Latest Isakson Living plans illustrate the intensity of their CCRC project and how unsuitable it would be for East Cobb

On Friday, February 6, 2015, representatives of East Cobb Civic Association (ECCA) and Concerned Citizens met with representatives of Isakson Living, including their attorneys, architects and landscape designer to review the latest changes to their proposal for a retirement community on the 53.7 acre Tritt property, next to East Cobb Park.  This blog post relates much of the information Isakson Living provided at that meeting about their proposed Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) plan for the Tritt property located on Roswell Road.

The 2 images below put together would be the front view of the CCRC development from Roswell Road, according to the latest Isakson Living plan for the 54-acre Tritt property. In other words, there does not appear to be any overlap in these 2 pictures of the proposed view from Roswell Road.  

Isakson Living image of view of CCRC development from Roswell Road

This Isakson Living image above is the view from Roswell Road near Providence Road,
 and includes Buildings A, C, and H, and some of the 65 cottages.  

This Isakson Living image above is the view from Roswell Road near East Cobb Park,
and includes Buildings I, J, and K.

With both pictures side by side, the enormity of
the Isakson Living CCRC development proposal is clear.  

The image below is the map of all the buildings of the Isakson Living CCRC plan.  On the right, the blue water is Sewell Mill Creek next to East Cobb Park. The 11 buildings A-K are shown in detail in images provided by Isakson Living below. The squares at the back and left of the map are the 65 cottage homes.  The top view is Roswell Road, near Providence Road in the Walton school district.

Isakson Living Image: Map of February 2015 Isakson Living plan

Isakson Living has made no significant changes or reduction in footprint or size from the very first plan, and the current Isakson Living CCRC plan consists of 481 apartment style units, including 65 cottage homes (ranging from 2,600 to 5,200 square feet), and 11 large apartment-style buildings, 8 of which are 4-stories.  The largest one of the proposed Isakson Living apartment-style buildings is larger than WellStar by itself.  


The preliminary total square footage according to Isakson Living of the Isakson Living CCRC project is 1,054,246 square feet of air conditioned space, , and this does not include the parking garages. The Isakson Living CCRC plan has more square footage than Cumberland Mall, which has 1,040,000 square feet of retail space. Town Center Mall is 1,269,000 sq ft, so it's actually similar to all the retail space of many malls.

Numbers Provided by Isakson Living

Numbers Obtained From Wikipedia

At 1.054 million sq ft, the Isakson Living CCRC plan has more square footage than Cumberland Mall.

The images below are Isakson Living plans for:
 Buildings A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, and K that house 416 units,
the Health Care Center, the Fitness Center, and Other Amenities
as well as 4 designs for the 65 cottages.

Isakson Living Image: Building A (click for larger image)

Building A is 57,420 square feet and 4-Stories tall (3-stories over parking)

Isakson Living Image: Building B (click for larger image)

Building B is 48,396 square feet and 4-Stories tall (3-stories over parking)

Isakson Living Image: Building C (click for larger image)

Isakson Living Image: Another view of Building C (click for larger image)

Building C is 94,770 square feet and 4-Stories tall (3-stories over parking)

Isakson Living Image: Building D (click for larger image)

Building D is 11,800 square feet and 2-Stories tall
(Fitness Center)

Isakson Living Image: Building E (click for larger image)

Building E is 63,300 square feet and 4-Stories tall (3-stories over parking)

Isakson Living Image: Building F (click for larger image)

Isakson Living Image: Another view of Building F (click for larger image)

Building F is 87,510 square feet and 4-Stories tall (3-stories over Parking)

Isakson Living Image: Building G (click for larger image)

Isakson Living Image: Another view of Building G (click for larger image)

Building G is 178,300 square feet and 4-Stories tall (3-stories over Parking)
(to compare, WellStar across the street is 162,000 square feet)

Isakson Living Image: Building H (click for larger image)

Building H is 79,650 square feet and 4-Stories tall (3-stories over Parking)

Isakson Living Image: Building I (click for larger image)

Building I is 96,810 square feet and 4-Stories tall (3-stories over Parking)

Isakson Living Image: Building J (click for larger image)

Building J is 38,355 square feet and 3-Stories tall (Assisted Living)

Isakson Living Image: Building K (click for larger view)

Building K is 68,160 square feet and 2-Stories tall (Skilled Nursing)

The 2 images below are the color schemes for Building B and Building I.

Isakson Living Image: Color scheme for Building B

Isakson Living Image: Color scheme for Building I

Below are images of the 4 designs for the 65 cottages planned. The size of each home has been confirmed to be between 1,870 and 5,200 square feet.  To calculate the overall square footage of the project, the average 3,535 sq ft x 65 homes was used.

