People sit and lie on a grassy plaza surrounded by brick and glass buildings at High Street at dusk. — The existing plaza at High Street in Dunwoody. File image; the newly approved Block 6 plaza has not been built.

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DUNWOODY, Ga. — A planned apartment building at High Street will give way to shops, restaurants, offices and a public plaza under a zoning change approved by the Dunwoody City Council on Oct. 26.

The council voted 6-0 on the request for Block 6, near Perimeter Center Parkway and the Dunwoody MARTA station. The decision resolves the question presented in North Atlanta Star’s Oct. 19 report, when the change was still awaiting final approval.

The previous plan included a seven-story residential building with ground-floor retail. The approved revision allows as many as five commercial buildings, although an illustrative plan depicts three arranged around an open plaza. Combined commercial space is limited to 140,000 square feet, including no more than 60,000 square feet of offices.

The new conditions require a public plaza of at least 6,000 square feet and limit surface parking to 60 spaces. They also address building entrances, shopfront windows, sidewalks and the placement of service areas along Perimeter Center Parkway.

The revision changes the mix of uses on this part of High Street, replacing homes that had been planned for the block with a more commercial-focused layout. It also places new emphasis on connections for people walking through the development or arriving from transit.

Approval of the zoning conditions is not an announcement that construction has begun. The final design may still change within the approved limits, and a construction start date and tenant lineup have not been confirmed.

One issue worth watching is how the pedestrian connections and public plaza take shape as building plans are finalized, particularly along Perimeter Center Parkway and toward the MARTA station.

Sources: City of Dunwoody zoning decisions, RZ 26-04; Oct. 26 City Council agenda; Oct. 26 meeting summary.