City seeks resident input, Kennesaw State renderings for redevelopment of 1981 West Woodbury site

City staff presented a public engagement plan Aug. 11 for a 4.4-acre vacant site at 1981 West Woodbury, the former Terraces at East Point, and described a partnership with Kennesaw State University to produce design concepts and conduct community workshops.

Office of Equity, Inclusion & Empowerment staff said the site was acquired by the city in 2015, subsequently demolished and placed on the city’s inventory of problem properties. The city wants resident input to steer reuse options that can include single-family or townhome ownership, affordable rental units, or a mixed-use scheme with green space or community amenities.

Alyssa Wilkins, program analyst, described the planned outreach: five public sessions — one in person and one virtual — with Kennesaw State architecture students and faculty. The first session will be a neighborhood brainstorming meeting to collect strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats; subsequent sessions would present student concepts and invite iterative feedback, with a tentative community presentation to council on Dec. 15. The staff proposal includes outreach to the adjacent Sheltering Arms preschool and offers to host meetings at local churches or association centers if neighborhood leaders prefer.

Councilmembers stressed that resident voices from the directly affected blocks should be the primary input and asked staff to prioritize door-to-door outreach and to coordinate with the neighborhood association. Councilmember Martin Rogers, who said he is familiar with the site, asked that staff meet neighborhood leaders and consider church locations for meetings.

Wilkins confirmed the site is zoned R-3 and said staff has engaged planning to confirm zoning constraints. Staff also provided a block-level median income breakdown during the briefing showing variation across the immediate blocks — roughly $70,000 on one side and about $37,000 on the other — which staff said will inform affordable-housing needs analysis.

Staff asked council to help publicize the meetings and said flyers, targeted emails and posts to neighborhood groups would be used to ensure the households closest to the site can take part.

If the council approves the outreach plan, the first public meeting was slated for Sept. 12 with a virtual alternative date to be arranged; staff said results from the workshops will inform a redevelopment plan and any future requests for proposals.

"We want to make sure the community's voice is the loudest," staff said; councilmembers asked staff to coordinate with neighborhood leaders and to post meeting notices widely.