Aging Apartment Complex To Be Town Down

The South Cobb Redevelopment Authority (SCRA) announced Thursday that it completed the $3.7 million purchase of a run-down apartment complex with plans to demolish it and sell the site to a developer.

The deal involves the Magnolia Crossing Apartments at 490 Six Flags Drive in Austell, according to an SCRA statement. After current residents are transitioned to new housing and the complex is demolished, the SCRA will solicit proposals from developers “who wish to bid to work with the Authority and county on redevelopment,” said Dana Johnson, director of the Cobb County Community Development Agency, in the statement.

The goal of the deal, which closed this week, is to spur economic growth in the area, the SCRA said. The property was selected for purchase because “it accounts for 33 percent of all public safety responses on Riverside Parkway (a.k.a. Six Flags Drive),” the authority said.

The Magnolia Crossing Apartments complex also has a vacancy rate of 35 percent, double and triple the rate of surrounding properties, the SCRA said, and it’s “in a state of disrepair.”

Johnson said that effective Friday, the Marietta Housing Authority is under contract to manage the Magnolia Crossing Apartments and will oversee the demolition phase.

The property was purchased using funds from a $10 million redevelopment bond approved in July by the Cobb County Board of Commissioners and the SCRA. The Magnolia Crossing Apartments was assessed at a value of $4.2 million.