Sandy Springs Mayor Eva Galambos says the city can be proud of a new residential development near the Chattahoochee River in part because residents helped shape it.

"This place was created with great help from the neighborhoods," Galambos said. "This is the first major development in Sandy Springs since our incorporation as a city [and] we can point to it with great pride."

Galambos spoke earlier this month at the opening ceremony of One River Place. The planned development of homes, condos and townhouses is located on Powers Ferry Road, next to Ray's on the River.

Residents have been negotiating with various developers over the site's redevelopment for nearly a decade, said Doug Crawford, a real estate investor and nearby homeowner who was involved with the discussions.

The site formerly was a collection of small office buildings constructed in the 1970s.

Crawford said the first plan he remembers was a version of Rockefeller Center that was proposed by Morgan Guaranty Trust Co. of New York.

"They put forth a plan to replace all the little office buildings with big buildings," Crawford said. "We ultimately approved a configuration that was a compromise. They didn't get all the big buildings they wanted, and the neighborhoods didn't get any retail."

As the office market softened and construction was delayed, other plans for the property were discussed. Crawford said the final negotiations were with two developers, Carter and LeCraw and Co., which later sold the property to a development team of Halter Co. and Trammell Crow Residential. The developers won residents' support for the mix of residences now being built at One River Place, Crawford said.

A total of about 450 condos, townhouses and houses are planned at One River Place. The clubhouse is open and townhouses are available for occupancy.

Prices range from nearly $200,000 to more than $1 million, according to Pete Halter, whose Halter Co. is building the project with Trammell Crow Residential. Construction financing was provided in part by City View, an investment company headed by former federal housing Secretary Henry Cisneros, who also attended the event.