Dunwoody may add a new entertainment district to its ranks.

At its Oct. 25 meeting, the Dunwoody City Council heard the first read of an ordinance that would create the Perimeter Entertainment District. The district would cover the entirety of Perimeter Mall, along with an adjacent hotel and corporate office building. 

“It encompasses the Perimeter Mall property as well as some adjacent sidewalk right of way along the southern property line, and also includes the hotel and corporate office building that contains the Iron Hill Brewery,” said Interim Planning and Zoning Manager Madalyn Smith. “Essentially, it’s going to allow people to take their alcoholic beverages from one area of the property to the other in an effort to revitalize and activate the space.” 

The city created three entertainment districts in 2020 and 2021; Dunwoody Village, Ashford Lane, and the not-yet-opened High Street. After the creation of those districts, representatives for Perimeter Mall reached out to the city, according to a city memo.

If the entertainment district were created, visitors would be allowed to walk freely from place to place with alcoholic beverages. However, this would still not be allowed within Perimeter Mall itself. 

Bill Baker, the senior general manager of Perimeter Mall, said the mall does not plan to allow the entirety of the mall to be open-container, but wants to have the option to do so. 

“In the future, if an event or something would present itself, then the whole property is an entertainment zone, and we wouldn’t have to come back before the council for permission or permits,” Baker said. 

The new entertainment district is meant to serve as a link between the Ashford Lane Entertainment District, which sits to the north, and the upcoming High Street Entertainment District, which sits to the south. Councilmember Tom Lambert said he didn’t think there was enough connection between the three entertainment districts, and asked if it would be possible to make that connection more fluid.

“High Street, that won’t necessarily be an issue for a couple of years, so we could possibly amend that at the time,” Lambert said. “On the northern side, trying to connect to the Ashford Lane Entertainment District … I think we need to look at amending that now.” 

The council agreed that since High Street will not be open for some time, they could deal with that connection at a later date. However, they did ask that city staff work to make the connection to the northern Ashford Lane district. 

The ordinance will go back before the City Council at its Nov. 8 meeting.