Update, March 10: Hall County commissioners unanimously approved a 242-unit apartment complex Thursday, March 10, off of Athens Highway at Gillsville Highway in East Hall.
The project from developer Michael Twiner of Norcross was originally 333 units, but the Hall County Planning Commission and Hall County Board of Commissioners negotiated a lower density.
Twiner was approved Thursday to rezone 22 acres from suburban shopping to planned residential development.
The development will have 44% one-bedroom units, 48% two bedrooms and 8% will be three-bedroom units.
Update, Jan. 18: The planning commission approved a gated apartment complex after slashing the number of units allowed.
The applicant, Michael Twiner, of Norcross, said he was willing to work with the planning commission on the density of units.
“There’s a certain number of units that you absolutely have to have given the price point in the rent in order to make the project successful,” Twiner said. “I could probably live with the 264 (units),” Braswell said, with which the other commission members agreed.
No one spoke in favor or against the action during the public comment section.
The planning board’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Hall County Board of Commissioners for a public hearing and vote at 6 p.m. Feb. 24, at the Hall County Government Center on Browns Bridge Road.
Original story: A 330-unit, gated apartment complex is proposed off Athens Highway at Gillsville Highway in East Hall.
The complex, identified in Hall County planning documents as Mossy Creek, is proposed as 10 buildings, three stories each, with 30 or 35 units per building. The complex would have two gated entrances off Athens Highway, according to the documents.
The units will range in size from 650 to 1,200 square feet, and will feature one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Amenities will include a pool, clubhouse, fitness center and centralized mail center, documents state.
Average rents would range from $1,550 for one-bedroom units to $2,400 for three-bedroom units.
“This development will create a space for people to live and have access to higher-paying jobs with both the small and large businesses in the area,” according to a project narrative from the applicant, Michael Twiner of Norcross.
The 22-acre project at 2500 and 2508 Athens Highway would take 18 months to complete.
The property is vacant except for a 934-square-foot home built in 1940.
Twiner is seeking to rezone the property from suburban shopping to planned residential development.
Hall County planning staff is recommending denial of the project to the Hall County Planning Commission, which is set to hear the project Tuesday, Jan. 18.
“The proposed use is inconsistent with the (Hall County) Comprehensive Plan as the adjacent parcels” are agricultural-residential.
“Developments within this corridor should be low-impact industrial or higher-density residential only where the same is found on adjacent properties.”
The planning board’s recommendation of approval or denial will be forwarded to the Hall County Board of Commissioners for a public hearing and vote at a later meeting.