Smyrna buys former Emory Adventist site, eyes sports and rec partnership including pickleball
Summary
Mayor Derek Norton said the city closed on the former Emory Adventist Hospital property and is in talks with national sports and recreation operators to develop pickleball courts, youth programming, senior activities and possible hotel and retail uses.
Mayor Derek Norton said Smyrna has closed on the former Emory Adventist Hospital site on South Cobb Drive and is pursuing public–private partnerships to redevelop it as a recreation-focused campus.
Norton told the audience that brokers initially described the site as suitable for “dense multifamily with 600 or more units,” a proposal he said city leaders declined. “We said, no thanks,” Norton said, adding that elected officials preferred recreation- and amenity-focused uses.
City officials have spoken with several potential partners, Norton said, most of them national pickleball operators and other sports- and recreation-related interests. He said the city’s goal is a public–private deal that could deliver pickleball courts, youth programming and instruction (baseball, soccer, tennis), senior activities, possibly a hotel and supporting retail and restaurants.
Norton said negotiations and discussions are ongoing and described the effort as exploratory: “Discussions are ongoing with potential partners and we are hopeful that we will be able to bring a mix of recreational and retail uses to that site that you will all enjoy.”
Ending: Officials did not provide a timetable for developer selection or construction; the mayor said talks with operators are continuing and that the city bought the property to control future uses.
