Lavonia Planning & Zoning Recommends Approval of Mixed-Use Development
MJ Kneiser/WLHR News
The Lavonia Planning and Zoning Board has recommended approval of a planned mixed-use development at the corner of Ross Place and Ralph Owens Parkway.
At their meeting Monday evening, the P&Z Board heard from Brant Bentley with Ross Place Investments LLC.
Bentley said his company owns the property and is looking at building a mixed-use development made up of apartments and medical buildings.
They are applying for a rezoning of the property to R-3 Multi-family as well as annexation into the city limits.
The apartment complex would be a 372-unit development, Bentley said.
Bentley noted there is a growing need in this area for more market-rate apartment complexes, as opposed to public housing because of growth coming up from Jackson County.
Acting Planning and Zoning Board Chairman, City Manager Charles Cawthon, said the property is well suited for a medical use designation.
At the time the hospital was under construction, the then City Council voted to create a new Medical Use zoning designation for both Ross Place and Ralph Owens Parkway should the two roads and properties be annexed into the City. At the time, the area was still in the County. Since then, the entire area between Highways 59 and 17/Jones St. has been annexed into the City of Lavonia.
One issue facing developers Bentley said is a cell tower on the property, which they do not own but stands in the way of having access to the full acreage they do own.
If they can remove the cell tower or have it removed, then he said half of the property would be medical buildings and half would be the apartment complex.
He added it’s not yet known whether the residential side would be apartments, townhomes, or patio homes.
Bentley added they are working with major, national developers on the project, which he explained will cost millions of dollars to build, and those details have not yet been worked out.
]He said Ross Investments LLC is also working on developing acreage in Hartwell next to Walmart on US29/Anderson Highway, which he said will also be a mixed-use development.
After hearing from Bentley the Planning and Zoning Board voted to recommend rezoning the property to R-3 and to annex it into the City limits.
It will now go before the Lavonia City Council at their January meeting for consideration.