Army seeks comments on Fort McPherson redevelopment

U.S. Army officials have set a Dec. 19 deadline for anyone interested in commenting on the possible environmental impact of the proposed redevelopment of Fort McPherson in southwest Atlanta.

The Army is taking comments in writing and at a hearing now set for Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. at The Commons at Fort McPherson, the clubhouse building at the golf course.

The Army on Friday released its own preliminary study predicting a variety of changes Atlantans could expect to air and water quality, soils, noise and traffic depending on how densely the 487-acre base gets redeveloped.

The study is a critical step toward getting the base redeveloped, Army officials said.

“We are held to not moving forward until this is complete,” said Michelynn Carellas, base transition coordinator.

They expect the final environmental report to be ready in June. After that, the base closure is still two more years away and redevelopment won’t occur until sometime after that.

Still, southeast Atlanta residents and officials eagerly await the project because it stands to be a huge mixed-use project that could transform much of south Atlanta.

Councilwoman Joyce Sheperd, who represents the area, said the Army needs to keep the community informed as it moves toward redevelopment of Fort McPherson.

“I’m excited about redevelopment,” Sheperd said. “With the economy the way it is, maybe it’s a good thing they don’t close down until 2011.”