Simpsonwood Property Could Become a County Park

It was standing room only at Christ the King Church Monday night.

Residents crowded into the Fellowship Hall eager to learn what was to become of the 227-acre Simpsonwood Conference Center.  

The 200 seats were quickly taken and some 100 more stood as David Haddow, the broker hired by the North Georgia Conference to market the property, explained the plans for the sale.

"There is a lot of mis-information floating around, and I'm hear to dispel those myths," said Haddow, "and hopefully convince you that we want what you want, and that's not just talk."

Haddow said he wanted to put to rest the perception that the North Georgia Conference was moving ahead with the sale and that the church was only interested in getting top dollar for the land.

"Our position from day one has been to preserve the property as green space." said Haddow. "We have not marketed it to developers."

Haddow said there are ongoing talks with Gwinnett County to purchase 125 acres of the property which had approached the North Georgia Conference about buying the land.

"The church did not want to go to court," said Haddow. "What triggered the court action was the county. The county wanted the court to clarify the church's position so it could purchase the land."

Discussions with Gwinnett County began in November 2011 according to Haddow which gave authorization to begin the acquisition. That's when the issue with the deed restrictions surfaced which required the church take the matter to court for a decision.

Haddow said they also been in discussions with the National Parks Service to purchase the remaining 102 acres but later said due to federal funding cutbacks, it would not pursue the land purchase.

"We managed to keep a lid on this for four years until it got out in the media," said Haddow.

The county has hired an appraiser to determine a value of the property, which should be complete sometime next month. The value will be determined not for a park but for development according to Haddow.  "The market is red hot right now. If we can't work it out with the county, we'll have to re-evaluate."

Also present at the meeting was Keith Cox, the Treasurer and Director of Administrative Services of the North Georgia Conference, who explained the reason the church was selling the property.

"The North Georgia Conference is $5.5 million in debt for the construction of the newest building which was complete in December 2001," said Cox.

The debt for the construction of the building coupled with operating losses were the cause he said. For the past seven or so years, its annual losses have been steadily mounting. In recent years the conference center has lost over $500,000 annually and expects that number to increase to $540,000 in 2014.

"We're not just going to give it away," said Cox. "But we are not looking to sell it for the highest price, but the best offer. Our goal is to preserve the entire property."

The meeting was sponsored by UPCCA, Scott Hilton, UPCCA president made the introductions and Jim Blum, was the moderator during the Q&A session.

Did you attend the meeting? Tell us what you thought?