A site that spurred dispute by its owner and neighbors when it was announced as a potential location for a new Buckhead high school has been quietly removed from consideration by Atlanta Public Schools.
The school system sent a letter Friday to the property's owner, John W. Grant III, saying it was moving on.
To where is not officially known -- a system spokesman on Friday had no comment, and officials will not disclose details until they acquire the land.
One possible hint: "The last we heard -- and this was purely street talk -- was that the board was shifting its interest to the IBM properties on Northside Parkway," said Sam Massell, a former Atlanta mayor and president of the Buckhead Coalition.
The dispute erupted in October when a community advocate made known an initial letter to Grant, the owner of the Paces Apartments complex in Buckhead Village. The letter, which was also not welcomed by neighbors, suggested the school system might seize Grant's property through eminent domain -- an unwanted development that postponed a sale to another buyer because of the threat of condemnation.
The site, west of the intersection at Roswell Road and East Andrews Drive, includes about 30 acres and sits about two blocks from Peachtree Road location for what will be one of the city’s flagship schools. Neighbors complained about the possible effect on already congested nearby roads.
They organized, sending letters and e-mails to the system and speaking out at an October school board meeting. So did longtime advocate and resident Sally Silver, who sits on the city's Neighborhood Planning Unit B, which includes Buckhead. Silver, who is also friends with Grant, confirmed Friday that he received the follow-up letter.
The letter said that after investigation, the system determined it was not the right site.
"We needed something in writing," Silver said. "With this letter, they can move forward and, I think, wisely."
The system has never confirmed its interest in the 56-acre IBM complex on Northside Parkway. The Atlanta Business Chronicle reported in March that IBM might consolidate its Atlanta operations, possibly putting the Northside property in play. Silver in October said the site was under consideration.
Jamestown, the company that owns the property, said then that it “is always considering new real estate opportunities” but was focused on another project, the redevelopment of Atlanta’s City Hall East.
The IBM site is located in the city’s northwestern corner, which Massell said might be considered “far out on the edge of the boundaries.” But he also said its size would mitigate concerns about noise from athletic events, traffic and parking.
Reide Onley, co-president of the PTA at Buckhead's Sutton Middle School, called the IBM complex "much better as far as a site."
Atlanta officials announced in early February that they would build the school to relieve overcrowding at Sutton. Once the new high school is built, the system will convert the existing North Atlanta High School into a second middle school campus for the community.
They estimated construction could cost between $35 million and $45 million, not including the land.
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