Development Versus Conservation Defines Debate Over DeKalb Land Swap

Not long after Blackhall opened in 2017, it already had to expand.

The company has invested millions more in its sound stages. There are now nine of them where films and television shows, including the latest “Godzilla” movie, are made.

“Georgia, as a whole, is one of the hotbeds of production in the world. And we just don’t have enough space to meet the demand that we have at Blackhall,” said Blackhall President and CEO Ryan Millsap.

He said one of the things that attracts productions to the complex is its location: minutes from the airport and downtown Atlanta.

It is inside the perimeter but in a part of the county that hasn’t seen much development. It’s a mix of industrial buildings and green space surrounded by neighborhoods.

Some who live there are hungry for growth and Blackhall Studios is too. The company had plans to build on land it already owned a quarter mile up the road. But then Millsap met community planner Jay Scott.

“He said, you know, I’ve been working for years on an overlay master plan of this area,” recalled Millsap.

And then, Scott made a suggestion: Blackhall should build on 50 acres on the corner next to its current property.

“I said, ‘Well, I don’t own that corner,’” said Millsap. “‘How am I going to build in a place I don’t own?’ And he said, ‘Well, the county owns that corner.’”

And thus, the land swap idea was born.

Blackhall would get a large swath of the forest that’s part of Intrenchment Creek Park. In exchange, 55 acres of wooded land the company owns up the road goes to the county. It would become a new park with Blackhall kicking in nearly $4 million for trails, pavilions and parking lots.

“We want to have a legacy, a positive legacy in that area. This is not just about economic development or profits for Blackhall. This is also about our brand as a community leader,” said Millsap.

Jay Scott said when people drive through the area, they may notice truck traffic and landfills, but they don’t see opportunities for communities to gather.

“They have ball fields and they have a gazebo here and there,” said Scott. “But there is not really a community gathering park for festivals, for people to go out and throw a Frisbee, for family picnics — those type things. These are the kind of things that we think it’s important for South DeKalb to finally have.”

Many area residents like the idea of the swap. The proposed new park would be in walking distance for more neighborhoods and could potentially bring in restaurants and shops to the area.

Beverly Danby, who lives nearby, spoke at a town hall meeting in May.

“If you look prior to the Olympics, Centennial Park didn’t exist,” said Danby. “Now, that is one of the hottest areas in town that attracts people from all over. I think this is an opportunity to create a very diverse community; an opportunity for economic growth.”

But at that same town hall, there was opposition.

That’s because Intrenchment Creek Park with its wildlife, trails and dense forest helps protect the South River.

“The forest is incalculably beneficial to all of us. We need every bit that we have left,” said DeKalb resident Damon Young. “And this one is ours. It was set aside for us. This is our forest. You can’t just hand it over to Blackhall. It’s not right.”

Walking along a tree-lined trail in Intrenchment Creek Park, Jackie Echols can’t believe it could one day be gone.

“Just the impact on the environment, on habitat, on the community and air quality. There are just so many reasons not to do this,” said Echols, who is board president of the South River Watershed Alliance. “For the county  to be so single-minded in the decision is unfortunate. It’s really, really unfortunate.”

The cost associated with developing the new park on land acquired by the county would likely surpass the $3.8 million promised by Blackhall, leaving the county to pay for the rest.

Ayanna Williams, Healthy Cities director with the Nature Conservancy, worries that DeKalb County parks budget won’t be able to support it.

“Parks are expensive. If you’re going to move something from one space and rebuild it in another, it’ll add up pretty quickly,” she said.

The Nature Conservancy also has concerns that the land DeKalb County would receive in the swap is not of greater ecological value. Still Williams said they’ll continue working on efforts to enhance parks in South DeKalb.

“Whether this swap goes forward or doesn’t go forward, I think that there’s a lot of opportunities in looking at the region and looking at the parks as a whole,” said Williams.

In 2003, Intrenchment Creek Park was donated by the Blank Foundation with the stipulation that it remain park land forever.

DeKalb County traded nearly nine acres in exchange for 20 acres nearby in 2007. The Blank Foundation said it was never made aware of that swap.

In 2018, the county asked the foundation to agree to the latest swap with Blackhall.

The Blank Foundation said only under certain conditions including a study of the impact of the ecology and public meetings. So far, there’s only been one.

That’s not enough public input for Kathie Gannon, a DeKalb County commissioner whose super district includes Blackhall’s current campus and Intrenchment Creek Park. She said she hasn’t made up her mind.

“If you’re taking county resources that belong to the taxpayer to give, swap, exchange with a for-profit company, the benefit, public benefit, to the citizens of DeKalb County, needs to be very, very great, very high,” said Gannon.

The Blank Foundation deferred questions about the swap to the Trust for Public Land. It holds the deed for Intrenchment Creek Park.

“The Trust for Public Land is monitoring DeKalb County’s assessment of the proposed land swap’s impact on expanding recreational opportunities, creating a more cohesive public space, maintaining ecological integrity and increasing park access,” wrote George Dusenbury, Georgia state director with the Trust for Public Land. “At the conclusion of this assessment, and after extensive public outreach and engagement, The Trust for Public Land would consider a proposal.”

The trust said it’s waiting for the assessment and the meetings before it would consider the idea.

DeKalb County continues to talk with Blackhall and said it welcomes public feedback.