Council authorizes Hill Street land-exchange resolution to advance mixed-use redevelopment

The Roswell City Council on Monday authorized the mayor to sign a land-exchange agreement intended to enable a mixed-use redevelopment at Hill and Highway 9.

City attorney David Davidson and economic development senior vice president Jeff Leatherman presented the agreement, which would exchange roughly 1.3 acres of city interior property for a corner parcel at Hill and Highway 9. The developer, Atlantic (identified in earlier project documents), would combine the land with additional parcels to build a mixed-use project that Leatherman said could include a parking structure (about 350 spaces), roughly 14–16 townhomes, up to 43 multifamily units and about 72,000 square feet of commercial space for retail, restaurant and office uses.

Leatherman said the plan preserves and adapts portions of the city’s existing public-safety building (referred to in the presentation as Building G) rather than demolishing all structures. "This project has probably the highest and best example of a reuse type philosophy that we have in the city of Roswell," Leatherman said, describing the adaptive reuse of the law-enforcement structure while demolishing a separate portion of the public-safety building to make room for the parking deck and townhomes.

Davidson described the swap as an exchange of city-owned interior property for the corner parcel, noting the corner parcel’s higher market value because of its Highway 9 frontage. Leatherman said the city and the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) will continue negotiating ground-lease terms, development agreements and parking-management plans with a target closing date of Oct. 15, 2025.

Residents asked about infrastructure and utilities. Janet (last name not stated at the dais) asked whether the Roswell Water Treatment Plant has capacity to serve the project; Sharon (city staff) said a 2016 sizing allowed the plant to handle additional development in the area. Leatherman and staff also said the team is working through project economics, ground-lease terms and other agreements and that the council would see follow-up items including a development agreement, ground lease, townhome-builder selection and parking-management terms.

Council Member Werklund moved to approve the resolution authorizing the mayor to execute the Hill Street land-exchange agreement; the motion was seconded by Council Member Alan Sells. The council recorded the vote as unanimous and approved the resolution.

Leatherman and staff said the project seeks to reduce density compared with earlier proposals (referenced as a 2019 plan) and to increase commercial square footage. The project team emphasized long-term revenue potential for the city through land-lease mechanisms and increased property value, and framed the development as an economic-activation project intended to support businesses downtown.

Next steps listed by staff include negotiating a development agreement, finalizing a ground lease, executing a parking-management plan, selecting a townhome builder and completing due diligence and closing documents required prior to an October closing date.