fronting on Roswell Road, would become a small park related to the City Springs project across the street.

The $14 million project entered the re-view pipeline in 2007, with GDOT agree-ing to pay 80 percent of the cost. Some of the money comes from Federal High-way Administration funds. One string at-tached to federal funding is a review of a road projects possible impacts on histor-ic resources, Assistant City Manager Bry-

ant Poole said. Under the National Historic Preser-

vation Act, that means identifying any adjacent properties that are on the Na-tional Register of Historic Places or that might be eligible because they are at least 50 years old. If there is such a proper-ty, Poole said, you have to demonstrate youve done everything you can do not to impact the resource.

In 2009, the city conducted the his-toric survey, which found that the Glen-wood Forest subdivision to the south of Johnson Ferry is historic as an example of mid-20th century architecture. GDOT and the Historic Preservation Division agreed with that designation and the city shifted the roundabouts plan northward to take only a small sliver of right of way in the Glenwood Forest area. The Pres-ervation Division later ruled the project would have no adverse effect, meaning no historic mitigations are needed.

But as the roundabouts plan headed into fi nal design and got in line for fund-ing, the auto shop recently passed its 50th birthday and required historic review as well, Poole said. This time, the Preserva-tion Division and GDOT were at odds.

The city still is deciding on its offi cial response, Poole said. An appeal is possi-ble, and the historic designation does not bar redevelopment, but could require mitigations ranging from moving the entire building to erecting a memorial plaque on its site, Poole said.

Paul said at a recent City Council meeting that he petitioned members of Congress to remove the historic review requirement for this particular project in the federal funding bill, but Poole said that move came too late.

The city may appeal the historic des-ignation to the Federal Highway Admin-istration via GDOT, which could take a year or more, Poole said. Another option is giving up on federal funding and using only city money. Or the city may have to do some form of mitigation for demolish-ing the building.

Please know, this process is simply that, a processonce complete, the proj-ect continues, Dixon said.

JOHN RUCH

This auto shop, at 260 Mount Vernon Highway, is considered historic by the state Historic Preservation Division.


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Editors note: News knows few boundar-ies. Here are some of the local news stories breaking nearby in the city of Sandy Springs that may be of interest to Dunwoody resi-dents.

Sandy Springs offi cials are contem-plating turning a portion of Roswell Road into a tree-lined boulevard and renaming it Roswell Boulevard. Thats among the big ideas coming out of the citys Next Ten planning process.

Its more than just a land-use plan. Its a vision for the community, said Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul, introducing a presentation on the work thus far for the Next Tencombining a revision of the citys Comprehensive Plan, a rewrite of its zoning code and detailed plans for cer-tain areas.

The concepts met interest and curios-ity from at least 70 residents who attend-ed a community workshop, held Jan. 27 at the Sherwood Event Hall on Roswell Road. The sheer scope of the visionfrom mixed-use nodes along a new tree-lined Roswell Boulevard to a kind of Central Park for Perimeter Centerap-peared to engage the crowd, but it kept mostly quiet.

The general thrust of the planning is more mixed-use redevelopment and re-ducing car travel. But the consultant team, led by Rhodeside & Harwell, is add-ing some bigger proposals that would transform entire areas, such as routing some form of alternative public transit east-west through central Sandy Springs. And a much-discussed idea of a Sandy Springs monorail was talked about some more.

Also in Sandy Springs, plans to re-place a church with a 201-unit senior housing building is drawing traffi c and density concernsand some grudging acceptance. About 70 residents attended a community meeting Jan. 25 to hear about Parc Communities plans for the Apostles Church site at Glenridge Drive and Ham-mond Drive.

I live in Sandy Springs, said Parc Communities President and CEO Roy Dickson, sympathizing with visions of traffi c nightmares discussed at the meet-ing, which was held at the church. I un-derstand all the dynamics. And I under-stand something is going to happen on a corner like this that is out of the ordinary in the way of density, something that is going to invite questions.

Dickson and attorney Chip Collins, a former Sandy Springs city councilman, offered to shave 12 feet of dirt from the site to reduce its height. No one in the crowd seemed thrilled, but several said that in todays skyscraper-sprouting San-dy Springs, they were willing to settle for

a relatively low-impact project.To be completely honest, this is not

what I want[but] this could be a much worse possible propertya gas station, for Gods sake, said Scott Nelson, a Glen-ridge resident.

Meanwhile, state transportation of-fi cials planned to start work this month on a controversial project to build round-abouts at the Riverside Drive/I-285 inter-change in Sandy Springs. Construction will continue through November, GDOT says. The $5.6 million project will replace ramps with roundabouts and rehab the Riverside Drive bridge over I-285.

And the city of Sandy Springs plans to buy a Hammond Drive residential lot as a placeholder for its long-planned road-widening project, the City Council decided Feb. 2.

