We'll see how far you get with that Williams Park Neighborhood.

The ten year moratorium on apartments expired in 2008 and wasn't renewed by the city.

The city owns two small parcels on the jonquil property. The mayor and council have plans to sell it to the current owners of the jonquil property. The city should keep the land and work with current owners to design two pocket parks on the property. No lights, no water works just a natural tasteful natural setting if you please. Why would the city officials allow apartments to be built in Smyrna city limits? We have plenty of housing. Apartments/housing would bring more unwanted traffic to that intersection. J-O-B-S are needed. Think office park white collar jobs not retail or housing.

This is very frustrating. Folks - this place has been and will continue to be a giant patch of dirt until someone takes the risk to develop it. NO ONE is going to develop it without a residential component, no one. Not happening. No one is going to build condos/townhomes. Please get over it, it is not happening. The only housing that can be built (that the market wants) is apartments.

Can we please stop assuming that all apartments and their residents are the same? West Village does not equal Mitchell's Park. Me and a number of my friends are all young, doing pretty darn well in life, graduated from schools like UGA and Ga Tech, and guess what...we all rent here in Smyrna. Maybe we aren't the type of person you are looking for your in your town? If development occurs over the next 12-18 months, a number of us are thinking about BUYING in Smyrna. Unfortunately, right now we are leaning towards moving closer to a development like West Village though.

I am blown away at the "lists of requests" that people are demanding for this development. I hate to break this to you, but you, teh citizens of Smyrna - currently have a brown patch of dirt taking up the majority of your central townplace...and it ain't going anywhere anytime soon unless you are a little more constructive with Branch.

Smyrna NEEDS upscale apartments! People calling for anything except apartments don't understand the market. The market is saturated with property for sale, the market is saturated with office space for lease. Smyrna city limits has 0 nice apartments!

The area around Market Village needs more dense housing options, so maybe there will be enough residence to keep the shops in Market Village from going out of business. In this market, that means apartments. Don't worry, once the market turns the apartments can be converted to condos.

Retail businesses require people to shop at them in order for them to stay in business. That is why an anchor (Publix for example) is requiring residential to be included in the development.

Stop trying to shoot Smyna in the foot with these wacky demands.

Also... I 100% agree with the features that Keith Bentley requested. This development needs to have the parking in the back with the stores in the front. I think it should be developed as an extension of Market Village. Make it easy for someone shopping at Market Village to walk over to Jonquil Village.

Since one of the mayor's campaign contributors was a PAC for the National Apartment Association I believe non-owner occupied residential units will be built in Jonquil Village and it doesn't matter that proceeding without a planning and zoning hearing violates zoning procedures law.

There's a difference between high-end apartments and low-income apartments like the ones the city tore down.

If we want Jonquil to be built with the future in mind, then they'll need to put small shops on the ground floor of every building, and they need to be attractive from the outside and visible from S. Atl.Rd. Yes - I know most of the small shop locations in Market Village are empty, and it is unfortunate that the city has so little control over the landlords. However, lacking control, we do have influence. For example, offer the landlords a tax credit based on getting a small business into the space, and base the amount of the credit on annual gross sales. Maybe, just maybe, the lure of a tax credit may allow the landlord to reduce rent/lease payments. Lower monthly expense may motivate a business to locate there. Wouldn't a landlord want at least some rent versus nothing? And yes, I understand the value of writing the building off as a loss if it is not occupied.
If the tax break possibility isn't what the landlord wants, then ask them what will incent them to find a way to get the space occupied? Whatever the answer is may just work across the street at Jonquil.

Apartments in Jonquil are a foregone conclusion. That said, they should be fairly nice if they are going to attract the type of resident that will be desirable. And just what is desirable? The educated Gen X/Y/Z/Millennial. For many of them, apartments are what they want. Their demographic represents a shift in culture, as in desiring a short-term commitment for lodging - and everything else. The statistics show they don't buy cars; they lease them. They don't buy houses and condos; they lease them. They don't get married; they hook up. They don't stay forever at one job; they have 6 of them in the first 10 years after graduating from college; many with advanced degrees. I am not judging or evaluating them; it a verifiable fact. So, why not cater to them?
In summary, I would hope our city staff assist Branch with the most positive, long-term and society-smart options available. We have one chance to do this right, and there is a huge amount of data out there on development for the future versus for the next 18 months.

From all I've seen/heard/read on the subject, I think it's safe to say that the majority of us are in agreement that Jonquil Plaza and Belmont Hills represent unique opportunities to make significant statement about our city. I also think it's safe to say that the majority of us are in agreement that this statement needs to be a POSITIVE one. Generic strip malls simply will not do. These properties need to be developed in such a way that they are functional, but also aesthetically pleasing and sustainable.

What I'd like to see, if it doesn't already exist (I'll admit my ignorance on this issue), is a set design standard for these properties that fits into a set design standard for the city as a whole...especially in the core of the city. I'm not talking about a design standard that is so stringent and uniform that it will turn the area into a souless, cookie-cutter community, but one that allows for variation and creativity, while preserving a sense of continuity. I've been fortunate to travel around the country quite frequently over the last 5 years for work, and the nicest, best looking communities I've seen have all been built/renovated in this fashion.

Good points Chris. I will suggest our officials take a trip to Suwanee to see how the whole city-center concept worked for them. They preserved the old, mixed in the new, created a park, connected city hall and the park with a tunnel and collected about every municipal award along the way. Call Marty Allen, the City Manager - he loves to talk about how they did it.

City-center concepts are beyond the scope of this Mayor and council. And anyone who suggests such ideas is attacked as a whiner and complainer. If the city's leaders were forward thinking they would have visited Suwanee or any of the other downtown areas in the Metro Atlanta area and taken the best ideas from each.

Actually, the only people that get "attacked" as whiners and complainers are whiners and complainers. Constructive ideas (even dissenting ones) and constructive criticisms are received and handled in a completely different manner.

Considering the development is in the city limits, it would be great to have condos/townhomes to help with the tax base. Upscale apartments are nice but they don't help with paying for city services. I just read a report today that Bentley sales are back to pre recession levels so all is not hurting in the world. I am ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN if right mix of development with attractive pricing would have a line of buyers wanting to live there. Look at how sales have picked up at West Village and in multiple communities in the area. Jonquil Plaza can be even more vibrant than West Village considering its location.

Apartments increase traffic, not just with residents but tons of visitors which will just add more traffic to an area that should be trying to get people OUT of cars. I thought the suggestion list was on the money!
-An attractive streetscape with paver sidewalks along Atlanta Road that complements the look and feel of Market Village.

-An architectural style that complements the Market Village.

-Shops that face Atlanta Road with parking behind.

-Restaurants or café space with outdoor seating areas accessible from Atlanta Road.

-Attractive landscaping including hardwood trees on Atlanta Road and Spring Road.

-A medium-size, maximum 45,000-square-foot grocery store, with special high-quality landscaping that could include a water feature at Atlanta Road similar to the fountain area at Market Village.