'The End Is Finally In Sight': Sprayberry Crossing Demolition, Construction Dates Set

EAST COBB, GA — Next month, East Cobb residents can finally expect to see bulldozers and construction crews all throughout the Sprayberry Crossing shopping center.

The first phase of the Sprayberry Crossing demolition is set to begin April 11, according to multiple news outlets. Joe Glancy, an area resident and co-founder of the Sprayberry Crossing Action Facebook group, announced the news from Atlantic Realty, the developer, last week.

"The end is finally in sight and the day has finally come to circle our calendars for the actual day of demolition for this blighted property," Glancy wrote. "It's been a long struggle, but the end is here."

Once called "an anvil around the necks of this community for over a decade," the long-blighted Sprayberry Crossing shopping center has been a hot button issue for some in East Cobb. Many residents have expressed concern that the new development will make traffic worse in an area already plagued by congestion.

The county passed a redevelopment ordinance in 2005, which allowed for the creation of redevelopment overlay districts, or RODs. These districts were intended to promote commercial, residential and mixed-use redevelopment in certain parts of the county by waiving or reducing some requirements.

Sprayberry Crossing was the only project to invoke the ordinance since 2005. Cobb commissioners voted to amend the ordinance in February 2021 so that developers could no longer use it during a rezoning application.

Cobb County also implemented a blight tax in 2018, which hiked up the owner's property taxes from $3,108 to $21,756 annually — a 600 percent increase. Code enforcement has received 391 complaints on the property since 2004, and police have responded to 125 calls to the property in the last five years, Patch previously reported.

But some residents were still unhappy with the decision. Gambrill received applause when she placed her vote against the approval of the project, and one resident was escorted out for heckling Birrell while she was speaking.

"It's not a perfect plan and I don't know that there would ever be a perfect plan. But it's what's before us today," Birrell said in June 2021.

Fencing will start to go up around the property at the end of March, Glancy said. The fencing will still allow rear access to the open businesses on Sandy Plains Road, but you won't be able to cut through the backside of the shopping center between Sandy Plains and East Piedmont roads.

Atlantic Realty is finishing up the required asbestos removal and hired a pest control company to deal with potential rodents in the buildings.

Cobb County Fire Department and Cobb County Police Department may use the shopping center for trainings before demolition, Glancy said — so don't be alarmed if you see groups of fire or police personnel at the center.

Demolition will begin with the former Bruno's grocery store, the Marietta Daily Journal reported. Construction is slated to begin in August, and Glancy said it should take approximately 18 months to finish.

Upon completion, the new 17-acre Sprayberry Crossing will have 132 age-restricted apartments for those age 55 and older, 102 townhomes, and retail and restaurant space, Patch previously reported.

Original plans included a 34,000-square-foot Lidl grocery store, but those plans were affected when the developer couldn't come to a traffic agreement with Sprayberry Bottle Shop, which is located where the recommended entrance is supposed to be, according to East Cobb News.

Related:

• Sprayberry Crossing Redevelopment Approved By Cobb Commissioners
• Sprayberry Crossing Advances, But Without Recommendation
• Sprayberry Crossing, North Point Ministries Tabled Until May
• Cobb Code Changes Address Lawn Equipment Noise, Redevelopment