Developer Retracts Offer on Property off Big A Road and Skyline; withdraws annexation and rezoning requests

By Jessica Waters

Florida-based CSC Properties has retracted their purchase offer for approximately 14 acres of property in the Big A Road corridor. The Florida-based development company has also withdrawn the annexation and rezoning applications on the multiple parcels of land.

Toccoa Community Development Director Connie Tabor said that despite the project cancellation, the initial interest from the developer is part of a promising trend.

She said, “I think that it is a positive thing, because it indicates to me that developers are looking at us and that’s all encouraging, especially with the planning commission’s recommendation for approval of the project.”

Toccoa Planning Commission, at its May 18 regular meeting, heard from CSC Properties representative Andrew Smith regarding the company’s annexation and zoning change requests for the vacant property parcels located behind the businesses that line the southwest side of Big A Road, between Skyline Drive and Addington Drive.

In his presentation to the Planning Commission, Smith stated that the anchor of the proposed development project would be a “national discount grocer” and two “junior box stores”. Smith said that CSC Properties was in contact with Aldi executives regarding the project, but acknowledged that there was no contract in place with the popular discount grocery chain.

After hearing from Smith and listening to more than an hour of public comment on the project – mostly from citizens residing in the neighborhood adjacent to the proposed development – the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend to Toccoa City Commissioners that they approve the annexation and zoning change applications.

A public hearing on the matter was scheduled for June 19, just ahead of the city commission’s scheduled deliberation and vote on the developer’s zoning and annexation applications.

Yesterday, June 5, Toccoa Community Development Director Connie Tabor informed WNEG News that Smith had advised the city in a June 2 email that they were withdrawing the applications.

Smith wrote, “Unfortunately, we are terminating our purchase agreement for the Addington and Skyline parcels. Our proposed tenants have turned down the site for various reasons, making it unfeasible for us to continue. We still love the market and hope to do business there in the future.”

Tabor confirmed that no annexation or rezoning of a property can proceed without an active application from a property owner or a prospective buyer.

Smith also contacted Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce President Julie Paysen by phone on June 2 to advise her of the discontinuation of the planned development project, and to also let her know that CSC is still interested in the Toccoa-Stephens COunty community for possible future development projects.

She said, “Andrew Smith called me one day last week to let me know that they had withdrawn their offer for the property that is between Addington Drive and Skyline that they were in the process of having annexed into the city. Of course that is disappointing, but he was very clear that (although) that particular parcel was not attractive to the retail establishments he was talking with, they are still very interested in development in our community, which was exciting to hear.”

Payson, like Tabor, is continuing to see increased interest in the Toccoa-Stephens County community from developers and businesses.

She said, “We’re encouraged that they are still very interested in our community, and we’re seeing consistent interest in our community. The attraction is happening and the momentum is rolling and that is always exciting. We are getting calls every week about opportunities, so we are, of course, pursuing those, and look forward to working with Andrew in the future.”

Paysen said citizens can help make this community even more attractive for potential development projects by learning more about the development process, and the role that city and county officials do, and do not, play in initiating growth and new developments.

She said, “I would encourage citizens to come to our meetings — the development authority meetings are public meetings, the city and county commissioner meetings are obviously public meetings — because these topics are discussed, all along the way. I think sometimes people think that it just pops up, something sneaky, or whatever, that’s not the case. This is all publically handled, and they can hear the vision that we have and where we’re headed. I think when you see the big picture, it’s easier to understand the opportunities that lie before us. If our community is going to grow and we want our tax base to increase so that we as citizens receive the benefits of that, we need to attract new businesses and residents to our community to accomplish that goal.”

Tabor told WNEG News that letters were being mailed out to homeowners adjacent to the former development site, letting them know that the annexation and rezoning applications had been withdrawn.