REL Properties of Decatur has also given the Gainesville SchoolSystem an option to buy another 4.6 acres at fair-market value. Theschool system had asked the developer to donate either land ormoney to reduce the economic impact of the project to the communityof 25,000 permanent residents, local brokers following the projecttell GlobeSt.com.

Robert Lanier, president of REL Properties, plans to develop 578townhomes, 460 apartments, 1,148 single-family residences, 687,000sf of office space and 510,000-sf of retail, according topreliminary development plans filed with the city. The project'ssize and scope is unprecedented among a 10-county Atlanta suburbanarea, according to brokers intimated with the venture'sprogress.

The Georgia Mountains Regional Development Center is against theproject. The state agency's June recommendation cites an earlierdevelopment plan that was not in the best interests of the state.Since then, REL has reduced the total number of shelter units to2,186 from 2,594. But the developer increased the office spacecomponent by 100,000 sf to 687,000 sf and raised the retailcomponent to 510,000 sf, as GlobeSt.com previously reported.