Isakson Living Image: House 1 Concept

Isakson Living Image: House 1 Concept from Rear with Basement

Isakson Living Image: House 2 Concept

Isakson Living Image: House 2 Concept from Rear with Basement

Isakson Living Image: House 3 Concept

Isakson Living Image: House 4 Concept

Intensity and density are the key descriptions when viewing this CCRC proposal.  It does not fit in East Cobb, nor has a plan been provided that would fit in any low density residential area, as former district 3 Commissioner Helen Goreham pointed out in the initial passage of the CCRC zoning code in 2008 (start at minute 58:00). 

A CCRC with 11 mostly 4-story apartment-style buildings and many commercial amenities, in addition to a 65 home subdivision, is an intensity far greater than a subdivision developer could build. Approximately 88 houses total could fit on the property as it is currently zoned (R-20), and if modeled on the High Gates subdivision (also R-20) on Robinson Road, which has similar acreage as the Tritt property and a floodplain, perhaps as few as 48 homes would fit.     

We want to emphasize again that we support CCRCs, just not a CCRC of this magnitude on this location near East Cobb Park in the Walton school zone.  The Isakson Living plan is far too intense and commercial for this residential area, especially given the topography and environmental features of the Tritt property. 

This Tritt property is zoned low density residential and it should remain so, in order to protect this area from overdevelopment of the East Cobb community, schools and recreational areas.  We hope that Isakson Living can find a suitable location where they could easily build 4-stories or higher, on already developed land rather than pristine forests, to make a cost-effective and practical CCRC development. 

School Bus stuck in Traffic next to East Cobb Park and the Tritt Property on the right, with the WellStar Health Park up on the left. (February 2015)

We trust the Board of Commisssioners to follow the zoning guidelines to protect areas from being overdeveloped.  It must be pointed out the WellStar on Roswell Road did not go through zoning, and so the impact of that massive development should be taken into account when any future rezonings in this corridor come up for a vote before the Board of Commissioners. The Isakson Living CCRC should be considered in light of the huge impact that WellStar has made on this East Cobb community, and Z-6 the Storage Facility across the street from WellStar and next to the Tritt property should also be considered in light of WellStar's footprint in this corridor.

4 Views Provided by Isakson Living of the CCRC Compared to Actual Views

Below are images provided by Isakson Living of 4 views from the neighboring subdivisions. Isakson Living has asserted that enough trees will remain to mitigate the views of the CCRC development; however, that viewpoint does not appear accurate based on real images of the Tritt property trees. 

Some homeowners in neighboring subdivisions were invited to walk the Tritt property with maps of the proposed development with Isakson Living's landscape designer, in order to understand where the houses and buildings would be located and to see how the subdivision views would be impacted. 

We have included a several Isakson Living-provided images side-by-side with photos of the Tritt property to illustrate the nature of the trees and how the CCRC buildings and houses would not be hidden from view by those trees that would remain. Rather, the CCRC buildings would dominate the landscape for everyone travelling on Roswell Road, living in the homes of the 5 subdivisions surrounding the property, or visiting East Cobb Park.

View 1 of 4 Isakson Living Image: Backyard view without trees for neighboring subdivisions. Isakson Living said the trees would remain, but this illustrates their CCRC design without visual obstacles

Isakson Living Image: Backyard views with trees in winter (view 1)

Actual view from a subdivision of trees in winter. If the interior trees are cut down, the view of CCRC Buildings and CCRC Houses would be clearly visible. Note how high the actual tree leaves would be.

View 2 of 4 Isakson Living Image: Backyard view without trees for neighboring subdivisions. Isakson Living said the trees would remain, but this illustrates their CCRC design without visual obstacles

Isakson Living Image: Backyard views with trees in winter (view 2)

View from the Tritt property of the marker for 1 CCRC House facing uphill. Note the lack of leaves on the trees in winter, and the view is clear all the way to the ridgeline, even with trees.

View 3 of 4 Isakson Living Image: Backyard view without trees for neighboring subdivisions. Isakson Living said the trees would remain, but this illustrates their CCRC design without visual obstacles

Isakson Living Image: Backyard views with trees in winter (view 3)

View from the Tritt property to a subdivision. Note the lack of leaves on the trees in winter, and the view is clear all the way to the ridgeline, even with trees.

View 4 of 4 Isakson Living Image: Backyard view without trees for neighboring subdivisions. Isakson Living said the trees would remain, but this illustrates their CCRC design without visual obstacles

Isakson Living Image: Backyard view with trees in winter (view 4)

View of the Tritt property in winter with no leaves visible. Note how the hardwoods are spaced, and the view is clear all the way to the ridgeline, even with trees.

