JANUARY 2020 • VOL. 14 — NO. 1
JANUA
Dunw oody
Local newsmakers take a look at what’s ahead
Brookh aven
Section Two
Buckh ead
In our annual 20 Under 20 section, meet local students who are making a difference
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BY HANNAH GRECO hannah@reporternewspapers.net
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ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
A rendering of the new fire station to replace the one at 135 Johnson Ferry Road.
SPECIAL
North End brainstorming begins amid questions BY HANNAH GRECO
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EXCEPT IONAL ED
UCATOR PAYING TO FALL TRIBUTE MEMBE EN SERVICE RS PA
City to pay $1.2M for temporary fire station site while building a new one
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Writing fiction as part of a team: Q+A with author Karen White
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Sandy Springs Reporter COMMENTARY
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hannah@reporternewspapers.net
Two years after setting North End redevelopment as a priority, the city government is heading into 2020 with a $300,000 order for conceptual designs and talk of a “Revitalization Zone” whose purpose is unclear. It remains to be seen whether 2020 will be the year that the brainstorming plays out as a redevelopment plan – and whether the city will play a financial role, as officials have long said it likely will. Meanwhile, an
advocacy group is keeping the pressure on for any redevelopment to preserve affordable housing. At a Dec. 3 meeting, the City Council awarded a $307,260 contract to architect firm TSW for the designs of four shopping centers in the North End to push for the redevelopment of the area. At the meeting, Mayor Rusty Paul made it a point to clarify that the designs will not be set in stone and the four projected sites are not necessarily the ones to be developed. See NORTH on page 22
The city will pay $1.2 million for a vacant rental-car business on Roswell Road as a temporary site for a Johnson Ferry Road fire station that will be demolished and replaced. Fire Station Two at 135 Johnson Ferry is 50 years old and needs to be replaced, the city said. The temporary site, a former Enterprise car rental lot at 6189 Roswell Road at the Mount Vernon Highway intersection, is riddled with complexities for getting fire trucks in and out of traffic. The proposed solution depends on the outcome of a lawsuit regarding the city’s attempt to evict three billboards from a lot across the street. Some council members are also concerned with the cost of the temporary station. The city hopes to open the temporary station by March 2020 and to complete the replacement by spring 2021. The city has requested a demolition permit for the current station, but first the temporary site and its issues have to be resolved. At a Dec. 17 meeting, the council agreed to purchase the 0.317 acre lot at 6189 Roswell Road from Enterprise Leasing Company of Georgia, LLC., for $1.2 million. City Attorney Dan Lee said the city is not only buying the property for a temporary fire station, but also for a pending reconstruction of the Mount Vernon/Johnson Ferry intersection. That controversial road project is waiting on the architect firm to deliver two designs, one with the controversial cutthrough road that would need the taking of a home, and one without. It is unknown to the city when the property could become available and when the connector road could be built. In addition to the purchase price, it will See CITY on page 23
Don’t settle for Ordinary jewelry this year ORDINARY ( See Page 8 )
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