WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Monday night, Warner Robins City Council approved a rezoning application for affordable housing to be built -- but not everyone agreed with that decision.
The rezoning is of 40.4 acres of land on Wynn Place -- not far from Russell Parkway, and near the VECTR Center.
The agenda item was originally scheduled for Warner Robins Council in January, but it was tabled. The plan is to build nearly 400 apartment units in two phases – 250 family units and 180 units for ages 55+.
The Reserve at Wynn Place is the name for the standard, workforce housing the Park at Wynn Place is the 55+ senior independent housing.
The rezoning petition passed Monday night with a vote of 4-2. Councilman Clifford Holmes voted "no" along with Councilman Keith Lauristen.
“I'll be voting against it. I'll tell you that now,” said Holmes.
They worry about the traffic apartments may bring to the area, including some residents like James Denis, who's lived on Wynn Place for 46 years.
“We are really not totally against development in that area that you're talking about. However, we are totally against the entrance being on Wynn Place. All that is a one way in and one way out,” said Dennis.
Keith Bauer with Laurel Design Group, the consultant with the developer KCG Companies, says they will try to find another entrance to the complex.
“We will reach out, continue to reach out to get other access to the property,” said Bauer.
If the petition was not approved, the land could have been made into an industrial site with the potential of truck traffic, because it is currently zoned General Industrial District. The mayor and council's approval rezones it to Multi-Family Residential District.
“I can tell you in the future, we'd be getting a lot more calls if there were cement trucks or anything else running up and down that road than we would if it's just residential traffic,” said Councilman Kevin Lashley.
Bauer says this project will have many benefits.
“This is housing for fire department members, teachers, city workers. You know people that work right in the heart of Warner Robins, but as of late really you can't live in the heart of Warner Robins either the housing's not good enough stock, or it's too expensive and they got to live outside of so we want to put some real high quality workforce housing in Warner Robins,” said Bauer.
The complex will include a clubhouse, pool and playground. Bauer says the goal is to break ground on the first phase of the project in early 2022. Warner Robins Development Authority director Gary Lee says the anticipated total revenue increase for the city of Warner Robins is about $1M a year from the housing project.