Actual view in winter through the woods from the Tritt property. The trees would not hide 11 large 4-story buildings in addition to 65 houses.

Actual view in winter through the woods from the Tritt property. The trees would not hide 11 large 4-story buildings in addition to 65 houses.

Actual view in winter of the Tritt property from East Cobb Park. Note that all the interior trees would be cut down. Clearly the 11 multi-story buildings and 65 cottages would be quite visible.

View 1 of 2: Isakson Living image showing the view from a neighboring subdivision to the Tritt property CCRC. See note below about how much higher the tree canopy actually is with hardwood trees. Also note how the views from the subdivision would both look down on the rooftops of the cottages and look up to the 4-story buildings.

In the Isakson Living image above, the trees seem different from the actual trees.  Note how high the tree canopy is in the real image below.

Actual view showing how high the tree canopy on the Tritt property.

View 2 of 2: Another Isakson Living image showing the view from a neighboring subdivision to the Tritt property CCRC. See note below about how much higher the tree canopy actually is with hardwood trees, and the tree leaves are not actually that dense. Also note how the views from the subdivision would both look down on the rooftops of the cottages and look up to the 4-story buildings.

In the Isakson Living image above, the trees seem different from the actual trees.  Note how high the tree canopy is in the real image below.  Many of the Tritt property trees appear 60-70 feet tall, and appear quite different in actuality than depicted in the images..

Actual view in winter showing how high the tree canopy is and how the hills will impact the viewshed from neighboring subdivisions to the Tritt property.

Actual view in winter through the woods from the Tritt property. The yellow marker is the stream buffer border. The trees would not hide 11 large 4-story buildings in addition to 65 houses.

Damage to home foundations from planned blasting is a real concern for all the subdivision houses surrounding the property, in part because many of the surrounding neighborhoods are situated on a ridge above creeks that feed into Sewell Mill Creek.  Isakson Living plans to 'grade' at least 25-30 feet of large sections of the property in order to make it flat.  

Actual houses on the perimeter of the Tritt property. Note that the home foundations could be damaged during the planned blasting of the Tritt property.

Erosion and flooding are real concerns as well, and here are 2 videos of the flood of 2009.

This latest Isakson Living plan was put forward after the wetlands probability blog post.   Some very small areas of wetlands are now acknowledged on the latest Isakson Living plan but the main areas of probable wetlands are not included on this plan. 

Freshwater Forested / Shrub Wetlands are most likely located in the floodplain along Sewell Mill Creek, and not only can wetlands not be built on but often different construction techniques would need to be used so as not to damage them, according to federal and state wetlands guidelines. 

Isakson Living Image with highlighting added: Current Isakson Living plan acknowledges wetlands (next to yellow arrows), while many maintain that wetlands exist throughout the Sewell Mill Creek banks, as they do on either side of the Tritt property along the banks of the Sewell Mill Creek (see image below).

Actual wetlands on either side of the Tritt property along the Sewell Mill Creek, according to the National Wetlands Inventory. The Tritt property has not yet been surveyed since the Inventory began.

Probable Freshwater Forested / Shrub Wetlands along Sewell Mill Creek at East Cobb Park

Henslow's Sparrow is an endangered bird in this area

Deer on the Tritt property near East Cobb Park in January 2015

The impact to East Cobb Park cannot be overstated either.  Isakson Living has stated the project would take roughly 4 years of intensive construction, but this is after being told it would take 10 years for the project to be complete.  Very little in the footprint of the project has changed since the first plan, so it is difficult to know how the timeline became shorter. 

East Cobb Park is the jewel of East Cobb.  Residents from all areas of metro Atlanta come to enjoy the trails, playgrounds, green spaces and  Sewell Mill Creek.  A development of this size takes years to complete and the environmental  impact of a multi-year construction project on the surrounding area can't be underestimated.

View from East Cobb Park in winter: If all the trees in the center of the Tritt property tree line were cleared, the view from East Cobb Park would be overwhelmed with 11 large mostly 4-story apartment buildings. (image from February 2015)

Isakson Living has been good stewards of Park Springs in Stone Mountain, and the recent media coverage of the talent show performance at that CCRC speaks well of senior living communities. We want to restate that we support senior living communities. However, it is clear that the large-scale commercial Isakson Living East Cobb CCRC  would not be compatible with the topography of the Tritt property, or with the surrounding community.

We encourage everyone to:

sign the new petition 
&/or 
email the Board of Commissioners to Vote No to Z-2 Isakson Living plan for East Cobb 
&/or 
attend the March 3 and March 17 Board of Commissioners meetings
  
We want to thank the East Cobb community for continuing to urge the Board of Commissioners to deny this project. 

United we can make a difference!

The front of the Tritt property