Rosner, Brett (CMG-Atlanta)

Subject: FW:

Attached is a link to their petition. Let’s take the allegations one at a time:

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/o4w-neighbors-for-development-without-displacement?source=direct_link&

"I'm worried that this development will force me out of Old Fourth Ward." -
Carolyn, O4W Resident

My project will not force carolyn or any other homeowner out of Old Fourth
Ward. The fact is that 2 units of rental housing will be replaced with 16 (down
from the original 17) for sale homes. The homes are comparable in size and
price to the 3 new homes built on Ashley called Ashley Point as well as the
Studioplex townhomes being built on the Beltline. They are actually priced less
than new condos in Midtown like Opus 2 and in Buckhead like the Charles.

The Petition claims this would be the tallest building in the neighborhood. Again,
False. See the map below for all the area in O4W that has already been zoned for
heights of 225’ (in blue) which includes the GA Power site directly across the street (my
site is in red). 2 rezonings for the same height have already been approved for this area
because that is what the City Comprehensive Development Plan as well as the Old
Fourth Ward Masterplan call for. Those zonings are 750 Ralph McGill Z-17-58 and GA
Power Z-18-25. It is also important to recognize that one lot is currently vacant and the
other lot is zoned I-1 Light Industrial which is inconsistent with the City’s Comprehensive
Development Plan.

Like Carolyn, many of us in Old Fourth Ward are concerned. We welcome

development, but not at the expense of displacing our neighbors. We
demand development WITHOUT displacement.

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As noted previously, my project will replace 2 rental units with 16 for sale
units. As it relates to increasing property values and higher property taxes, a
commonly cited cause for alleged displacement , that is not a function of my
development. It is a function of the beltline. See the home price appreciation
statistics below and the following study from Georgia
Tech http://www.atlantaregionalhousing.org/wp-
content/uploads/2017/02/Immergluck_Balan_Beltline_Affordability.pdf Over the past
10 years home values have gone up 3% annually. But over the past 5 years,
since the opening of the Beltline, home values have gone up 17.5% year over
year. So basically home values were going down in O4W until the Beltline
opened. With our without my project, home values will continue to rise because
of the Beltline. Further exacerbating home values is the reality that a 2BR rental
apartments costs 2500-3500 per month in rent. All the new rentals and the
dearth of for sale homes has created a massive supply and demand imbalance
which will continue to put further upward pressure on home prices.

Looking back at the O4W Masterplan, one of the major issues identified was
building a more stable, less transient community. As the Masterplan noted, in
the 2000 Census, 74% of households in O4W were rentals. Today, as of the first
quarter of 2018, 76% of O4W housing is rental and that is going to get worse with
250 rental units at the Masquerade, 250 units at the Anthem on North Ave and as
many as 800-1100 rental units coming to GA Power. With just these
developments, O4W will be over 80% rental. As a point of reference, this is more
than double the national average. This level of transient housing is not
conducive to building a strong and stable community.

She finishes her petition with the following bullet points:

This project also FAILS to provide value for the community:

 NO street-level retail
That is correct. There is no street level retail. the project is not big
enough. Her petition also cites traffic congestion as a concern. Retail creates
much more traffic than residential. GA Power will deliver over 200,000 sf of
retail. There is plenty of retail and associated traffic and congestion already
coming.
 NO office component
Again, this is very confusing. She argues that my project will create traffic and
congestion from 16 homes and 32 cars. Office creates nearly 5-10 x the volume
of traffic per sf vs residential according to ULI (8 workers per 1000 sf = 16 car
trips per day plus visitors…..my units will have 1 car per 1000 sf = 2 trip per day
and probably less since most residents will walk). So if she is really concerned
about traffic, she should be happy there is no office. Besides, GA Power will be
adding 700,000 sf of office in addition to the 350,000 sf already
under construction. thats over 1 million square feet of office. Does she really
want more ??


NO community space
That is correct. The project is adjacent to the O4W Park which is community space

 NO affordability
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  I have volunteered to make a sizable contribution, in an amount consistent
with the Beltline Inclusionary zoning ordinance which is not even applicable
to for sale projects like mine, to Houseproud
Atlanta https://www.houseproudatlanta.org in partnership with the Atlanta
Beltline Partnership and Fourth Ward Alliance. HouseProud’s mission is to
help people stay in their homes by providing no cost repairs to keep
residents “warm, dry and safe”. They have been doing this for nearly 20
years. this money will be available through HouseProud exclusively for
residents within the boundaries of Fourth Ward Alliance.

