Dunwoody approves Georgetown plan: 4 sites, low-rise homes

Dunwoody has a new long-range plan for Georgetown, the largest of the city’s four local centers by size and population. The City Council approved the 2026 Georgetown Small Area Plan 7-0 at its Oct. 13 meeting.

The plan sketches what four sites could become if they are redeveloped. It favors homes of three stories or fewer, more green space and better walking and biking links. It replaces the Georgetown/North Shallowford Master Plan from March 2011 and every other past plan for the area.

The plan does not rezone anything. Community Development Director Richard McLeod told the council it neither takes away nor grants any property rights, the city’s meeting summary says. What owners can build is still set by the zoning code.

Council member Rob Price made the motion and council member Tom Lambert seconded it. The planning firms TSW and Kimley-Horn prepared the plan for the city.

Georgetown in numbers

The plan, in the council’s Oct. 13 agenda packet, describes Georgetown as the area north of I-285 around Chamblee Dunwoody and North Shallowford roads. It compares the area with the whole city, using Esri Business Analyst figures for Georgetown and 2022 American Community Survey five-year estimates for the city:

So Georgetown holds about 11% of the city’s people on about 6% of its land.

The four sites

The plan stresses that these “are concepts only,” not approved or funded projects.

• 1-7 Dunwoody Park. A 15.5-acre, developer-owned office park the plan calls “the most impactful potential redevelopment opportunity in Georgetown.” The concept shows cottages, house-scale plexes and townhouses around shared greens, with a mixed-use building facing Cotillion Drive and I-285. A small grocery store “would be a welcome tenant” if the market supports it.
• Dunwoody Green. The Dunwoody Urban Redevelopment Authority owns the last vacant 2.35 acres at North Shallowford Road and Dunwoody Park. The concept shows small shops on the corner and 15 small-lot single-family homes.
• The city annex, 4470 North Shallowford Road. The city owns about five acres here. The plan proposes a new street and walking link from the Dunwoody Park site through to North Shallowford Road. It warns the steep ground means the road “will not be cheap” and may need grant money.
• 4511 Chamblee Dunwoody Road. The shopping center across from the Kroger plaza dates to 1968. The concept shows mostly mixed-use and apartment buildings with newer shops to the south. The plan calls this a “longer term prospect” because four owners hold the land.

What residents changed

The city held an open house on Jan. 21, and more than 400 comments came in online, the plan says. Residents raised concern about any growth that would add traffic, and apartments were not supported in most areas. Small shops, parks and better sidewalks drew support.

Two early ideas were dropped after that feedback:

• development on the DeKalb County School District property at 4680 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, including a road link to Kellogg Springs Drive
• a mixed-use “Georgetown Quads” center at 4545 and 4549 Chamblee Dunwoody Road

Roads, trails and the Top End project

The plan says Chamblee Dunwoody Road and its I-285 interchange are “already burdened at peak times.” It does not propose wider roads. Instead it lists:

• an intersection fix at Chamblee Dunwoody, Peeler and North Shallowford roads
• a realigned, right-angle intersection at Dunwoody Park and Dunwoody Park South
• a trail link between Georgetown and Perimeter
• sidewalk gaps filled on North Shallowford and Peeler roads, and on Chamblee Dunwoody Road north of Peeler
• fewer driveways onto Chamblee Dunwoody and North Shallowford roads as sites redevelop

The plan also tells the city to work with GDOT on its I-285 Top End projects. It says Cotillion Drive is set to become one-way under that work, and it presents the annex road link as a way to make up for the lost connection.

What it means for you

• Nothing gets built because of this vote. Any project still needs its own zoning approval, with public hearings. See our guide to building permits and zoning in Dunwoody.
• The next step is the rewrite of the city’s zoning rules. The plan asks for a “middle-scale” housing district that would allow house-scale plexes and townhouses, plus tighter rules on gas stations, self-storage and drive-throughs. Those changes would need their own council votes.
• If you own property near the four sites, the plan is now the city’s stated guide for what it hopes to see there.

For what the neighborhood is like today, see our Georgetown neighborhood guide. Road work in the area is tracked on our road construction and closures page.