South Cobb is ‘moving on up,’ mayors of Austell, Powder Springs say

By Hunter Riggall hriggall@mdjonline.com

AUSTELL — South Cobb is on the up and up, the mayors of Austell and Powder Springs say.

Addressing the South Cobb Area Council of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, Mayors Al Thurman and Ollie Clemons spoke about the state of their respective communities, pointing to new businesses, housing and civic projects they say will inject fresh energy into the cities.

“South Cobb, you know what they say in ‘The Jeffersons’ theme song, we’re moving on up,” Thurman said.

Powder Springs

When Thurman first joined the Powder Springs City Council in 2002, a colleague used to refer to the two cities as “the stepchildren of Cobb County.”

“Well, we are no longer stepchildren,” Thurman said.

The mayor recapped some of the city’s recent initiatives to revitalize the downtown.

The project that got the most attention is when Powder Springs sold 6 acres of downtown property, including the land its City Hall sat on, to developer Novare Group. Novare will build a mixed-use complex with 221 multi-family apartments and 5,000 square feet of commercial space on the site. Thurman said construction will start in 2023 and take about 14 months.

“You know, it’s interesting,” Thurman said. “When we sold the property (containing) City Hall and community development, I thought they were gonna string me up. But understand something: City Hall and community development don’t pay taxes. So we sold it.”

Thurman said the apartments and other residential development will bring density to downtown, further stimulating business. The Novare development is the kind of project consultants have told city officials they need, if they are to attract young families and professionals.

Business is growing downtown, Thurman said, with the addition of Skint Chestnut Brewery and a handful of new restaurants in recent years.

Thurman said various ongoing residential projects will bring 1,500 new housing units to the city — a mix of single-family homes, townhomes and apartments.

Amid all that new construction, however, the Powder Springs City Council voted unanimously to pause new rezoning applications for residential units for six months. The move comes as the city undertakes a planning, zoning and growth management review.

The city will conduct a full financial impact analysis to ensure it is managing growth “in the best possible way,” the mayor said.

Another major project in the city is a $35 million, 347,000-squarefoot logistics warehouse, a project of Alpharetta-based Native Development Group, to be located at Oglesby Road and C.H. James Parkway. It is scheduled for completion in June 2023 and will be built near the Norfolk Southern freight rail yard.

The Powder Springs Development Authority last October approved a 10-year tax abatement and the issuance of $35 million in economic development revenue bonds for the warehouse.

Thurman said the project could bring up to 200 jobs to the city.

On the greenspace front, the city plans to improve Powder Springs, adding a dog park and area for a farmers market.

The city also has plans to build a $1.8 million skate park. A new trail connecting the Silver Comet Trail to downtown is also under construction and should be complete in 2023, Thurman said.

Thurman also touted the city’s hosting of summer concerts, the seafood festival, 5k and 10k runs and various holiday celebrations.

“There’s a buzz in the air. I was down in Alabama. Can you believe people are talking about Powder Springs in Alabama?” he said.

To expand citizen engagement, Powder Springs has added quarterly newsletters, increased its social media presence and launched an app.

The City Council and staff, he said, are pushing a vision for “quality, smart, managed growth that respects our small town charm.

“This is very important to us,” Thurman said. “People always ask the question, ‘What is the balance, how much is too much?’ We get it, and we understand. And certainly as we move … our development is about quality growth.”

Austell

Mayor Clemons, meanwhile, said “there’s never been a better time to be a part of what is going on in south Cobb and Austell today.

“What I want to talk to you about today is not the big economic development projects that capture the headlines, but the quiet redevelopment that is going on around our city,” Clemons said.

In his remarks, the Austell mayor highlighted a few “success stories” in the city, Cobb’s smallest by population with roughly 7,800 residents. One such project is Volkstuin Local Food + Gathering, a formerly vacant lot in downtown Austell being redeveloped into a private garden and restaurant.

Coming to downtown in spring 2023, Clemons said, is Cincinnati Junction. Developer Lundstrom Studios plans to convert historic buildings, putting in a microbrewery, a restaurant, retail space and offices.

“These buildings sat vacant on Broad Street for decades,” Clemons said.

Clemons also said Austell’s residential real estate is being revitalized. Though he didn’t provide any hard data, Clemons displayed before and after photos of several dilapidated homes throughout the city that have been renovated recently.

“Young couples are moving from Midtown and Smyrna to Austell, fixing up these formerly dilapidated structures and turning them into something amazing,” he said.

The city has invested in upgrades to its parks, Clemons said, including Legion Park and Pine Street Park. And it has expanded its sponsorship of cultural happenings, such as arts and crafts events, public movie screenings, a Juneteenth celebration, and the BBQ Blues & Brews Festival.

He also touted the city’s October 2021 adoption of a Livable Center Initiative (LCI) plan, which includes design standards for future development. The LCI plan calls for adding two new parks, along with trails, single-family homes, apartments and commercial space. Austell in 2020 received a $120,000 grant from the Atlanta Regional Commission to fund the LCI plan, described by the ARC as “a blueprint for the rejuvenation of downtown Austell, looking at improvements to transportation, zoning and the development of economic development strategies.”

“Mayor Clemons has said that he wants to continue to make Austell a destination where people want to come live, work and play,” said Smith Peck of HUD International, at the event. “And he’s done a good job of that. The city has been revitalized and … that dream is now a reality.”