As reported in the Smyrna Neighbor this week, Cobb Superior Court Judge Adele Grubbs dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Smyrna resident against the city’s use of a $26.2 million tax allocation district subsidy to redevelop Jonquil Plaza.
This clears the way for developers and the city to continue with plans to turn the old shopping center into more than 180,000 square feet of mixed-use retail, office and residential space.The civil suit filed last December by James Cunningham – a private Smyrna resident acting on his own behalf – charged that the city of Smyrna, the Cobb Board of Commissioners and Cobb Board of Education acted unconstitutionally with approval of a TAD subsidy to redevelop Jonquil Plaza at the corner of Atlanta and Spring roads.
A TAD subsidy is an incentive for developers to redevelop blighted areas to increase property values, which results in more tax revenue and requires cooperation between the city, county and school district. The financing tool is used to issue tax-free bonds to pay for land, infrastructure, and specific capital improvements in designated tax allocation districts.Because Cunningham did not provide any evidence in the case, such as the actual TAD ordinance from the city, for the court to review, Judge Grubbs granted Smyrna’s motion to end the lawsuit.
The development of Jonquil Plaza hasn’t slowed down, with all tenants already moved out, the last being McEntyre Bakery and Jonquil Sporting Goods.The $181 million redevelopment is scheduled to begin after demolition of the old shopping center, which is expected in June.Jonquil Village, expected to be completed in May 2009, includes more than 160,000-square-feet of retail space with a Publix grocery store, about 20,000 square feet of office space and 300 to 355 condominiums built above a 1,000-space $18 million underground parking deck.
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