St. Jude campus overhaul gets staff backing with enrollment caps unchanged

Sandy Springs planning staff recommends approval of a six-phase redevelopment of St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church & School at 7171 Glenridge Drive. Conditional-use case U-26-5 seeks to amend existing permit conditions; staff recommends allowing a total of 171,747 square feet of church, school and accessory uses.

The plan includes a two-story parish life center, church expansion, preschool relocation, a two-story gymnatorium and a new one-story middle school replacing the former gymnasium. Enrollment limits would remain at 525 private-school students and 50 preschool children, while the church’s largest assembly area would retain a 700-fixed-seat limit.

Staff’s proposed conditions require playground equipment to be 100 feet from protected-neighborhood property lines and screening along the southern parking edge to shield car lights. A turning lane on Glenridge Drive could also be required by the city engineer during Phase 2.

The packet lists an Oct. 20, 2026, mayor and council hearing. The applicants anticipate the first two phases in 2027 or 2028 if the permit is approved; later phases have no definite schedule.