Walmart Cleared For Suburban Plaza
Decatur Metro | November 1, 2013
The Medlock Area Neighborhood Association website posted this letter from Selig Enterprises…
Yesterday, a DeKalb County Superior Court judge ruled that Good Growth DeKalb does not have standing to appeal DeKalb County’s decision to issue Selig a building permit to construct a Walmart at Suburban Plaza. Good Growth DeKalb had claimed that it had standing to appeal DeKalb County’s issuance of Walmart’s building permit. The Court disagreed. As a result, the building permit is valid and the project is now cleared to move forward.
Good Growth DeKalb filed an internal DeKalb County administrative appeal in January, contending that the County issued the building permit for the Walmart Supercenter in error. Their appeal was addressed to the Technical Board of Appeals. However, because the appeal challenged issues such as trees and hydrology that fell under the jurisdiction of the Zoning Board of Appeals, the County assigned the appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals. In its lawsuit, Good Growth DeKalb contended that the Zoning Board of Appeals did not have authority to hear the matter. In an eleven-page ruling, Judge Barrie rejected Good Growth DeKalb’s claims and declared that it did not have standing under the County ordinances to file the appeal.
Selig is pleased with the outcome and believes the Judge came to the correct conclusion given the law and the facts in the case. Selig would like to thank Dekalb County Attorneys, Duane Pritchett and John Jones, for doing such an excellent job in defending the County’s issuance of the permit and in responding to Good Growth DeKalb’s claims.
Further, Selig is excited about the continued tenant interest in the project – including LA Fitness (which will include a daycare facility), HomeGoods, Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores, and Ross Dress for Less. We hope to be under construction by the end of the year.
As always, we thank you for your continued involvement and support in this project and we will continue to update the community as we progress.
Sincerely,
Scott Selig
Latest from Decaturish
Thank God, Something else to argue about.
So basically…
People bought homes near a shopping center then objected to the prospect of retail traffic.
Actually, more like people bought homes near a shopping center with 100,000+ cars a day passing by, then objected to a new retailer looking to take advantage of it.
I must say, ridgelandistan: love the hat!
DM –
You would save everyone allot of time if you could just copy one of the previous Wal-Mart vs. Good Growth Dekalb threads and place it as a pre-populated discussion under this post. It is a beautiful day, and this will save us all allot of time to get to outside.
I’ll meet everyone on the patio for a beer!
Thanks!
I vote this. Wal Mart makes my head hurt and people arguing about Wal Mart make my head hurt. I don’t have any opinion on this at all except Wal Mart is ugly, Target is pretty, they both exploit every resource they can and both are bad for the earth and the people in it, but Target is pretty and Wal Mart is ugly, so I choose Target.
+1. Exactly why we (well, mostly spouse and kids) shop at Target. I wonder if Walmart realizes their internal environment and lighting drive some people away?
Actually, I can tell you with authority yes. My mom spent 25 years in management and corporate at WM, including sadly, store design. EVERYTHING is intentional.
Well of course it is. BTW, a few years ago WM spent a lot of money trying to clean up their stores and have a more modern, streamlined look. It failed miserably. Their core shoppers hated it and favored the old, messier look. WM then stopped spending so much money on store aesthetics and got back to focusing on low prices. Part of the remodel effort was desperation — for all of the fear that WM will take over the economic world, their earnings were stagnant for some time.
Was neighborhood brand affinity actually part of their legal argument?
Pierce, tried to resist, but just couldn’t- it’s “a lot”
I haven’t cried this hard since the moratorium on home demolition failed.
But…but…they made signs! They even handed out some flyers.
The level of vitriol directed at anti-Wal-Mart advocates in these posts is ridiculous. Decatur is the one of the most highly regulated communities in metro Atlanta, especially in regards to what, where, how and when things get built. Those zoning codes have pushed the look and feel of Decatur into what it is today, a community whose residents are ridiculously happy that they live there. So why in the world would those same residents give others a hard time for protesting development they don’t like? Even if you disagree with them, there’s no need to be an ass about it.
