Oak Grove Land Owner Still Pushing for County Purchase

An Oak Grove-area man who has been trying to sell 17 acres near Pangborn Road to DeKalb County for a park since last year says he's still trying – but the county won't meet with him.

Ed Nelms Jr., who's offered to sell the land for $6 million, said he wants to keep the historically significant plot green by selling it to the county, which has been buying up land throughout District 2 and the North Druid Hills-Briarcliff Road area with park bonds money, according to a story Sunday in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“I really feel like it’s an excellent opportunity for both the county and my family,” said Ed Nelms Jr., who last year offered to sell 17 acres of his family’s historic farm near Pangborn Road for $6 million. “We would hope we could work together on keeping this land as it is, green.”

Central DeKalb – full of homes and large regional employers such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – is the least green part of a county where residents twice recently approved bond referendums to buy land and develop more parks.

Susan Hood, head of the county’s Natural Resources Management Office, declined to comment on Nelms’ request, citing a confidential review process.

Read the rest of the story for more information.

Here are links to stories in North Druid Hills-Briarcliff Patch about recent land purchases:

• County Buys Oak Grove Land for New Park
• County Looking at Another Land Purchase in Oak Grove?
• County Buys Lavista Land for $1.78M