New Hotel, More Apartments, COVID-19 Money: Smyrna City Council

SMYRNA, GA — Smyrna City Council members met Monday night and approved a series of agenda items, including plans for an 8.7-acre mixed-use development, almost $4 million in federal COVID-19 relief money, about $1 million in money for resurfacing city roads and almost $400,000 in public safety equipment.

Here's what you need to know:

1. A mixed-use development, including a Hilton hotel and 300-unit mulitfamily complex, is coming to Spring Road.

RASS Associates, a Roswell-based developer, plans to build an eight-story Hilton hotel with 188 rooms, an five-story apartment complex with 300 units, a parking garage with 546 spaces and 37,000 square feet of retail space for restaurants and shops.

The $125 million project, called The Emerson Center, will span 8.7 acres at 2800 Spring Road near Interstate 285 and the Cumberland/Galleria district. Council members voted unanimously to annex about 7.1 acres into the city Monday, as well as approved the mixed-use development plans.

The apartment complex will offer 53 studio apartments, 140 one-bedroom apartments, 91 two-bedroom apartments and 16 three-bedroom apartments. Multifamily residences will span between 567 square feet and 1,350 square feet.

2. The city of Smyrna will get almost $4 million in federal COVID-19 relief money.

Council members approved the federal grant from the American Rescue Plan, which is about the first half of the allocated $7.9 million total money Smyrna is set to receive from the ARP.

City staff are still waiting for the final guidelines for how the money can be spent, Mayor Derek Norton said Monday, but general descriptions include:

• Replacing lost public sector revenue
• Supporting public health expenditures
• Addressing negative economic impacts caused by the pandemic
• Providing premium pay for essential workers
• Investing in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure

Council members will discuss this again at the Aug. 12 meeting, Norton said.

3. Ten roads will be resurfaced in the coming months.

An almost $1 million contract between Donelson Construction Company, LLC and the city was approved Monday for 10 roads to be resurfaced in the city in the coming months. A specific timeline was not provided, but the following roads are included:

• Campbell Road
• Goodwood Boulevard
• Wynridge Drive
• Spruce Drive
• Cooper Lake Road
• Vineyard Way
• Bordeau Walk
• Hickory Hills Drive
• Hawthorne Avenue
• Camp Highland Road

4. The Fire Marshal's Office and Smyrna Police Department will be getting new vehicles.

Council members approved the almost $70,000 purchase of two Ford Explorers for the Fire Marshal's Office to replace two existing ones, as well as the almost $300,000 purchase of six Ford Police Interceptor Explorers for the Smyrna Police Department.