What the Georgia Square Mall Rezoning Guarantees West Athens, and What It Only Allows

"I'm not going to spend one penny until I get my zoning approved," developer Mark Jennings of The Leaven Group told a crowd of about 300 at a July 23 town hall. He also said he had no plan to show anyone yet, because he didn't have the zoning.

Most West Athens buyers will hear that quote as a delay. It also marks a trade. The mall's future used to be a contract that traded a long list of public benefits for future tax revenue. Now it is a zoning district with a short list of minimums and a lot of room inside them. If you're comparing homes near Atlanta Highway, the useful question is no longer "what will they build at the mall?" It's what the county can actually require them to build.

The Deal Behind the Promises

According to Flagpole, in 2023 the Athens-Clarke County Commission unanimously approved a $660 million plan for Georgia Square Mall. Two wings would come down. The central food court area and Belk would stay, and new apartments, townhouses, retail, and office space would go up. The community benefits were written into the deal: 100 below-market-rate apartments, walking and bike trails, greenspace, reduced rent for women- and minority-owned businesses, space for after-school programs, and a bus station. In exchange, the county offered $186 million in future property tax revenue to help fund the project through a tax allocation district, a financing tool Athens had never used before.

The developer tied the scope of the plan to that money. "The Universal Studios/Disneyworld/Carnival Cruise plan we had doesn't work without $186 million," Jennings said at the town hall. According to Jennings, the restrictions in the agreement kept him from getting construction financing. Apart from demolishing a few outbuildings, nothing has been built, and The Leaven Group has received no tax dollars. The tax district still exists, and the county could use it for infrastructure around the property later. "The bucket's not going away. We're just not asking to access it anymore," said Jon Williams of W&A Engineering, the Athens firm designing the project.

The old plan was a binding site plan, which meant everything had to be built exactly as drawn and in a set order. Planning Director Bruce Lonnee said the overlay creates more flexibility and lets the project be built in phases over a long period. Flexibility helps the developer get financing. For neighbors, it means fewer things are fixed in writing.

What Moves From "Required" to "Allowed"

Here's how the two approaches compare, based on Flagpole's reporting and the county's October 1, 2026 staff report on the proposed Mall Area Special District Overlay.

Every number in the right-hand column is a maximum. None of it has to be built. Jennings has said he won't design a new plan until the zoning is approved, so nobody can tell you today what goes on which part of the site. Lonnee wasn't surprised the original version failed, given that the site is about the size of downtown. "If downtown Athens had to be built in one single moment, I don't think anybody could do it," he said.

The Floors the County Wrote Back In

Planning commissioners kept asking for guaranteed minimums. The staff draft prepared for the October 1 meeting added several:

• Commercial space. The overlay must contain at least 150,000 square feet of leasable commercial space at all times. No demolition permit can take it below that number unless permits for replacement space are issued too.
• Greenspace. At least one contiguous acre, owned and maintained by an association for the development and open to the public during its posted hours. The developer can move it from phase to phase, and it can count toward other landscaping and open-space requirements.
• Tree canopy. 20% across the overlay and at least 15% on each development site, with 0% conserved canopy required.
• Multi-use path. Before the first phase gets its permit, the developer has to submit a route for an 8-foot-wide path.
• Transit. The county must accept a transit facility site before any certificates of occupancy are issued for the first phase.

These numbers make more sense next to the size of the property. The mall building is about 800,000 square feet. Belk is the last of its four original anchors, after Macy's closed in 2017, Sears in 2019, and JCPenney in 2020. The 150,000-square-foot minimum is less than a fifth of today's building. The county report puts the site at 74.8 acres and Flagpole uses 78 to 80, so one acre of greenspace comes to roughly 1% of the land.

The transit condition is the strongest of the five, because it is tied to occupancy permits. Of the original benefits, it's the one most likely to survive. Williams said The Leaven Group is still willing to give the county two acres for the station, and Lonnee said it is "still very much on the table."

