ATLANTA — Neighbors in a West Atlanta community are pushing back against a proposal they say could leave many residents without access to a nearby grocery store.
Dozens of people gathered Wednesday evening outside the Buy Low grocery store on James Jackson Parkway to protest a proposed self-storage facility that would replace the store.
Residents say the grocery store is a lifeline for people who don’t have reliable transportation and cannot easily travel to larger grocery chains.
“If I can’t afford to go to the big grocery store, so I’ll come here to shop because it’s cheaper,” said customer Yolanda Norwood.
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The closest grocery stores to the area are about 3.5 miles away, according to a Google Maps search, a distance neighbors say can be difficult for people without cars or access to transportation.
“This grocery store has always been here. It never had the freshest meat. It never had the freshest produce and fruits, but it was all the people had,” said neighbor Duvwon Robinson.
Torrey Sumlin, chair of Neighborhood Planning Unit G, told Channel 2’s Eryn Rogers that Broward Development, the developer for Extra Space Storage, wants to tear down the Buy Low and build a self-storage facility at the site.
Sumlin said losing the store would create a major hardship for residents.
“Right now, we have only this store for people who don’t have transportation. If they take this away, we will have absolutely nothing, and I feel like the storage unit will starve us,” Sumlin said.
Neighbors say the area already has multiple storage facilities and they don’t understand why another one is needed.
“They have four already in the 30318 zip code,” Robinson said.
Sumlin said residents have asked the developer to consider another location.
“Let Broward Development know we do not invite you. We do not want you here. Find somewhere else to go,” Sumlin said.
The pushback comes as Atlanta City Council recently approved a moratorium on new self-storage facilities across the city. District 9 Councilmember Dustin Hillis introduced the moratorium legislation which passed unanimously through council Monday.
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However, the moratorium only applies to new applications. Neighbors say the application for the James Jackson Parkway property was submitted before the moratorium took effect, allowing the project to continue moving forward.
“Because of this development previously filing their application for permits, state law will allow for this development to continue to move through,” Sumlin said.
Rogers reached out to Broward Development to ask why the company wants to build a self-storage facility at the location. A representative did not respond to requests for comment.
Some neighbors say they want to see the grocery store remain open while also getting improvements.
“You could put more things in the store, make it a little more better, make it compete with some of the bigger chains,” said neighbor Dennis Butler.
Sumlin said the developer is hoping to close the deal in August, but the project would first need to appear on the Neighborhood Planning Unit agenda. The next meeting is not scheduled until August.
After that, the proposal would have to go before the city’s zoning board before moving forward.
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