Wednesday, March 23, 2016

New Retail Center Planned for Toco Hill(s)

New center planned for Toco Hills.

Crim & Associates plans to build a new 11,000 square foot retail center on LaVista Road at Toco Hill.  The property, located in an outparcel of the existing Kroger, is just under 1.4 acres and is zoned C-1 (Local Commercial District.) 

A sign was erected recently announcing a new retail center. Leasing is being handled by Crim & Associates, a Sandy Springs-based commercial real estate firm.  I previously linked to a listing by LaVista Associates, Inc.,  but it would appear Crim has now taken the lead. 
The lot is currently heavily wooded and overgrown 
I contacted Crim's Steven St. Paul, the leasing agent for the property, who indicated that they have received significant interest in the new center but that they have no leases signed. St. Paul indicated that the center is likely not to be completed for another year.  I also inquired how many spaces the center would have, to which St. Paul responded that the number of spaces would be determined by the types and sizes of users that commit to the center.  

Jerry Hendrix of Toco Properties, owner of the Kroger portion of the center, indicated that there will be no curb cuts permitted between the new center and the Kroger portion. This access restriction was reportedly among the issues that hindered development from taking place on the parcel previously.  
The Crim "For Lease" sign in the background 
For many years, there was a single home on the property, but it was demolished a few years ago.  Most recently, Taco Cabana and later Pollo Tropical both proposed building new restaurants on the property, but each hit roadblocks, among them, the very old trees on the property.  

What would you like to see open at this new center?  Are you still hoping for a park?  What is your oldest memory of Toco Hill(s)?  

Please share your thoughts below. 

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

This article says that the two proposed restaurants hit roadblocks in the form of the very old trees. I certainly hope that the new developer can work around those trees, unlike the fools at the old Scott Blvd Baptist Church site which felt the need to completely clear the land. Shame on them, and shame of these developers if they do the same thing.

Anonymous said...

If that land gets developed those trees are history. Atlanta simply does not care about their natural resources.

Anonymous said...

Wouldn't you love to sit on a deck beneath wind-rustling through the leaves of those big trees enjoying lunch in the cool shade in summer? Anything would taste better.

The Anti-Gnostic said...

Some perspective on this: trees grow old and die, like any organism. Falling trees are hazardous to people and property. They kept that huge cottonwood in front of the Academy of Medicine alive as long as they could, but then it had to come down when it was clear it would eventually fall.

Anonymous said...

There are many misguided people who like to protect trees, especially when the trees are on property owned by someone else. Presumably those people live in structures which stand where trees once stood.

My earliest memories of Toco Hills are from the mid-60s. I wrote of it previously: the movie theater, barber shop, hobby shop with slot cars tracks, and the Pot 'o Gold convenience store facing LaVista. Good memories.

Anonymous said...

How anyone could want to destroy that beautiful overgrown vacant lot strewn with weeds, trash and other debris is beyond me. And for the love of god, let's not cut down any trees so that during the next ice storm they can fall and put everyone out of power for miles and possible injure someone shopping for their new mattress!

Anonymous said...

Lol @ Mattress shopper. Now, those tree shamers- how many trees have you planted in the last 5 years?? Alternatively, all new developers plant new and thriving trees and other vegetation.

Anonymous said...

The lot is really an eyesore. I remember rummaging around 15 years or so ago, just after the Arnold house was leveled and gone, but a couple of sheds still stood. One shed had a 5 foot deep layer of newspapers, and I remember seeing rats running around.

There are plenty of forests that are better protected today than they were hundreds of years ago. This lot would be best utilized with some sort of business/restaurant on it.

Anonymous said...

Interesting, all these anti-tree sentiments . Dekalb county's tree ordinance is non-existent, and it is deplorable that the county treats every tree as an undesirable "organism." Yes, all things grow old and die, but we are hurrying our own demise when we destroy our natural habitat and the habit of what wildlife remains. It sounds like some people won't be happy until every tree in the county is felled, and that is made evident by the nearby developments on N. Druid Hills, Briarcliff Road at La Vista, Frazier Road - oh, I could go on and on. Needless to say I am not in favor of losing anymore trees to another restaurant. And, I happened to see a flock of birds sitting in one of those old trees. Oh well, just some more dying organisms.

Anonymous said...

Toco Hills Shopping Center is the neighborhood eyesore, not the trees surrounding it. With a little effort, green spaces can be restored and dying trees replaced. Retail stores grow old and die. Do we really want our neighborhood to become another Lawrenceville Highway?

Mailey E. McLaughlin, M.Ed. said...

Sadly, many of the old trees on that parcel are dead or dying, from the looks of it. I used to covet that lot for the trees alone, but with no maintenance, the weeds choked everything out. I always thought it would be a great green space, since it appeared that no one was ever going to be able to build on it.

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