After surviving attack, store owner flourished
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Council focuses on retail, public safety By JEFFREY ALBERTSON newsroom@appenmedia.com DUNWOODY, Ga. — The Dunwoody City Council addressed a crowded agenda Feb. 14 that included intensive questions about a retail development on Ashwood Parkway and taser replacements. The council continued meeting in a hybrid fashion with Councilwoman Catherine Lautenbacher in attendance by Zoom. The council spent about an hour discussing two retail developments off Ashford Dunwoody Road, one at 11 Ravinia Drive and another at 600 Ashwood Parkway. The public hearing for the Ashwood Parkway rezoning amendment became a lightning rod for questions and analysis centering around available parking space and access for pedestrians and bicyclists. District 1 Councilwoman Stacey Harris took issue with the development’s streetscape, commuter trail and road connection progress. “You talk about your commitment to people, you haven’t fulfilled your commitment to the city, and so I’m very reluctant to give you more when you haven’t done what you’re supposed to do,” Harris said. The Ashwood Parkway project is an 85,000-square-foot restaurant and retail space with a planned gas station. The applicant, Branch Ashwood Associates, L.P., is seeking a rezoning amendment for 8,400 square feet of retail space which would include 62 additional parking spaces and a walk-up ATM.
CARES II Act to help bolster local economic development By JEFFREY ALBERTSON newsroom@appenmedia.com
JEFFREY ALBERTSON/APPEN MEDIA
Dunwoody City Council members consider two retail developments on Ashford Dunwoody Road near Perimeter Mall at the Feb. 14 regular meeting. Branch Properties Development Director Jack Haylett said he lived and dealt daily with Harris’ walkway concerns. The project ran into some delay after the discovery of 24 fiber optic cables below a steel water line. “I want to be clear that I understand your frustration with this project, I bet mine is tenfold,” Mayor Lynn Deutsch said. “When we were presented this (development) however many years ago it was a specialty grocery store and chef-driven restaurants, and I love the Publix, but to be clear we need to have the amenities and the walkability and
the attractiveness.” The council approved the rezoning amendment at 11 Ravinia Drive with little discussion. Most of the major elements of the development had been worked out at prior council meetings. The amendment made changes to protect trees, adjustments to street frontage and a raised crosswalk across Ravinia Parkway. The development also plans to create a welcome to Dunwoody sign. In other matters at the Feb. 14 meet-
See COUNCIL, Page 3
DUNWOODY, Ga. — The City of Dunwoody has created a nonprofit organization geared to promote economic development and the city’s brand as a means of attracting businesses. The Create Dunwoody Alliance, includes two members each from the City Council, Discover Dunwoody and the Dunwoody Development Authority. The Dunwoody City Council unanimously approved creating the alliance along with an annual funding cap of $35,000 from the CARES II budget in 2022. The funding runs until 2026. The Dunwoody Development Authority recently approved $175,000 to support “experience-making” in the city, contingent on equal participation from Discover Dunwoody and City of Dunwoody.
See DEVELOPMENT, Page 3