The Sandy Springs City Council has approved a waiver of building permit fees and a three-year waiver of business occupational taxes as incentives for the redevelopment of a renowned local movie theater.

The waivers, with a projected total value of $11,290, were requested by representatives of The Springs Cinema and Taphouse – formerly the LeFont Theatre Sandy Springs, at 5920 Roswell Road – according to a staff memo to the council.

BHG Properties purchased the business last fall and plans an extensive renovation and overhaul of its operations, hiring 17 new staff members. The project meets the city’s economic development incentive goals of a capital investment greater than $750,000 and more than 15 new jobs, staff said.

The theater “has fallen into a state of disrepair,” but its new owner plans to invest $1.5 million in tenant improvements, not including furniture, fixtures and equipment, and up to $500,000 in personal property, and will be committing to a 15-year-lease, staff said. Renovations are expected to be completed this fall.

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

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