From my own perspective, the real culprit here is DeKalb County. Selig was just looking to make a profit off their land, and did so within the letter of the law. The neighborhoods wanted something far better than they’re getting, and did their best to fight for it. Good local government is supposed to mediate these conflicts before they arise, through future land-use maps, zoning regs, building codes, and any other number of legal approaches. At least sponsor a planning process, so the first time business owners and residents talk to each other isn’t in court! But no, DeKalb County doesn’t do any of this proactively. They constantly react, and have almost no vision for creating well designed and well-functioning neighborhoods across the county. I think it’s just one more reason cityhood advocates have gotten so much traction. I think Kathie Gannon helped with win an LCI grant from the ARC for this area. Thanks, but too little too late, and just another example of having no vision, and just reacting to the facts on the ground.
Well, the development isn’t IN Decatur; it is in unincorporated DeKalb, so of course it is DeKalb’s fault. I don’t like how snarky some of these posts get either, but I also don’t like the way GGD behaved- and I say that as someone whose dear, dear friend was very active in GGD. It is a no win situation and no one is going to be happy with the outcome.
“there’s no need to be an ass about it.”
They’re just getting what they’re giving. They haven’t operated with integrity regarding their supposed mission, and their various notions that they’ve used to justify their cause have been silly, rude and at times downright offensive. Definitely not feeling any empathy for GGD.
C’mon now. You’ve at least got to admit that their frivolous lawsuit was pretty darn cute.
DeKalb applied for an LCI planning grant from ARC in 2011 well before Selig’s site plan was submitted. Unfortunately ARC had more applications than money and Dekalb had to reapply in 2012 after Selig had submitted their application and acquired their vested rights for a big box.
The LCI study is about to start and a new vision will emerge from citizens and businesses in and around the study area. Upon completion of the study, zoning regulations will be changed to reflect the vision and plan. The study area will be eligible for subsequent grants to improve the street grid, bike and ped facilities and improve the connections to the surrounding neighborhoods. The biggest challenge and opportunity will be developing an economic development strategy that attracts business and employers so that there is a true set of mixed uses. There are still many opportunities to improve this area and all is not lost just because a traditional suburban commercial development is reoccurring at Suburban Plaza. In many ways any investment is a positive sign that the market sees potential in the area.
No disagreement on this assessment of DeKalb County but with the caveat that effective planning is never exclusively top down or bottom up. It has to be a partnership between the two. In this instance, surrounding neighborhoods are to some degree complicit as well as there were many, MANY fallow years in that area where nothing was happening. That was the ideal time for proactive change.
If blank-slate organization and collaboration had occurred at that time, in partnership with affected landowners, enough political pressure could have materialized for county government to get on board. The result could have been better, more community-conducive development models in which property owners could still have made equal or greater returns.
Instead, it took a perceived threat in the form of a Walmart to galvanize conversations that should have happened years earlier and the results were predictable. As I understand it, for a while, GGD has been operating on two fronts — the fight WM front and the develop a vision for the future front — and, to their credit, that latter work has helped push along the LCI grant now in the works. I applaud those efforts.
The fighting Walmart, however, was an unnecessary waste of resources and human capital. To anyone who thinks it represented a progressive effort, I’ve got bad news. Squaring off into Us vs. Them camps, preventing a landowner from the legal exercise of their rights, and then going to court as a means of enforcing your preferences is not progressive. It’s about as status quo as you can get.
If you want to change the rules of the game, you need to gather all the players and agree upon it before the game starts.
Scott, good points
Whenever someone tells me how progressive Decatur is compared to the rest of Georgia (I lived 16 years in a small south GA city that was conservative even by state standards), I point them to the regular commentators on DecaturMetro. But thank you, JC, for being among those who might cause me to doubt my growing concern that I live in a Potemkin village. Now, let the bullying by the alpha dogs of DM begin.
maybe i’ve become too jaded, but all i see on this thread is some relatively tame snarking and ribbing—no personal insults, no demeaning language.
i’ll defend Decatur’s progressive reputation with every local brew, Obama loving, IB pimping, and sustainable fiber of my being
“i’ll defend Decatur’s progressive reputation with every local brew, Obama loving, IB pimping, and sustainable fiber of my being”
yep
Nice. And I’ll continue to argue that nothing is more conservative than what Decatur has become: (to paraphrase) a city of families, shops and places of worship = ‘family values’, capitalism and religion.
