DDA to Close on Concord Road Purchase Soon

the Smyrna Downtown Development Authority unanimously approved the purchase of several lots at the corner of Concord Road and Dunton Street.

“I understand it was a unanimous decision on the part of the DDA and I’m very happy to see that they support the project wholeheartedly,” said Charles “Corkey” Welch, Ward 4 Councilman. “At this point it’s time to figure out what exactly the next step is for the City Council and the city as a whole.”

The Downtown Development Authority will purchase six lots equaling approximately 1.5 acres of land. The property is assessed by Cobb County as worth $798,000. City officials offered the property holder, State Bank and Trust, $250,000. The money to make the purchase will come from the general fund contingency line, which currently has a budget of $750,000 and no expenditures to date. City Administrator Eric Taylor said City Attorney Scott Cochran notified him Monday that everything is in place for the closing, which should take place “any day now.”

The lots are home to a rusted steel structure that was set to be the frame for a retail development before the recession stalled development throughout metro Atlanta. The partially constructed frame h.

Once the DDA takes ownership of the property it will have the option to sell it. At a recent City Council meeting, Melleny Pritchett, Ward 1 Council member and a real estate agent, said purchasing the property through the DDA was the right move.

“So by going with the DDA we have an option to do lots of things,” she said. “We can keep it and decide we want to do something with it. We can sell it at a profit. So I think it’s a wonderful opportunity.”

If sold for a profit, the city’s general fund contingency budget would be reimbursed for the purchase price, but the DDA would keep the profits, said Mayor Max Bacon at Thursday's DDA meeting.

According to the unofficial minutes from the DDA meeting, Bacon asked that city officials advertise the sale of the property before the structure is demolished in case a prospective buyer was interested in purchasing the property and retaining the structure.

Sean Murphy, DDA’s Ward 4 representative, said a friend of his who was an engineer speculated that the frame was not structurally sound because of its exposure to the elements.

If the DDA decides to keep the property, Murphy suggested that the lots be used as parking for the linear park that may be built on Concord Road. In February, Welch told Smyrna-Vinings Patch that there are no immediate plans for a new park in his ward.

“There’s not a plan at this point for the park along the north side,” he said. “Not to say that there will not be one, but it is not part of the construction plans of this project.”