The $375,000 purchase of 590 Ham-mond sparked some community con-cerns of the road widening secretly be-ginning.

But City Manager John McDonough said the project still needs years of plan-ning and public meetings.

The purchase is a protective buy to secure right of way now before infi ll re-development makes property costs sky-rocket, McDonough said. And he indicat-ed that the city might make more such purchases.

McDonough said that it would be ir-responsible of the city to not buy the land now relatively cheaply as infi ll houses nearby go for nearly $1 million, knowing that the long-term plan calls for the widening of the corridor.

The 590 Hammond site, at the corner of Lorell Terrace, is currently empty after a developer recently demolished a house there for a planned infi ll project.

The city is buying the land from that developer, Mehmet Olcal of Roswell-based Alphasibel LLC. Olcal bought the property last year for $250,000, accord-ing to property records.

I understand the protective buy, said Steve Oppenheimer, president of the Glenridge Hammond Neighborhood As-sociation, but added, I have great con-cern about the project is going to impact our neighborhood in the interim.

A few years ago, the city bought an-other property on Hammond at Kayron Drive. The city demolished a house there that was damaged by stormwater prob-lems, Councilman Tibby DeJulio said.

DeJulio and Assistant City Manager Bryant Poole said Hammond has been seen as a problem street for decades. Its width varies, and the section between Roswell Road and Perimeter Center is a narrow choke point that also lacks side-walks, forcing pedestrians to use rugged trails.

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PCIDs study backs yover bridge extension on Pill HillBY JOHN [email protected]

A new Pill Hill road extending the Pe-rimeter Center Parkway flyover bridge to Johnson Ferry Road would aid traffi c and is worth a full study, according to a report delivered last week to the Perime-ter Center Improvement Districts, which will hold a community meeting on the plan in coming months.

Meanwhile, PCIDs is close to secur-ing a $4 million grant to build an already planned Pill Hill project that would make bicycle and pedestrian improvements to Peachtree-Dunwoody Road and Lake Hearn Drive, said Yvonne Williams, the PCIDs president and CEO. The work also would make room for a PATH400 multi-

use trail exten-sion through the intersec-tion.

Both proj-ects aim to boost walkabil-ity, connectivity and all the things to build an urban cen-ter, Williams said.

The PCIDs flyover bridge over I-285 was completed in 2007 and is sometimes jokingly called the bridge to nowhere as it ends at Lake Hearn Drive. However, PCIDs long planned to make it a bridge to somewhere with a 2,000-foot road ex-tending from the Lake Hearn Drive inter-section to Johnson Ferry, running along the Sandy Springs-Brookhaven border on

the eastern side of Emory Saint Joseph Hospitals campus.

The flyover bridge extension idea re-vived last year amid renewed Pill Hill traf-fi c concerns related to plans for a large apartment development. PCIDs commis-sioned a preliminary feasibility study for $5,000 from Gresham, Smith and Part-ners, a fi rm that is also conducting an Ashford-Dunwoody Road improvement study for the city of Brookhaven.

The study, delivered to the PCIDs board in late January, says the new road would produce a signifi cant reduction of Peachtree-Dunwoody Road traffi c and no signifi cant increase in Johnson Fer-ry traffi c.

About 700 feet of the road would have to be a bridge over a stream and wetlands, the study says. Exactly how and where it would connect with Johnson Ferry is also a question, as Williams said there are two or three possible alignments.

It would be an expensive project. Its not a small-ticket item, Williams said.

The study was fi rst-level work with no technical fi ndings, Williams said. So the next step is convening city offi -cials, Pill Hill hospitals and residents for a meeting to see if theres support to go

into a deeper-dive study, she said. The PCIDs will arrange that meeting, prob-ably sometime in the next few months, Williams said.

At the same January board meet-ing, PCIDs learned that that Atlanta Re-gional Commission staff recommended $4 million in grant funding to build the Peachtree-Dunwoody/Lake Hearn im-provement project, which PCIDs and the city of Sandy Springs began planning in 2012. The project would widen both streetsincluding Peachtree-Dunwoody beneath the I-285 bridgeto add full bi-cycle and pedestrian crosswalk ameni-ties, Williams said. It also makes room for an extension of the PATH 400 multi-use trail.

The project would take about two years to build and must coordinate with the states upcoming reconstruction of the I-285/Ga. 400 interchange.

The grant still needs a vote by the ARC board, which is expected in March. Would I be surprised if we didnt get it? I would absolutely be surprised, Williams said, noting the projects strong support from city and MARTA offi cials.

SPECIAL

Top, PCIDs is close to securing a grant to make bicycle and pedestrian improvements to Peachtree-Dunwoody Road and Lake Hearn Drive, including beneath the I-285 bridge. Above, Gresham, Smith and Partners conducted a preliminary feasibility

study for PCIDs on extending the flyover bridge from Perimeter Center Parkway to Johnson Ferry Road. To see a larger version, go to ReporterNewspapers.net.


and parking impacts on his patients.We want to make sure tenants stay

here, Forrest said during the meeting. Were very cognizant of that.

