New multi-family housing to begin construction in 2025

Builders are going to be busy in Polk County for several years to come as another round of housing got through the first thumbs up from the Cedartown City Commission on Monday evening.

The Vinings at Oxford got unanimous approval on May 13 to update their zoning status under PD-1 to allow for additional units to be added to the footprint of a multimillion dollar development that’ll bring another 96 units to Cedartown.

New construction will be going in directly south of the current units located at the corner of Blanche Road and the Highway 27 Bypass. The new entrance will be located on a strip of the property connected to Collard Valley Road.

Jordan Wilson, representing with Vantage Development who are co-developers on the project, worked on the first phase of The Vinings at Oxford in 2015 when the property was originally annexed into the city and zoned PD-1. She explained the current number of units allowed for the zoning no longer is feasable for a loan deal to make the project work.

“We were zoned as PD-1 for 62 units with an entrance on Blanche Road, and 62 units on Collard Valley Road,” she said. “Since that time, we’vee been pursuing the other 62 units with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs… but the site has just not scored very well so it hasn’t be possible to do anything with the remaining acreage because of that.”

The DCA got a request for 96 units and agreed to help with the financing under different terms than the previous first phase of the development, Wilson said.

She added that everything that needed to be done: environmental reports, market study and the like to ensure that the $30 million bond allocation will be a good deal for all involved.

Commissioners did give their approval, but not without questioning how the increased traffic would be handled. Since the entrance and exit for the property will be on Collard Valley Road near the intersection, a traffic study will likely need to be completed before construction begins on the project.

The board also had concerns about where the new residents to fill the 96 units might be coming from. They raised concerns over marketing into the Metro Atlanta area which made it difficult for local residents in need of housing to have opportunities to rent before others.

Wilson said that when the first phase of The Vinings at Oxford opened, online campaigns were set up in such a way that drew in greater amount of attention from the metro area. She said they will be working with local media to ensure that word gets out for when the new units are available for rental applications, as well as targeting a financial demographic that will be willing to pay the cost of monthly rental fees for the forthcoming housing.

The Vinings at Oxford also changed their rental agreement in such a way that no longer allows residents who are arrested at the property to stay. If a resident is taken away by police at the complex, an automatic eviction is served to occupants, Wilson explained.

She said management is also offering law enforcement who wish to call The Vinings at Oxford home get a $100 monthly discount on their rent.

The project went before the Planning and Zoning board for approval as well, but it went up before three of the members during the April session and failed to get a second on motions to approve and deny their zoning changes. Since both motions lacked a second, it came before the Commission without Planning and Zoning making any recommendations.