New Life For Steel Skeleton on Concord Road

The abandoned metal structure on a busy Smyrna thoroughfare that had become an eyesore for travelers and city officials alike is getting a new lease on life.

Dean Peacock, Managing Principal of Peacock Partners, a medical office design and construction firm, has told Patch that he anticipates renewed construction within the next few months on the site of the steel skeleton at the corner of Concord Road and Dunton Street.

Peacock said that his group is still working on internal scheduling and finishing paperwork with the relevant city authorities, but feels that work on the structure could resume by the spring of this year.

We last heard of the structure and Peacock's involvement in it during the Update Smyrna 2013 briefing held at Smyrna City Hall on Nov. 20, 2013. During that meeting, Mayor Max Bacon told the audience that Peacock Partners had a Dec. 31, 2013 deadline to confirm continued interest in the project. 

Dean Peacock said that his firm cleared the "due diligence deadline" and is continuing to work with the city on completing all the necessary documentation needed before work can begin on completing the structure.

Peacock said that as part of the due diligence obligations, the firm tested the structural integrity of the existing steel skeleton and determined that it was still sound. Peacock Partners plans to alter the original function of the building from a retail focus to a medical professional building, so some features like exterior balcony walkways will be done away with while building on the existing frame.

Although changes will come to the exterior design, Peacock confirmed that the finished product will be in keeping with the ambiance of the area, which he cited as a prime concern of the Smyrna Development Authority and the City of Smyrna.