The developer of the large, upscale athletic club on Plaza Parkway across from Costco is asking the county to allow it to change its development plans to eliminate the proposed hotel and substitute instead two medical office buildings.
The 14.3 acre parcel has been cleared and graded for the proposed athletic facility and hotel, but developer Kelly Mahoney has submitted a request with the county to divide the property into three lots, one with the athletic club and two smaller lots, each with a separate building.
The request for the modification of the rezone approved by the Board of Commissioners on Dec. 3 of 2024 will be before the Oconee County Planning Commission on June 15.
The Commission also is scheduled to hear a zoning modification request at that meeting to allow for a community church in the business park off Experiment Station Road next to the Publix in Butler’s Crossing.
If the Planning Commission and Board of Commissioners approve the request for elimination of the hotel from the development plans of the Plaza Parkway property, that will reduce the number of properties rezoned for a hotel by the county from seven to six.
At present, the only operating hotel in the county is SpringHill Suites on Daniells Bridge Road.
A LivSmart Studios by Hilton, on Goddard Way off Virgil Langford Road, is in the final permitting stage. Plans are for a four-story, 121 room facility backing up on SR Loop 10.
County leaders have been calling for an increased number of hotel rooms in the county as parts of their effort to use sports tourism as a development strategy.
Plaza Parkway Rezone
The Dec. 3, 2024, rezone of the 14.3 acres at 1660 Plaza Parkway included a 72,000 square foot fitness center with an outdoor swimming pool, and pickelball and tennis courts. It also included a 17,500 square foot hotel with 90 rooms.
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| Rendition of Hotel 2024 Rezone |
In the narrative for the modification of that rezone, Mahoney said that “The purpose of this zoning modification is to allow medical office in lieu of the hotel along with increasing the number of buildings to four and the proposed lot count to three.”
The rezone modification increases the total square footage to a maximum of 113,620 from 87,000, with 58,870 for the Fitness Center/Health Club and 54,750 for “medical office use.”
The rezone concept plan submitted with the modification request shows three buildings rather than the four referenced in the narrative.
Included is a single-story Building 100 on the south of the lot at 58,182 square feet, a single story Building 200 with 9,700 square feet, and a three-story Building 300, with each floor providing 15,000 square feet of space.
The approved construction plans for the work underway, dated Sept. 22 of last year, show Building 100 and Building 200, but not Building 300.
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| Rendition Medical Office Building 2026 Modification Request |
AAC Land Partners LLC, which owns the 14.3 acre parcel, submitted its applications for a modification of the December 2024 rezone of the 14.3 acres on April 13 and May 21 of this year.
The submitted concept plan that accompanies the request for a modification of the approved plans creates a 3.8 acre parcel for Building 300, a 1.5 acre parcel for Building 200, and a 9.0 acre parcel for Building 100 and the fitness center.
Buildings 200 and 300 are north of the fitness center.
The county on March 2 issued building permits for the 57,117 square foot athletic club and on March 27 for two pools on the property.
Athens Athletic Club
The narrative for the rezone modification now before the Planning Commission lists the project name as Athens Athletic Club and Medical Office.
AAC Land Partners LLC incorporated on Dec. 3, 2024, according to the Georgia Secretary of State database, with its address as 8330 Macon Highway, Building 300, in Oconee County.
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| Rendition of Athens Athletic Club 2026 Planning Documents |
That is the address of the Development Office of Hillpointe, a development firm, of which Mahoney is co-founder and Managing Partner.
Mahoney lists himself as owner of ACC Land Partners on the application documents for the modification of the 2024 rezone.
The Dec. 3, 2024, rezone was at the request not of ACC Land Partners but of White Oak Development Partners of Sandy Springs. At the time of the 2024 rezone, the land still was under the ownership of St. Mary’s Highland Hills LLC.
According to county tax records, White Oak Development never acquired the property. AAC Land Partners LLC purchased the property from St. Mary’s on Dec. 9, 2024, for $1.3 million, according to those records.
Goddard Way Hotel
A LivSmart Studios by Hilton is planned for Lot 8 at the intersection of Goddard Way and Caap Drive in the Research Quarter. Goddard Way connects to Virgil Langford Road.
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| Goddard School In Background Picture From Virgil Langford Road 6/4/2026 |
The newly opened The Goddard School is on Lot 7 in the Research Quarter.
The hotel is the final permitting stage, Oconee County Director of Planning and Code Enforcement Guy Herring said on Tuesday evening.
Concept plans submitted for the hotel show a four-story building with total square footage of 58,532 on a 2.4 acre lot.
The hotel will have 121 guest rooms, according to those plans, and will face directly into the intersection of Goddard Way and Caap Drive. The entrance will be from Goddard Way.
The Board of Commissioners also has approved concept plans for a hotel on the Oconee Connector next door to SpringHill Suites (100 rooms), on Parkway Boulevard (107 rooms), on U.S. 78 behind JP convenience store and gas station (200 rooms), and on U.S. 78 opposite Westland subdivision (30 rooms).
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| Rendition of LivSmart Studios 2026 Planning Documents |
SpringHill Suites, the only operating hotel in the county, has 99 guest rooms.
In discussions about using sports tourism as a development tool in the county, Oconee Chamber of Commerce President Courtney Bernardi has said that increased hotel capacity is needed to bring out of town sporting events to the county.
Spending at hotels also is one of the ways the county can recover revenue generated by sports tourism.
Classic City Church Of Christ
Front Row Properties LLC of 1951 Astondale Road, which owns two lots in the Butler’s Crossing Professional Park off Experiment Station Road next door to Publix, also is asking for a modification of an existing rezone.
Buildings 800 and 900 in that complex are partially complete but unoccupied, according to the narrative submitted for the Front Row Properties request.
Eddie Powell, owner of Front Row Properties, is asking that the conditions of the rezone for the Butler’s Crossing Professional Park be modified to allow for a Neighborhood Scale Church.
That use was prohibited when the property was zoned from Agriculture to Office Institutional Professional, according to the narrative.
The proposed Classic City Church Of Christ will feature an assembly area with 125 seats, according to the narrative.
The church plans to operate on Sundays and Wednesdays, the narrative states.
According to the concept plan, the two buildings would remain, with Building 800, with 5,000 square feet of space, serving as the church, and Building 900, with 6,000 square feet, being retained for future church expansion.
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