Downtown Decatur Conceptual Growth Plan
Decatur Metro | April 2, 2011Check this out. From Appendix A of the 2010 Decatur Strategic Plan…
As the note on the map says, this graphic is for illustrative purposes only. But it does give you an idea of remaining redevelopment potential in downtown Decatur. I’m especially intrigued by the Fairview extension, “linear park” and redeveloped Gateway Apartments next to the Post Office (lower left-hand corner of the map). Not to mention all the potential along Commerce. Though we already sorta new about that.
There are conceptual plans like this for all of Decatur’s business districts in the Appendix, including Oakhurst, East Lake Station and East Decatur Station.
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What do you think the odds are that these sorts of projects would come to be built? I would love to see all (or even any) of this happen, but would the community allow it?
DM, the fairview extention and linear park is very interesting for several reasons. First the park would be adjacent to the Peavine, so the Park could have a serious water feature. Second, that land was once owned by Swanton and Gateway is the location of his mill and gin so there is historical significance. Very cool.
Have you walked the creek down by where they put that park? What’s currently located where the linear park would be? (My default assumption is always “trees and kudzu”).
I notice they want to redevelop where the closed gas station is on ponce?
I’d love to see a new gas station go up. extremely few gas choices anywhere close to the square.
Granted I know that as a “walkability” reason they would want to get rid of the gas stations.
Also it appears they want to get rid of the little kroger, the bank of america, mcdonalds, Burnt Fork BBQ, and the print shop and etc.
Some of it I can understand, some seems just hilarous.
None of the map represents any specific development goals on the part of the city, or any kind of effort to get rid of anything. It only reflects downtown parcels that are underdeveloped in relation to what’s allowable under their zoning which, under the right economic conditions, are most likely to see some form of redevelopment. Not on the part of the city, but on the part of whomever owns the respective parcels.
As for the gas station, gas stations are no longer an allowable use in Decatur. They can only exist as a grandfathered condition. The Zombieland station on Ponce has/had one year to be re-leased as a gas station before it loses its exemption. After that, it will have to become something else. Anyone remember when it closed? We must be getting pretty close to a year, right?
Hmmm…this is interesting in relation to the city’s desire to install electric car charging stations. In that it sorta points out that really no one’s “anti-car” as they are “anti gas station”.
The gas station has only been closed for a few months so the existing exemption is still place.
I’d like to see something like a transformation of McDonough, Trinity, and Howard into a live-work pedestrian campus (perhaps 3 tower-complexes amongst greenspace) bordered by a mixed-use transition along the Trinity and McDonough, both upgraded to more complete streets. In coordination, I’d plan for a parking deck with a small allotment of leased spaces and car sharing at Kensington station. Maybe a grocer could be drawn to an adjacent development.
And yes, that historic structure on the southwest corner need not be molested. And no, the exteriors would not resemble Soviet-style apartments.
I just noticed the green roofs, nice touch! Realy a nice job.
I think it would be great if any of this happened, especially if they could get enough parking to eliminate street parking and expand sidewalks (for cafe seating) and put in more bike lanes so we could get something like Montreal’s Bixi system for Decatur:
http://www.bixi.com/home
The map would be more useful (and a more accurate portrayal of the “development vision”) if it also showed those parcels that have already been approved for development (or redevelopment) but which remain undeveloped (as well as how long ago the approval occurred). Some existing approvals may no longer fit the City’s vision for its future. Personally, I’d like to see such approvals be for a set period of time rather than open-ended.
The more I think about this map (realizing that it’s only conceptual), the more “conceptual” information I’d like to see offered. For example, how many new residents does each development represent? How many new vehicles on Decatur streets? How many children added to the school system? I realize those numbers would only be best guesses, but it’s easy – at least for me – to look initially at all those appealing new trees, green spaces and green roofs, and forget about the other implications of such dense development (recognizing, of course, that it would not occur all at once).