Crescent Communities had submitted a request to the City of Alpharetta to consider the approval of a Revenue Bond Inducement for the adaptive reuse of the property located at 154 Kimball Ridge Road. The project includes the development of a new office complex, renovation of an existing school building, and construction of a new heavy timber frame office building at the historically significant Bailey-Johnson School site.
The Alpharetta Development Authority will consider the revenue bond inducement request on January 25, 2022.
As reported by What Now Atlanta last November, the project will be the adaptive reuse of the existing school building and gymnasium to create 40,000 square feet of office space, and (ii) the construction of a new three-story heavy timber frame office building with approximately 120,000 square feet of office space. The project will also include structured and surface parking with a minimum of 465 parking spaces. The project will cost an estimated $70,000,000. The purpose of the redevelopment is to maintain the character of this site and celebrate and accentuate the history of Bailey-Johnson School to create a unique working environment.
The application documents list several unique challenges to the project requiring additional costs to mitigate, including the rehabilitation of school versus demolition and replace with tilt-up construction – $4,000,000; timber frame versus concrete or steel frame for the new building – $1,250,000; structured parking facilities necessitated by the preservation of the Bailey Johnson School plus the site shape and topography – $5,250,000; asbestos and lead paint remediation necessitated by the preservation of the Bailey-Johnson School – $200,000; widening of Kimball Bridge Road and improvements to sidewalks and streetscapes – $400,000; and the Fulton County sewer extension – $491,000.
According to City documents, Staff has determined that the project contains the following benefits to the City of Alpharetta, Fulton County, and the public:
- Preserves the Bailey-Johnson School, a historically significant structure.
- Provides a unique, Class A working environment different from any other office workspace in Alpharetta and the North Fulton County office market.
- Provides needed office space for this area.
- Improves vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle safety on the Project’s Kimball Bridge Road frontage.
- Creates approximately 500 construction jobs and 800 new permanent jobs.
- Provides greenspace and public walkways.
- Provides a venue for possible Alpharetta Black History and Arts events.
- Consists of approximately $70,000,000 of new capital investment on a parcel of land that is currently exempt from ad valorem property taxes.
- Substantially increases real and personal property tax revenues. (Current taxes for the Fulton County Schools parcel are $0.)
It is anticipated that the project will commence in mid-2022 and be completed at year-end 2023.
