[UPDATE] Dunwoody Bank Redevelopment Could Now Include a Portillo's

A stalled project across from Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody is on again, with another round of tweaks and a new restaurant, too!  The redevelopment - 84 Perimeter Center East - is now scheduled to bring new retail, age-restricted apartments, and a drive-through restaurant.

Local publisher Rough Draft in recent days published both a print and digital report about this proposal, in which they seem to both bury the lead and also carelessly refer to the potential restaurant as "Partillo's," when in fact it's a "Portillo's!"  They also refer to the attorney representing the developer as "Dan" when in reality the attorney from Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP, is Dennis "Den" Webb.  

"The property has undergone a series of zoning amendments over the past 15 years. In 2008, the property was rezoned from O-I to C-1 conditional (Z-08-14825) to allow for the development of a hotel, a 7,050 square foot full service restaurant, a 5,369 square foot meeting space, and a 70,000 square foot fitness club," the City of Dunwoody states. 

A 2019 proposal would have included a 150-key boutique property from Hilton Hotels as well as 30,000 square feet of retail space.  

JSJ Perimeter, LLC, a holding company created in December 2018 by John DiGiovanni of Inland Atlantic Development Corporation, currently owns the property.  

Now in its fifth iteration, JSJ Perimeter, LLC has requested a modification of the zoning and special land use permit conditions (RZ 23-02 & SLUP 23-03), to modify existing zoning conditions, update the site plan, and get a new special land use permit for a drive-through (restaurant) approved. 

Site plan approved in 2023 (click to enlarge)

The roughly 2.9 acre property was for many years home to various banks, but has sat neglected and idle for more than ten years, save for a time it briefly "reopened" in 2016 for the filming of the hit movie "Baby Driver."  

A site plan for the project indicates that the Portillo's would occupy a roughly 4,800 square foot building along Ashford Dunwoody Road with a patio and double drive-thru lanes.   The development would also include a two-story, roughly 10,600 square foot commercial building beside the restaurant with the age-restricted apartments and accompanying parking garage constructed in the rear of the property along Perimeter Center East. 

At its August 12 meeting, the Dunwoody Planning Commission ultimately (after two failed motions) recommended rezoning and a Special Land Use Permit (SLUP) to allow for the redevelopment.      

That said, city staff did not recommend the rezoning and SLUP for passage, saying that “the general concept of a mixed-use development with limited surface parking, new open space, street-front dining and retail, with a residential or hotel component is consistent with the intent of the PC-2 zoning district, but the inclusion of a drive-through is problematic.”  PC-2 (Perimeter Center 2) zoning permits office and residential uses, with limited retail.  

Currently proposed site plan (click to enlarge)

According to Webb, "the drive-through, while essential to the design, would not serve as a traditional use as only 30 percent of its revenues traditionally comes from the drive-through."   Although Portillo's is a publicly traded company, it does not break out drive-thru sales. The industry standard, however, hovers around 60 per cent, a number that increased in the years following the pandemic.   

When the commission voted 6-1 to approve the Perimeter Center application, it did so with four conditions, including the stipulation that no more than 50 per cent of the restaurant’s food revenue can be derived from its drive-through. 

The case will next be heard by the Dunwoody City Council on October 14.  

Drive-thrus have been a hot button for many municipalities.  Raising Cane's and Zaxby's are both looking to redevelop former bank properties in Dunwoody with the former having been working on getting its project approved for more than two years, and the latter for more than a year.  

A McDonald's at 4540 Ashford Dunwoody Road occupies a onetime bank property and is currently the only drive-thru along Ashford Dunwoody Road in the vicinity of Perimeter Mall.  

As for Portillo's, the Chicago-based company plans to open their first ever Atlanta area location later this fall along Barrett Parkway in Kennesaw.  The company, which earlier this year admitted "missteps" in its Texas rollout, has a lot riding on its Atlanta market debut.  The company has seen its stock slide more than 80 percent (now trading at about seven bucks) over the past five years, and its entry into new markets has not gone as it (or Wall Street) would like.  According to an August 6 article in trade magazine QSR, the chain is partnering with Coca-Cola to help with some marketing activations [in Atlanta].

Portillo's nearing completion in Kennesaw

In addition to Kennesaw, the company has locations in development in Cumming near the Collection at Forsyth and in Buford near the Mall of Georgia.    

What are your thoughts on the proposed redevelopment?  Are you excited at the prospect of more Portillo's in metro Atlanta?  If approved, what kind of retail would you like to see come to the project?  

Please share your thoughts below.