I have volunteered to make a sizable contribution, in an amount consistent with the

Beltline Inclusionary zoning ordinance, which is not even applicable to for sale projects
like mine. I would be the first project in the City to do so. The donation would go to
HouseProud Atlanta, in partnership with the Atlanta Beltline Partnership and Fourth
Ward Alliance.
 https://www.houseproudatlanta.org

HouseProuds missing is to help people stay in their homes by providing no cost repairs
to keep residents “warm, dry and safe”. They have been doing this for nearly 20
years. This money will be available through HouseProud exclusively for the residents of
Old Fourth Ward. It is discouraging that my voluntary offer and my efforts to work with
Atlanta Beltline Parntership (David Jackson) and Houseproud (Lisa Jones) has been
termed “shady practices” by Ms. Schreiner. The project is not a rental project and is not
subject to the inclusionary zoning ordinance. Despite this, I have offered to make a
payment in lieu in accordance with the Inclusionary Zoning ordinance to HouseProud
Atlanta with a mandate that the money be used to help residents within the boundaries
of the Fourth Ward Alliance. For my offer to voluntarily address the issues of
affordability for existing residents, she has accused me of employing “shady
tactics”. Very disappointing.

 Traffic and congestion will be WORSE

She seems confused. she is concerned about the traffic from 16 homes, but then
complains that there is no office or retail which would add significantly more traffic. To
put the traffic issue in perspective, GA Power is approved for over 2.4mm square
feet. My project is 35K sf. 1/80th the size of the GA Power redevelopment. the impact
on traffic won’t even be a rounding error. Question - where was her concern for traffic
when Studioplex was approved for more than 16 townhomes ? Where was her concern
when 750 Ralph McGill was approved for over 50 condominiums ?

 Trees will be CUT DOWN

The project will strictly comply with the City of Atlanta’s tree ordinance. that is a non
negotiable requirement of the Building Department.

Every premise of her opposition to the project is false and without merit which is why,
when the project was presented at the Neighborhood meeting a few months ago, they
voted to support. The fact is my project is consistent with the City’s Comprehensive
Development Plan, which is why every surrounding rezoning to the same classification
has been approved including a rezoning last year for 750 Ralph McGill, a project that
was to have 50 condos similarly priced and be the same height, as well as GA Power
which is approved for 225’ building heights. the proposed project consistent with

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 adjacent uses and most importantly, it will be the first step in the old fourth ward
masterplan’s stated goal of delivering 3800 residential units in 10+ story buildings, it will
be the first new condominium development in O4W since 2005, and it will be an
important step in reversing the incredible growth in transient rental housing which is
now over 76%, (well over double the national average according to the US Census), and
bring homeownership opportunities to O4W that are so desperately lacking and critical
to building strong stable communities. it is a dense project, but it is located where
density belongs, adjacent to green space, the beltline and transit, not in the middle of
established single family neighborhoods on streets like Willoughby or East Ave or
Wabash.

Ms. Schreiner has elected to use an online petition with false accusations and allegations rather than the neighborhood
meetings where we would have an opportunity to rebut her false claims and present the facts. Finally, if that wasn’t
bad enough, the Neighborhood Board found it necessary to issue a response to the allegations made by Ms. Schreiner:

https://mailchi.mp/d06ffb90354b/help-rezoning-on-angier-info-and-poll

It is interesting to note the opposition issues cited:

4. It will displace the residents on Angier that were not aware that the 21story pencil building will be next to
their affordable apartments.

The residents of that property, which is actually zoned Industrial, not residential, already have an 8 story building
directly behind them that was approved by the neighborhood. this project is also not a surprise as their have been signs
posted for over a month now.

5. They will have to cut down at least 10trees that border the children's playground and canopy.

the property that will be developed does not contain 10 trees. We did a tree survey. One of the residents brought this
up at a meeting and we corrected her because she was looking at the wrong property, which she admitted. Further, the
property being developed does not border the children’s playground. there is a lot owned by someone else that
does. again, just flat out false statements.

The real story here is how a couple of people can use the internet and social media and a series of false statements and
untruths when they can’t get what they want in an open meeting where we are able to answer their questions and set
forth the facts.

Satish Lathi
Managing Partner
Live Oak Realty Investments