New subdivision planned in Macon likely the first to be developed since recession

A new subdivision is planned off Rivioli Drive, and it appears to be the first single-family development to be built in Bibb County since the Great Recession ended nearly a decade ago.

A conditional-use application has been filed with the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission that would allow Macon-based Three Oaks Construction and Development Inc. to build 33 homes at 5064 and 5075 Rivoli Drive. The properties total 11.5 acres, and the proposed building lots range from .19 acre to .42 acre. The application is on the agenda for Monday’s meeting.

The property is in a planned development residential district. In February 2007, prior to the recession, the parcel at 5075 Rivoli Drive was rezoned to allow a single-family attached cluster subdivision with 44 lots. But the project fell apart, and the property was foreclosed on by a bank. The recession ran from December 2007 until June 2009, according to the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research.

There were a couple of subdivisions that began development toward the end of the recession that “never got completed, and some of those started coming back online during the past three years,” zoning Executive Director Jim Thomas said.

“But to have a whole new subdivision come in and be developed ... it’s been almost 10 years,” he said.

Matt Gilbert, owner of Three Oaks Construction, said he had considered creating attached housing, such as duplexes, for residents over 55 years old, but he heard from potential buyers who said, “We don’t want to be attached. We want a detached product.”

That’s why Gilbert is building single-family “high-end” homes with about 2,500-2,600 square feet, geared toward “empty-nesters, since that’s apparently an underserved population,” he said.

The homes will be similar in size and style to the ones built during the last phase of the Abbington subdivision directly across Rivoli Drive from the proposed development, Gilbert said.

Rezoning would allow retail store

In another matter, an application has been filed to rezone 4397 Jeffersonville Road from a single-family residential district to a neighborhood commercial district to allow for a retail development.

Dollar General plans to build a 9,100-square-foot store on the 2.1-acre site, along with 39 parking spaces. The site also will have a detention pond.

The property is surrounded by “low density residential uses and wooded properties” zoned residential and commercial, according to the commission’s staff report.

The site “lends itself as a logical location for a new retail development,” the report said.

“In terms of quality of life, staff believes that the proposal as submitted … would not adversely influence living conditions in the surrounding areas,” it said. The store “could serve the needs of the neighboring residential community.”

Commission to rehear garden school plans

A conditional-use application to allow the operation of a garden school in a home is expected to be reconsidered at Monday’s meeting.

The applicant, Brittany Meir y Teran, is seeking to use her home at 697 Sprindale Woods Drive to operate the school.

The matter was deferred from the Sept. 10 meeting, so the applicant “could address concerns expressed by the neighborhood and the commission about potential traffic and parking impacts,” the staff report said. However, “no new information has been submitted to commission staff” before the deadline for Monday’s agenda, it said.

The garden school would feature “a secluded and sustainable green space where children and their parents can learn, explore and enjoy the outdoors without distractions,” it said.

Classes would consist of eight to 10 students, twice a day, three-to-five times a week. The target age range are toddlers and their caregivers as well as children 6-12 years old. Off-street parking for eight vehicles would be provided, the report said.

The meeting begins at 1:30 p.m. in Suite 300, at Terminal Station, 200 Cherry St.

Other items on the agenda are:

201 Spring St.: Certificate of Appropriateness to allow design approval of tree removal, HR-3 District. Edward Morrow, M&K Tree Service, LLC, applicant.

577 Third St.: Certificate of Appropriateness to allow design approval of signage, CBD-1 District. Burt & Burt, Jim Burt, applicant.

945 Maynard St.: Conditional Use to allow multifamily cluster housing, (tiny houses), PDR District. Georgia Behavioral Health Services, Cass Hatcher, applicant.

1071 Oglethorpe St.: Certificate of Appropriateness to allow design approval of new single-family dwelling, HPD-BH District. Charles Mishew & Dialo Cartwright, applicant.

1289 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.: Conditional Use to allow auto repair/body repair, C-2 District. OLATUNII, Raji & Betty Schreimeister, applicant.

4437 Columbus Road: Violation of Section 27.08 of the Comprehensive Land Development Resolution — creating a truck stop/repair and sales, PDC District. Yong Kim, applicant.

6790 Houston Road: Conditional Use to allow platting prior to site plan approval, PDC District. South Bibb Capital Holdings, Jeff Royal, applicant.

The proposed shopping center on Thomaston Road at Tucker Road was scheduled for Monday’s meeting, but it has been deferred by the staff.