The mixed-use concept includes street-level retail in the towers along Mount Ver-non Highway, as well as a retail alley facing a semicircular path between the ex-isting hexagonal building and the new tow-ers.

The existing building will get a signifi-cant facelift that is already underway, For-rest said. That includes cutting three new entrances into its central courtyard. That courtyard is current private, but will be opened to the public and possibly host con-certs or performances, Forrest said.

He said that Hong Property wanted to

keep the hexagonal building because of its unusual design and potential as an attrac-tive retail and restaurant spot.

Because the meeting, held at the exist-ing Perimeter Center West office building, was a preliminary review required before filing actual plans, few other details were available. Hill said the filing should hap-pen in February, with the DRI and Sandy Springs city zoning reviews running into the fall.

The developers will seek rezoning from office to mixed-use and anticipate vari-ances for excessive height and less park-ing that is usually required because of the proximity to MARTA.

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Traffic the top concern with Sandy Springs five-skyscraper plan

BY JOHN [email protected]

Five new Sandy Springs skyscrapers could mean thousands of more cars on lo-cal streets, raising concerns among about 45 residents and business owners who at-tended the first community meeting on Jan. 20 about the massive redevelopment of 1117 Perimeter Center West.

Representatives of the developersidentified as Hong Property Trust of Syd-ney, Australiasaid the mixed-use nature of the project could reduce its effect on traf-fic. And a direct connection to the Sandy Springs MARTA station, which sits under part of the site, is a potential traffic mitiga-tion, project attorney Jessica Hill said.

The idea is that its live, work and play, and you never have to leave, said Rob For-rest, the real estate professional whos rep-resenting Hong Property in the deal.

But the sheer scale of the project and some of its preliminary numbers still wor-ried residents, especially with other ma-jor redevelopments coming nearby, such as the planned headquarters for Mercedes-Benz USA in Sandy Springs and the new building to house State Farm in Dunwoody.

The 1117 Perimeter Center West plan calls for about 1,600 residential units in three towers; about 1.5 million square feet of offices in two towers; and about 200,000 square feet of new retail and restaurant space. The towers could stand 20 to 29 sto-ries tall. Thats in addition to the hexagonal office building currently on the 13.5-acre

site, which would remain with modifica-tions.

About 5,200 new parking spaces would be created in a new deck, compared with 1,300 on the site now, Hill said. Some park-ing might need to go off-site during con-struction, Hill said, though its early for such details.

The proposed MARTA connection would be through an existing emergency exit tunnel, Hill said.

The project will be deemed a Develop-ment of Regional Impact and get a mas-sive transportation study, said John Walker of Kimley-Horn, the traffic consulting firm hired by the developer.

One resident of Mount Vernon Woods who works at the Arbys fast-food compa-ny headquarters next door said most of her coworkers do not use MARTA and that cur-rent traffic is already bad.

Its a nightmareGod forbid if it rains or snows, she said. As soon as [the plan] hit the papers, everybody in the [Arbys] building across the street started freaking out.

Bill Woulfin, CEO of Metabolic Testing Services, was among several of the exist-ing buildings commercial tenants who ex-pressed concerns about the plan. He said his business has been there 13 years, and he learned at the meeting of the develop-ers intent to turn the first two floors into retail or service businesses only, meaning he would be moved elsewhere.

Thats the first we heard of it, Woulfin said, adding he is concerned about traffic

SPECIAL

Above: updated design illustrations of the

skyscrapers and new retail and restaurant

space proposed for 1117 Perimeter Center West.

JOHN RUCH

John Walker of Kimley-Horn explains traffic issues to attendees, while project attorney Jessica Hill looks on, at the Jan. 20 community meeting about the

1117 Perimeter Center West redevelopment, held at the project site.


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The battle over Brook Run Theater

to fight because of how old the building is, Drange said. He and his wife, who live just a couple of miles from the park, said they support the idea of refurbish-ing the building and love the idea of a community theater located in the park

Its community development. Its a nice setting, he said.

We like theater. Were regular the-atergoers. It would employ local actors and actresses, she said. This is a nice area. The development in the area has been great. I dont know why there is such a controversy. I guess because of the millions it would take to fix it up.

Battle over fundingCosts associated with what to do

with the theater building vary, depend-ing on whom you ask.

The Brook Run Conservancy, which backs renovation of the theater, in Jan-uary sent the Dunwoody City Council a feasibility study it had done to deter-mine costs of renovating the building. That study estimates rehabilitating and equipping the theater would cost, on the low end, about $7.5 million, and on the high end, approximately $18 mil-li

02-5-2016 Dunwoody Reporter

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