Part 1 - Remembering the Old Days of Roswell Plaza
Part 2 - Efforts to Revive a Struggling Roswell Plaza
Part 3
It Takes a Village to Redevelop the Roswell Plaza
Owning the property meant the City could be more deliberate about getting the right project in this pivotal location with the leadership of the DDA.
The brainstorming started! DDA hosted two (2) Town Hall Meetings, online surveys, meetings with City Council and gathered input from the Historic Preservation Commission to discuss ideas on what they would love to see on the Roswell Plaza site, what makes a project feasible and viable over time, as well as, what are the next steps for the RFQ/RFP process for a redevelopment.
Krog Street and Ponce City Market were the places that were most mentioned as the "type" of place people wanted to see. (The Roswell Plaza is smaller than either of these projects and the existing plaza structure was limited.) The characteristics about these two properties that made them most favored were:
A place to go to, a destination.
A place that captures the feeling of the area
A place that would cause similar development style nearby
A place that had a bakery, restaurants and a grocery or a co-op market
Materials that were durable and timeless.
Form and Design are Important. The design needs to be unique to Roswell. Different. The idea was presented that the City might want to consider how they could invest in this project as well - perhaps for a performing arts venue or other use that serves the public directly. Changes in the streetscape could increase the comfort level and ease in crossing Hwy 9. This project will be an important piece in that solution.
By Fall 2016, the Request for Qualifications and Requests for Proposals were open to developers. The intent was clear. Ten (10) development teams responded! What a great response! After 2-years of meetings, negotiations, and investigations, Beecham/Ardent was selected in April 2017.
The DDA is nearing the end of the Request for Proposal (RFP) process with Beecham/ Ardent to create an offer to purchase the Roswell Plaza property. One of the most complicated steps in redevelopment is negations with rental tenants. After nearly a year of pursuing the termination, Family Dollar finally agreed to the terms.
Then in September of 2018, the DDA voted to conclude the procurement process to Beecham/Ardent agreement. The process was concluded without securing a contract for the redevelopment of the site with the Beecham/Ardent team. It just wasn’t a fit.
Round two! Finding the perfect fit
The Roswell Downtown Development Authority launched a second round of Request For Proposal (RFP) on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018. With their commitment to the well-being of Roswell’s culture, residents and historic nature, the recently released RFP is very similar to the one released in 2017 with regard to Roswell’s community desires and objectives, which are defined in a series of “Intent Statements” included in the RFP. In the updated RFP, the DDA highlighted an emphasis that a grocer or private store is a desirable feature of the mixed-use community, focusing on this and other commercial uses that will make the project catalytic to the surrounding market.
This time, Six (6) developers responded which were all reviewed from a financial, market and experience perspective. Four finalists were selected. By December 2018, a joint work session between the DDA, the Mayor and City Council discussed the proposals. (The public was welcomed to attend the open portion of the meeting.) Immediately following the open portion of the meeting, the DDA and Mayor and City Council went into joint executive session to discuss the final recommendation.
Developer Selected!
In January 2019, it was officially announced that a developer was selected to redevelop the site into a mixed-use plan: Armada Hoffler Properties’ (AHP) and S.J. Collins Enterprises (SJC)!
Per the original proposal, the site will be redeveloped for mixed-use, offering 70,740 total square feet for a large boutique department store, restaurants, shops and offices. This retail section of the redevelopment will include 260 parking spaces. Included in its mixed-use design, the new development will also include housing: 128 apartment units and eight town-home units with 196 residential parking spaces. The town-homes are estimated to be priced in between $650,000 and $850,000, and the multifamily units are expected to lease at $2.05 per square foot.
Months passed as the Due Diligence phase went through many steps. Several meetings with the Historic Preservation Committee took place; as well as, numerous meetings with City Council and the Georgia Department of Transportation. Topics discussed included environmental inspections, fire marshal requirements, traffic lights and traffic volume assessments, open container rulings for restaurant districts, storm water pipe capacity, warrants and overall architectural approvals. You think buying a house is tedious, try developing 4.28 acres into a multi-million dollar multi-use complex!
The Skillet is served! On October 25, 2019, S.J. Collins Enterprise and Armada Hoffler Properties purchased the Roswell Plaza for $5,000,000 to develop it into a mixed-use development!
