Planning board hears PEG Companies rezoning for mixed-use redevelopment at 2771 Cumberland Blvd.; recommendation to mayor and council

Smyrna — The Planning and Zoning Board on Monday, July 14, 2025, considered a rezoning request by PEG Smyrna Property LLC to rezone 2771 Cumberland Boulevard from Tourist Services (TS) to Mixed Use Conditional (MU-C) for a mixed-use redevelopment that would replace an existing extended-stay hotel with a hotel, multifamily housing, ground-floor retail and structured parking. Staff told the board it will forward a recommendation to the mayor and council on Aug. 18, 2025.

The project site is 4.66 acres and currently contains an extended-stay Residence Inn with about 130 rooms, staff said. The applicant described a redevelopment with an eight-story hotel with about 212 rooms and a 12-story multifamily building with 328 units, with ground-floor retail and hotel food-and-beverage space. The multifamily unit mix shown in the application included 56 studios, 110 one-bedroom units, 142 two-bedroom units and 23 three-bedroom units.

Staff recommended approval of rezoning from TS to MU conditional and listed conditions including underground stormwater detention, decorative street lights inside the development, compliance with the city tree ordinance, screening for condensers and transformers, public right-of-way dedication on Cumberland Boulevard to accommodate a sidewalk, and substantial compliance with the submitted site plan and building elevations. Staff also identified five variance requests attached to the application: (1) increase in the maximum side setback for the hotel building, (2) allowing rental units to exceed 50% of total residential units, (3) increasing residential density from 25 to 70 units per acre, (4) increasing building height from 66 feet to 150 feet, and (5) reducing the minimum front setback from 50 feet to 15 feet along the Spring Road corridor.

Kevin Moore, the applicant's representative, told the board the proposal aligns with the city's policies and plans and with the Spring Road Livable Centers Initiative (LCI). "This project, as staff has found, is consistent, with your comprehensive plan," Moore said. He said the LCI had identified this area for higher-density housing, hotels and restaurant uses adjacent to The Battery and Truist Park and argued the project fits that vision.

Tyler Phelps, director of development for PEG Companies, introduced PEG's experience delivering similar mixed-use hotel and multifamily projects nationally. "PEG has been around for 20 years," Phelps said during his presentation.

Board members and the applicant discussed parking and pedestrian access. The application describes a multi-level parking deck and on-site parking intended to serve residents, hotel guests and retail visitors; the applicant said there will also be secured resident parking. A board member asked what the project would do to improve pedestrian circulation to The Battery and Truist Park; the applicant and staff said the development will provide sidewalks and plaza areas along the property's frontage but that a wider pedestrian corridor beyond the parcel would depend on other redevelopments and a planned pedestrian bridge the city is pursuing near Cumberland Boulevard and Kyle Parkway. During public questioning, the board noted the existing sidewalk at the site is five feet wide and asked whether the development would create larger pedestrian corridors; the applicant responded that, beyond the frontage improvements and plazas on the site, there is no planned off-site pedestrian corridor in the applicant's control.

The board opened a public hearing; no named public speakers are recorded in the transcript. The board asked questions of the applicant about ownership (the applicant said PEG Companies, the current owner, is redeveloping the site), branding (the hotel is planned to be dual-branded under a major flag; negotiations were described as ongoing), management (PEG said it plans to manage both the hotel and multifamily components), and a rough construction timeline (applicant said design after entitlements and permitting generally takes about 18 to 24 months before construction, but exact timing depends on permitting).

Procedural notes in the meeting record are inconsistent: an early agenda announcement stated the item "is to be tabled to August 11," but the transcript also records a full staff presentation, applicant presentation and a public hearing on July 14. The transcript records a motion to approve the rezoning made by "Mr. Phillips" and a request for a second from Mr. Bentley, but the transcript does not capture a final vote tally or a definitive board action on the rezoning at the July 14 hearing. Staff explicitly stated the board's recommendation will be forwarded to the mayor and council on Aug. 18.

What happens next: the staff report and the board's recommendation (as recorded by staff) will go to the Smyrna mayor and council on Aug. 18 for final action.

Details drawn from the public record: the application materials and staff presentation were entered into the record as part of rezoning case CC25-008 (listed by staff), and the site is in the city's Regional Activity Center future land-use category and in the Spring Road LCI area identified for higher-intensity development.