Milton council approves Deerfield mixed‑use redevelopment with 140‑unit rental building and parking variance
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Summary
The Milton City Council approved a use permit and concurrent variance for a 24.92‑acre Deerfield redevelopment that retains two office towers, adds 140 rental multifamily units, 24,800 sq ft of retail, 20 townhomes and expanded civic space. The vote passed 6–1 after staff and applicant presentations and public Q&A.
Milton — The City Council voted 6–1 on Feb. 2 to approve a use permit and a concurrent variance for U25‑03, a proposed 24.92‑acre mixed‑use redevelopment in the Destination Deerfield district that includes two existing six‑story office buildings, 140 multifamily rental units, 24,800 square feet of new retail, 20 townhomes and expanded civic space.
City planning staff recommended approval after reviewing the project against the Deerfield Form‑Based Code and the Unified Development Code (UDC). Staff summarized the proposal as keeping the project within the base T‑6 densities while using code incentives — public civic space and public access trails — to adjust the residential/commercial ratio to 56.8% residential and 43.2% commercial. Planning staff noted the applicant would increase on‑site civic/open space to roughly 24% (about 6.18 acres), up from the 10% minimum.
"There are no changes to any of the densities that were in the Deerfield form based code, and we maintain that," Bob Buscemi, director of special projects, said in the presentation. Staff outlined conditions to ensure commercial uses are built concurrently with the multifamily units and recommended a concurrent variance to reduce the total required parking from the ULI‑calculated 1,194 spaces to 932 spaces, based on shared‑use assumptions and existing on‑site parking.
The applicant, represented by attorney Ethan Underwood of Underwood Scoggins, and developer representatives said the project aims to "reactivate" largely vacant office buildings and preserve the Milton aesthetic. Underwood confirmed Willow Bridal will operate the multifamily rental component. Owner Guido Baragallo said the office buildings are currently about 30% occupied and described planned lobby and floor renovations to attract tenants.
Council members asked detailed questions about parking assignment, school bus routing, phasing and developer assurances. Planning staff said multifamily units will be rental, parking for apartments would not be individually assigned but must be within 400 feet of the units, and Fulton County Schools controls bus routing. Staff also said required performance bonds and phased certificate requirements in the recommended conditions are intended to ensure commercial development occurs concurrently with residential occupancy.
The council motion approving agenda item 26037 directed staff to adopt the recommended conditions as amended in the meeting record. The motion was made by Council Member Cranmer and seconded by Council Member Jan Jacobus. The clerk announced, "That motion passes 6 to 1." The record does not identify the nay vote by name.
Next steps: staff will finalize the edited conditions that were discussed during the hearing and include them in the public record; building permits and land disturbance permits must comply with the UDC and the conditions before certificates of occupancy are issued.