Where the 45-Foot Line Falls

This is the detail most likely to matter during a purchase. Under the draft, the maximum height is 100 feet. The exception applies within 250 feet of the property line of any parcel that sits outside the overlay, abuts it, and has a residential use or an existing nursing home when a building permit application is submitted. In that zone, the limit is 45 feet. Staff described that band as a height transition for neighbors whose homes are one or two stories.

If you're looking at a house that backs up to the mall property, 250 feet from your property line is the number to check, not your distance to the mall entrance. A house just inside the band and a house a block farther out face different maximum heights next door. The draft also requires a 20-foot planted buffer where a commercial or institutional use borders a residential use on a separate parcel. Mixed-use developments inside the overlay are exempt from that buffer. Because the developer has no plan yet, what actually ends up near any one backyard is still unknown. The height rules are what's written down.

Why the Planning Commission Kept Tabling It

The appointed Planning Commission tabled the overlay twice. The second time was against the advice of assistant county attorney Austin Jackson. Their objections line up with the minimums above.

"There's nothing that prevents this from being a sea of apartments. Nothing. That's still my biggest problem." Planning commissioner Sara Beresford, as reported by Flagpole

Commissioner Matthew Hall said the draft "doesn't contemplate anything like an urban center," the designation meant for a mix of homes, retail, restaurants, offices, and entertainment that draws visitors from outside Athens. He pointed to the commission's approval of the former Westclox plant, where more residential can be built only after 50,000 square feet of commercial space is finished. The mall draft takes a different approach. It sets an ongoing commercial minimum but doesn't hold back residential until commercial is completed. Chair Kristen Morales said, "This is the size of downtown Athens."

Mayor Kelly Girtz told Flagpole the commissioners' formal comments at their latest meeting were reasonable, and he expects agreement. "I think everybody's on the same page," he said. He also noted that buildings closest to Atlanta Highway would still need ground-floor retail.

The Corridor Isn't Waiting on the Mall

While the zoning debate continues, new businesses have opened along the corridor. These are already operating, which the mall plan is not:

• 7 Brew opened its first Athens location, a drive-through, at 3455 Atlanta Highway on August 3.
• Ted's Montana Grill opened at 196 Alps Road in Beechwood Shopping Center on August 24. The Banner-Herald noted that company CEO George McKerrow opened an Athens LongHorn Steakhouse in the same space in 1992.
• Barberitos opened its eighth Athens location on September 28 at 3755 Atlanta Highway, across from the mall. Owner David Weeks was the chain's first Athens franchisee.
• Dunkin has signed as an anchor tenant at the same 3755 Atlanta Highway center.
• Buddha's Delight opened July 3 at 1720 Epps Bridge Parkway in the former Chef Ming's space.

For a buyer, these openings are the part of the corridor you can see today. The mall overlay decides what could happen on roughly 75 acres over a long phased buildout, and the openings show what the surrounding commercial strip is doing in the meantime.

The Dates to Put on Your Calendar

1. October 1, 2026. The Planning Commission took up the overlay for a third time. As of October 3, the county's listing has the agenda and video but no minutes, and no written report of the vote has been published.
2. October 20, 2026. The Mayor and Commission sets its agenda. The staff report lists this date as tentative.
3. November 3, 2026. The tentative final vote by the Mayor and Commission.

The conditions in this post come from the staff draft. Commissioners could change them before the November vote.

Quick Answers

Is Belk closing? No source reviewed for this post says so. The county's October 1 report lists Belk as the only remaining anchor. The 2023 plan required keeping it, but the proposed overlay doesn't mention it.

Did taxpayers lose money on the original deal? According to Flagpole's July reporting, no tax dollars were paid to the developer, and the tax allocation district is still available for county infrastructure projects near the mall.

Will there definitely be a bus station? It's the most firmly tied of the remaining benefits. The draft requires the county to accept a transit site before any certificates of occupancy are issued for the first phase.

If a West Athens house near Atlanta Highway is on your list, Jarrett Martin Group can check where it sits relative to the overlay's 250-foot line, pull the final ordinance after the November 3 vote, and tell you which parts of the mall plan are actually required before you make an offer. Start Your Home Search with us, and bring the address.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.