Politics & Government

Council to Vote on Belmont Project Amendments Monday

If the city council approves the changes and Cobb County signs off on them before the end of the year, construction could begin in two weeks.

The Smyrna City Council will re-examine the Tax Allocation District (TAD) projects slated for the Belmont mixed-use development at the intersection of Atlanta and Windy Hill roads during their meeting on Monday evening.

In a letter that will be submitted to Cobb County Manager David Hankerson if the amendments are approved, Smyrna City Manager Eric Taylor explains the alterations are meant to reflect changes to the area since the original TAD agreement was signed between the City of Smyrna and Halpern Enterprises on Aug. 11, 2008.

Chief among the alterations to the original agreement are the sale of 9 acres of land to the Cobb County School District which eventually became Smyrna Elementary School and the difficulty in obtaining financing for projects such as the one planned for Belmont.

Taylor's letter goes on to say that TAD requisitions will be reduced from just over $23.5 million to a maximum of $12.8 million. The city is requesting the county eliminate the deadline for the start of major construction at the site and establish 2013, instead of 2003, as the base year for calculating the tax allocation increment, which uses any property tax increases resulting from the development to pay for the bonds financing the development.

If the Smyrna City Council approves the amendments to the Belmont plan, they will be submitted to Cobb County for approval, possibly before the end of the year.

If Cobb County gives the green light before Dec. 31, construction on "Pod F," containing 274 luxury rental units, would begin on or around that date, according to a schedule contained in the amendment packet. The schedule says that construction of the entire project would be completed by 2018.

The agenda for Monday's meeting is featured above this article. If you are unable to attend the 7:30 p.m. meeting at Smyrna City Hall in person and cannot watch it on Charter channel 19, Smyrna-Vinings Patch will provide a link to a live stream of the meeting provided by the city.


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