Smyrna officials say public strongly backs mixed-use redevelopment of 9-acre church site; chapel to remain

Mayor Derek Norton and city planners said in a City of Smyrna podcast that residents have overwhelmingly supported redeveloping the nine-acre Smyrna First Baptist Church site into an extension of downtown while keeping the site's chapel as a public event facility.

The engagement effort has collected what consultant Luis Calvo said were about 2,600 responses, including 2,087 from an online survey and roughly 250 attendees at the first community meeting. "That's about 3.5% of the city's population," Calvo said, and he described the turnout as exceeding expectations.

Why it matters: the site is roughly twice the footprint of Smyrna's existing downtown and could add housing, restaurants, retail, parking and expanded public space — changes residents repeatedly identified as priorities during outreach.

Luis Calvo, identified on the podcast as a consultant with MKSK, told listeners the survey results show strong support for redevelopment: "68% are very supportive of redeveloping, and 18% are really supportive." He said respondents most often cited restaurants, retail and outdoor public spaces such as the Village Green and Market Village as reasons they visit downtown.

Andrea Worthy, Director of Economic Development for the City of Smyrna, said the city began the process in late 2023 and closed on the property in 2024. "Every option that we're exploring has the chapel as a main component because as a public facility, it's a major landmark for the southern portion of downtown," Worthy said.

Public input and concept work: Calvo said outreach to date has included an online interactive site (downtownsmyrnaredevelopment.com), participation at the John Cole Festival, 20 volunteer plan ambassadors, and about 15 stakeholder roundtables with roughly 70 local business and community stakeholders. At an interactive community activity, participants produced 36 site concepts; Calvo said about 80% of those concepts included mixed-use buildings.

Process and timing: Worthy said the project is in phase 2, which focuses on exploring site concepts and transportation and land-use solutions. She said an open-house meeting is scheduled for Aug. 18 at 5:30 p.m., where several concept alternatives will be displayed for public comment. After that, online comment will remain open for several weeks and the design team will work toward a "preferred concept" by the end of the year. Worthy described the next step as the city seeking developer responses through a request-for-qualifications/request-for-proposals process that she estimated could take about a year.

Church relocation and interim use: Norton said Smyrna First Baptist Church plans to relocate to Atlanta Road next to the Reed House. He added the city is renting the existing facility back to the church during planning and will keep the chapel for city events after redevelopment.

Decision status: speakers emphasized that the session and outreach are part of a planning process; no formal council vote on an adoption of a final plan was reported during the podcast. Worthy said the council would be asked to adopt a final plan after the preferred concept is selected.

Community priorities and constraints: Calvo summarized common themes from residents: stronger restaurant and retail options that feel locally distinctive; improved streets and public spaces; and a desire for a walkable downtown experience where visitors can spend an afternoon without leaving the area. Speakers said transportation and pedestrian safety are being handled by project subcontractors but did not report specific funding commitments during the podcast.

How to stay involved: officials urged residents to attend the Aug. 18 open house, review materials at downtownsmyrnaredevelopment.com and watch council meetings for future updates.

No formal motions or votes were reported during the podcast; the discussion focused on engagement results, conceptual planning and next steps.