MARIETTA, Ga. — A high-traffic motel could undergo a major facelift to become a residential site if Marietta leaders approve a rezoning proposal.
For about two decades the Motel 6 and Studio 6 property has sat on Delk Road right off of I-75.
The properties have a reputation in the community for being the site of criminal activity, but now a developer is asking Marietta to allow them to redevelop the site into apartments.
“This is an area that has been challenged. We know this property has an issue with crime and security and do believe that the conversion would help this situation," said a lawyer for the developer 5th Street Capital.
Ofc. Chuck McPhilamy with the Marietta Police Department says the motel has been an issue that police and the motel have been working on for decades.
“When you put that many people in such a small footprint you’re going to have higher than normal crime stats. To the hotel’s credit they have worked tirelessly to try and do new things," said McPhilamy.
McPhilamy says his department gets a variety of calls from the motel.
“A common call coming from that location could be a domestic call coming from a family dispute. It could also be a dispute coming from within the complex itself for whatever reason. Also, I-75 is a know drug corridor so we do have a significant amount of arrests that come out of that," said McPhilamy.
The developer 5th Street Capital just got approval from the city council’s planning commission to petition the full council to rezone the property.
The proposal calls for changing the rooms into 307 studio apartments which would be fully furnished and include all utilities.
Rent would range from $1,200 to $1,400 a month. Critics of the project say the people who use the motel for housing right now would have little to no options.
“They are going to be forced out because they are not going to be able to prove that their income is three times that $1,200 a month," said Catheryn Preston of the Georgia Alliance to End Homelessness.
Preston has been working with the unsheltered population for over 40 years and says on any given night in Cobb County nearly 1,200 people are unhoused.
She says motels and extended stays are the only option some people have.
However, one of the stipulations the commission included requires the developer to help the people who are ousted because of the switch.
The rezoning proposal now heads to the full city council on Thursday for a vote.