RaceTrac bringing back its attempt to build a 24/7 gas station and convenience store at an Atlanta-area site where a Civ

The sturdy home was cut into six pieces before its move in spring 2025 (Civil War Picket photo)

RaceTrac will try again next month to win approval of a 24/7 gas station and convenience store on a Civil War site in Georgia that formerly featured the historic Robert and Eliza McAfee home.

Amid opposition from neighborhood residents, the company last November withdrew its rezoning bid. But the Cobb County Board of Commissioners voted to allow RaceTrac to reapply, which online records indicate it has.

RaceTrac has its work cut out. The Cobb County Planning Commission last October recommended rezoning the property, but added conditions that would not allow gasoline sales.

The planning commission is scheduled to hear the case again April 7. The Board of Commissioners has the final say; it will hear zoning cases April 21.

The Civil War Picket reached out to an attorney for RaceTrac and the property owner for comment but has not yet heard back. Questions include whether the company has had new discussions with neighbors or agreed to some changes.

The home -- which briefly served as the headquarters for a Union general and was in the middle of cavalry movements and clashes in summer 1864 – last spring was moved to adjoining Cherokee County after a long effort to save it from destruction. It stood at the corner of Bells Ferry Road and Ernest Barrett Parkway.

The planning commission vote – following spirited discussion -- backed a change to the requested Neighborhood Retail Commercial (NRC) zoning. But it would prohibit fuel sales, drive-throughs and alcohol, tobacco and vape sales at the site.

The McAfee house dated to the 1840s, and the sprawling farm was a fixture in the Noonday Creek area. The property owner wants to sell the remaining two acres to RaceTrac.

RaceTrac argued a 24/7 store at the busy corner is appropriate and compatible with commercial development nearby and would have almost no impact on schools.

Opponents raised a list of concerns, from traffic congestion and storm water runoff to the possible impact of alcohol sales and gas vapors on a nearby elementary school and day care center.

The planning commission’s stipulations came despite an endorsement of the project by county planning staff and a traffic study that found the station acceptable if measures were taken to mitigate congestion.

John Pederson, the county’s zoning division manager, previously said if the county commission followed the planning commission’s lead, small retail, offices or a restaurant would be permitted. He said Thursday there appeared to be no changes in the RaceTrac proposal.

The McAfee House served a few weeks in June and early July 1864 as the headquarters for Brig. Gen. Kenner Garrard and his three brigades during the Atlanta Campaign. After the seizure of Big Shanty (Kennesaw) by Federal forces on June 9, Garrard’s cavalry division was posted on the left flank during operations on the Kennesaw Mountain front.

The Federal troopers clashed almost daily near Noonday Creek with Confederates led by Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler.

The Robert and Eliza McAfee House before its move to Cherokee County (Cobb Landmarks)

The McAfee farm was believed to have been occupied by Confederates, too, during the action around Kennesaw Mountain. The house is said to have been used as a field hospital.

The nonprofit Cobb Landmarks, the Bells Ferry Civic Association and the county’s historic preservation staff all recommend an archaeological survey of the site if the rezoning is ultimately approved.

Cobb Landmarks had worked to find someone to move the home, including when a car wash was proposed. The house lacked historic protection.

Although observers were pleased the McAfee House was not destroyed, many decried Cobb County's loss of history with its move to an adjoining county

Cobb Landmarks sold the house for $1 to entrepreneurs Lee and Brittani Lusk, with the main requirement it be moved and restored.

The couple moved the sturdy residence to near their home in Ball Ground and have been working since on its foundation. The couple say they expect the house to either rented as a residence or an Airbnb-style arrangement.

(At left, Picket photo of home as it appeared in February during foundation and other work in Ball Ground, Ga.)