Since the Mayor’s State of the City this past Tuesday, there’s been a lot of buzz around the community about what he said about Walmart and a possible annexation of the Suburban Plaza site. He was good enough to provide us with the text from that part of his speech for everyone to read in full.
I am not a big fan of Wal-Mart, but I do shop there occasionally, as I am sure we all do. But what Wal-Mart brings to Suburban Plaza is not the type of development I would have chosen. I think our community would like something that looks more like downtown Decatur: a mix of residential, retail and restaurants (as opposed to one business with 200 employees. Instead, 50 businesses with 4 employees each); a development where the owners, operators and employees are part of our community, and not only work here but also live and play here; owners who are concerned about our neighborhoods and how development surrounding them impacts their lives.
But the main problem with the property, if the Wal-Mart is built, is what might happen to the rest of the site. What might future developments look like? The owner of that property has shown little concern or interest in our community or anything outside of the property lines. Historically, empty promises are provided to make a development acceptable or palatable, but we have little or no reason to believe that any promises might come true. Those of us who live around that property will have no input into any future development on the site.
For these reasons, I believe that Decatur should consider annexation of both the Suburban Plaza site, and the commercial property at the intersection of Clairemont and North Decatur Road. I think it is in the best interest of all who surround those properties to make sure their concerns and opinions about those developments are heard and given consideration. I hope the City of Decatur will take steps during the coming year to make annexation of these areas happen.
