Comments on: Op-Ed: Decatur Provides Urban Model for Atlanta

By: Marty

Marty — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:18:18 +0000

All you have to do is look at photographs of Decatur in the 70′s, 80′s and early 90′s to see how land use has changed Decatur to make it more urban, walkable, and vibrant place. This is not to say that the “old” Decatur was a bad place. There is no reason for Chris Billingsley to get all defensive about that.

And, yes, what does “family friendly” mean? To me that is just right wing code language.

By: Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 13:22:06 +0000

If anyone wants a firsthand account of the downtown Decatur’s turnaround they should read local author Mary Jane Mahan’s “Love at the Pub” http://www.amazon.com/Love-Pub-Craftsmanship-Conversation-Community/dp/1440170355 It’s about the rise of the Brick Store, which was part-and-parcel to the rise of downtown Decatur.

Chris, all you have to do is look at property values. The market has spoken. You could buy a downtown property for $100k or less in the mid 90s. That same property today would likely cost you probably 10x the amount. Proves that the demand for what we have today is far greater than your “different services.”

I was in Decatur in the mid 90s. There is absolutely no way that I would have let my children walk home from school back then, through the square, the way they do now. I’d say it’s NOW one of the more “family friendly” spaces in intown Atlanta.

By: Bobby

Bobby — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 12:53:22 +0000

Get off my lawn!!

By: AnotherRick

AnotherRick — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 12:35:48 +0000

Chris:
I have to disagree with you on whether or not Decatur was a ghost town in the 70′s and 80″s. and the implications of that. I worked for the UGA Cop Extension Service from 1978 to 1982. My office was in the old Courthouse. While there were some open businesses, downtown, Decatur was pretty dead. For example, the only restaurants open after 5pm may have been the Huddle House. If you were to examine the tax revenue downtown property owners paid to the City coffers, then and now, to pay for needed City services, the rejuvenated downtown is certainly helping to improve the physical environment throughout the City.

By: smalltowngal

smalltowngal — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 03:26:12 +0000

Chris, what is your definition of “family friendly” stores?

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 00:12:30 +0000

The City did not fight the CVS development, only the configuration. The original plan would have had it back in the corner of the strip with a large parking lot totally exposed at the corner of W Ponce and Commerce. The City insisted on moving it up to the corner of the street where is is now. Imagine that corner with an expanse of parking lot and imagine the CVS without all the foot traffic it gets.

By: ww

ww — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 23:20:10 +0000

Cvs sells liquor, too!! We’re trapped!

By: Chris Billingsley

Chris Billingsley — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 22:53:32 +0000

In my opinion, and I was around in the Seventies and Eighties, Decatur was never a ghost town, only one that offered different services than what we have now. If you think that having bars, restaurants, and chi-chil shops everywhere is an improvement, then Decatur is a vision for the rest of Georgia. But to steal a phrase from a country and western song, “bars on every corner mean bars on every heart”.
Is there a better alternative? I think the CVS development, which the city fought against, allows a more diverse business environment that is not so dependent on alcohol. It has restaurants but plenty of parking and family friendly stores.