Chamblee DDA approves fifth amendment to Greystar purchase-and-sale agreement

The Chamblee Downtown Development Authority unanimously approved a Fifth Amendment to its purchase-and-sale agreement with Greystar Development East LLC at its Feb. 24 meeting, the board chair said.

The amendment primarily aligns bond and lease language and addresses environmental concerns that had been raised during negotiations, the chair said. "They took care of just about everything, including the environmental concerns we had," the chair said. A committee member moved approval and the board voted unanimously.

Why it matters: the amendment clears key contractual language needed for the development to proceed toward site permitting and financing. The chair said attorneys for the DDA and the developer met recently to reconcile differences between the PSA, bond-lease documents and related agreements.

The amendment includes a requested extension of the bond-approval period to April 30 to give parties time to finish bond language; the chair said a special meeting could be called sooner if the bond language is finalized. "They requested that the bond approval period be extended to April 30," the chair said. The chair added the goal of a special meeting is to approve the bond-lease agreement and send it to the judge promptly.

Board members also discussed a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) clearance letter that had been listed under the site-development package. The chair said the FAA approval language had been placed in the wrong section and clarified that obtaining an FAA approval letter is likely a lender requirement but "is not a requirement for us," the chair said. He added that Greystar is working to obtain the FAA documentation and that consultants can accelerate the FAA review.

On environmental risk, the chair said the DDA's technical and legal reviews, including geo-hydro and engineering input, reduced staff concerns. He said the Pierce properties involved in the transaction have brownfield status and that the brownfield protections travel with the land on conveyance, reducing DDA liability post-transfer.

A committee member made the motion: "Mister chair, I'd like to make a motion to approve the Fifth Amendment to the purchase and sale agreement with Greystar Development East, LLC." The motion was seconded and carried unanimously.

Next steps: the chair said he expects the attorneys to finalize remaining equity-transfer and materiality-threshold language within days and that the board could meet again to approve the bond-lease agreement for submission to the judge.