Developer CORE outlines North Downtown land swap, parking deck and 1,400‑bed student project; residents caution on Lay Park access

Andy Savoy, representing developer Core Spaces, presented a detailed development agreement and timeline for a North Downtown project that would swap the Butterfly Lot for a smaller public parking parcel and deliver a public parking deck plus a large student housing complex.

Savoy said the IGA approved in June authorized negotiating the land swap and that the development agreement contains the operative commitments, including: a minimum 425‑space public parking deck (the development agreement’s Exhibit and budget shows roughly $17.6 million total deck cost), an inclusionary zoning in‑lieu payment of about $7,800,000, relocation of the Hoyt House, a protected historic facade easement to save the Foundry building, at least 1,000 square feet of mural space along Jackson Street, and ADA pedestrian connections from the deck into Lay Park.

On sewer capacity and affordable housing: Savoy told the commission the project would upsizes sections of sewer piping (he described a blue crossing at roughly $3.1 million already authorized and a red crossing at about $2.5 million planned) that together would add roughly 500,000 gallons per day of capacity; CORE expects to use about 140,000 gpd and leave roughly 360,000 gpd available for other projects. He also argued that the $7.8 million in‑lieu payment could act as gap financing for affordable‑housing developers and therefore produce far more units than placing the ordinance‑required units directly on the Core site.

Developer financing and ADDA role: Savoy said Core will build the public deck on behalf of the Downtown Development Authority (ADDA) and finance the construction; ADDA’s reimbursement is capped at the lesser of 53% of actual costs or $8,100,000. Core will post performance and payment bonds before permits and put a $4.7 million construction escrow in place at closing to equalize the value of swapped parcels.

Community concerns during public comment and Q&A: several residents and commissioners raised the same themes — whether moving or changing playgrounds would reduce access for neighborhood children, whether a deck sited farther from the park is truly ADA‑accessible (commenters cited walk distances of 100–500 feet and flagged the difficulty for people with mobility needs), how voting location disruptions will be handled during construction, and whether the project’s parking (Core said the private building would include about 585 on‑site spaces) adequately serves ~1,400 new beds.

Core’s community benefits: Savoy offered outreach workshops for minority contractors, a proposed $400,000 scholarship fund administered by the Northeast Georgia Black Chamber of Commerce, and a 4,500‑sq‑ft Foundry lease to the chamber for $1/year (with build‑out funds) as a symbolic and practical community benefit.

What’s next: staff and the developer fielded dozens of technical and logistical questions during the work session and agreed to provide the traffic study, refined ADA access plans and final lease/MOU language back to the commission. No final vote on the development agreement occurred at the Dec. 9 work session; the item will return for formal consideration at a future meeting.