Politics & Government
Isakson: Senior Living Plans Still Feasible
The rezoning request for development next to East Cobb Park will be refiled early next year.
Several days after withdrawing a rezoning request for a large-scale senior living complex next to East Cobb Park, Kevin Isakson said a project of that kind is still feasible, and on that land.
Isakson, the director of sales and marketing for Isakson Senior Living East Cobb, said his development company needs more time to revise the plans and bring them back to the community.
In an interview with East Cobb Patch on Wednesday, Isakson said he couldn't provide any details of what a new proposal might look like, because his firm hasn't worked through anything since being granted a continuance in the rezoning application from October to November.
But he strongly believes in the project on the 53-acre Tritt property on Roswell Road, right across from WellStar's East Cobb Health Park that's under construction.
"That land is ideally suited for what we have in mind," Isakson said. "We think it remains so now. Our focus is on that location."
He said demand for senior living in East Cobb, both now and in the long-term, will continue to rise.
Related stories
- Isakson Living Withdraws Rezoning Request
- Isakson Living Seeks Rezoning Delay
- East Cobb Hears Isakson Living Plans
- Petition Drive Started Against Isakson Living Proposal
- Ott: 'Political Connections' No Factor in Isakson Rezoning
- Senior Complex Proposed for East Cobb
Isakson -- who is the son of U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, an East Cobb Republican -- said he plans to refile for rezoning in early 2014. Isakson Living's CEO is Andy Isakson, the senator's brother.
The land currently is zoned for low-density residentlal, and the Isaksons want to change that to continuing care retirement community, a relatively new zoning category in Cobb.
The initial proposal called for 987 mostly independent living units, with five-story buildings and parking underneath. Nearby residents objected, and so did the East Cobb Civic Association, which came out against the project for its density and proposed 10-year build-out.
"I think it's a good time to step back," said East Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott, who has met with the Isaksons and East Cobb Planning Commissioner Mike Terry several times.
"It would have been a protracted battle" to pursue the rezoning request as it was given the depth of the opposition, Ott said.
Kevin Isakson said he understands the concerns, and stressed his community ties in continuing what he said has been a deliberative process.
"This is a community I live in," said Isakson, a Walton High School graduate who lives in the Hampton Farms neighborhood and coaches his son's East Side Baseball team that plays at Fullers Park, adjacent to the Tritt land.
"This is my home too. These are my neighbors."
And that is an appeal he hopes will be heard in the community in the coming months.
"We acknowledge the issues the community has raised," Isakson said. "It's just going to take more time to think through and present new plans to the community."
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