Marietta council unanimously approves purchase of 1033 Franklin Gateway from IKEA

Marietta’s City Council on Wednesday voted unanimously to buy the property at 1033 Franklin Gateway from IKEA Property Inc., approving a purchase-and-sale agreement and authorizing city officials to complete the transaction.

The council’s special meeting opened with the mayor saying IKEA had "given us, basically, you know, a shot at it," and that buying the site would allow the city to "control their destiny better by buying this." The councilwoman from Ward 1 moved to approve the purchase-and-sale agreement and to "authorize the Mayor to execute same and to authorize the Mayor, the City Manager and the City Attorney to carry out all of the terms and conditions set forth in the purchase and sale agreement."

Council discussion focused on which parcels were included. A councilmember noted an earlier exemption plat had combined two addresses (previously listed as 1019 and 1033). Mr. Bruton, a city staff member who answered procedural questions, confirmed there were two parcels and that the city originally sold one while the other was later acquired by IKEA. Mr. Haney, a staff member providing due-diligence detail, said the parcels total "35.2683" acres — 28.65 acres from the initial city parcel and 6.6183 acres from the shopping-center parcel IKEA had acquired.

Councilmember Speaker 2 moved to amend the motion to specify that the property description "includes Tracts 1 and Tract 2 attached to the contract," language intended to avoid confusion about which legal parcels the city was acquiring. The amendment passed. The mayor then called the final vote on the amended purchase-and-sale agreement; the council approved the purchase unanimously.

The council noted that some former tenants on the adjacent parcel had earlier asserted property-right claims but that those matters were resolved by arrangements handled by the seller. Council and staff also confirmed a water and sewage easement across the property was included in due-diligence materials.

The motion directs the mayor, city manager and city attorney to carry out the agreement’s terms and conditions and authorized staff to handle closing. The council adjourned the special call and took a brief recess following the vote.

Next steps stated in the meeting: execute the agreement and proceed with closing; follow-up discussions about the property’s future use will occur afterward.