Council approves variances for 70‑unit senior housing on Roswell Street

The Marietta City Council on Wednesday approved variances that will allow Prestwick Land Holdings, in partnership with the Marietta Housing Authority, to build a four‑story, 70‑unit affordable senior housing development on a block along Roswell Street.

The council approved variances for properties listed as 863, 865 and 879 Roswell Street and 864 and 894 Washington Avenue that will permit the 55‑and‑older building with about 109 parking spaces and a 3,000‑square‑foot commercial component at the southwest corner of the site. “We’re super excited about this development,” said the developer’s presenter, who described the project as elevators‑served senior housing with amenities including a fitness center, community room and business center.

The project team said the plan includes 70 units for residents 55 and older and roughly 1.5 parking spaces per unit (about 109 spaces). The applicants said a larger first‑floor commercial footprint would make the financing and unit mix for an affordable senior product infeasible. “We have a master agreement with this group that we recently completed. So everything is tracking for them to move in now,” the presenter said when asked about the proposed tenant for the commercial space.

At public comment, at least one speaker opposed relaxing the commercial requirement, urging the council to preserve ground‑floor businesses and to think about linking housing with neighborhood commercial uses. “We’re not talking about everything fits in the same place,” the opponent said, arguing the corridor should retain active commercial uses. Other speakers, including Sam Foster and Kirk Tucker, spoke in favor of adding residential to the corridor while urging the council to preserve some commercial presence.

Council members discussed the economics of the senior housing product and the overlay’s mixed‑use requirement. One councilmember proposed a substitute motion to approve only a narrower variance (to allow owner‑occupied residential units on the first floor), but the full council ultimately voted to approve the developer’s requested variances and move the project forward.

Council members who moved and seconded the final approval identified the project as consistent with prior affordable housing partnerships between the city and the Marietta Housing Authority. The motion to approve carried.

The development team and Marietta Housing Authority said they plan to pursue tax‑exempt financing available for affordable housing projects as part of the project’s funding plan; a council member raised tax‑exempt financing during debate as a factor affecting feasibility.

The council’s approval clears the way for the developer to proceed with permitting and further design work. Staff and the developer said they expect to continue coordinating details on commercial tenants and final design before building permits are issued.