Happy that Selig protected their property rights, and glad to continue to wave the flag of conservatism in Decatur, where we celebrate our differences, even (or especially) political ones.
So, what responsibility is Dekalb County putting on Selig (if any) to make the intersection of North Decatur, Scott Boulevard, and Church Street function, both during construction and then after when the lovely shopping center is up and running?
Wait, wait, did you say “DeKalb County” and “responsibility” in the same sentence? Did you just move here from Canada?
Target’s plastic bags are prettier too.
Don’t care about this but REALLY hoping the gym works out. The N. Druid Hills club is old and as seen better days. The newer clubs have tv’s and Ipod plugins on every cardio machine, and while not necessary, can be really nice some days.
Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU!
I love stories like this, so enlightening. They just go to affirm my choice twenty five years ago to move my family away from the Metro area to South Georgia. Away from the traffic, maddening crowds, strip malls and shopping centers, incredibly dysfunctional development, and wonderful folks in the “city too busy to hate”. I do miss my old friends from my elementary, high school, and college days from neighborhoods in Medlock, Stone Mountain, and Shamrock. And at times I miss the hustle and bustle of city life … and at those time … I drive to Savannah or Jacksonville for a day, and it is then that I sigh a sigh of relief to go home where life is slow and wonderful.
No, thank you for leaving. Seriously, I am really glad someone who would post something like this is far away from my little town. South Georgia definitely suits you.
Hold your horses, don’t be hating on South Georgia.
(I am not. I am being mean to the troll by dismissing her. I promise).
Ok – but that just came across as bitter and mean. The writer was talking about the bustle of living in so dense a metro area (which we do) and did not appear to be speaking ill of Decatur.
+1, G Buck.
Nellie, you actually were being mean about S. Ga, in the interest of being glib. Take a deep breath, sweetie, and expel some of that head of steam you’ve built up about school re-districting so it doesn’t seep in other directions. We’ve never met in person but I know, from years of DM conversations, that you are not a mean person–just passionately opinionated and fond of the rapid ray-par-tay.
Anyhow, as long as we’re here, I can’t think of a better example of how Decaturites celebrate our differences (including us expats). Pretty sure G Buck and I are miles apart–light years apart–on virtually any political issue in a state, national or global context. But at the local and hyper-local (neighborhood) level, we could work together and contribute to forward motion because of shared sensibilities about what’s mean and why it’s important not to be. I think that’s what makes local communities work better than broader ones–we’re gonna run into each other at the post office and the pub and the block party and the PTA meeting, so we’re more careful about not being mean, even as we grit our teeth at the wrong-headedness of our dear friends and cherished neighbors. #moved but not gone
Agreed. Need I give a reminder about personal attacks? Yes it’s a small step from generalized criticisms and scoffing of groups (which some of you love to know end) to a personal affront, but that’s the line.
Well, I just felt she was attacking us! Didn’t mean anything personal to anyone.
For what it is worth … it did come across as glib and oh so sardonic.
And the folks are correct. I did not disparage or disrespect Decatur in any way. I was born when my parents lived on Blackmon Drive, grew up on Pensdale Drive, started elementary school at Medlock, played little league baseball and learned to swim at Glen Lake Park. Drove the streets of Clairmont and Church Street to look at Christmas decorations and ate Sunday Lunch at Davis Brothers Cafeteria, bowled at Suburban Lanes, shopped at Winn Dixie, A&P then Food Giant, spent my allowance at Kresge (all at Suburban Plaza), went with my dad to Massey’s Hardware, got my haircut at the barber shop next door, and had at least one vanilla coke a week at Stacey’s Pharmacy. Shopped at the Decatur Farmer’s Market before the place out grew itself and moved to Sam’s Crossing.
Finally, I sat with my mom at DeKalb Medical Center while ling cancer destroyed her and was at her side the day she drew her last breath her on Earth; and as a child, learned to love the Lord at North Decatur United Methodist Church. My lifeblood and memories run deep in Decatur and yet, in a sense, I’m glad I am out of your way now. You are obviously so much more progressive than any of us and we are just not worthy of existence in your shadow.
I have no ill feelings for you, or Decatur but I am very sad to see how things have changed, if you call it progress, then so be it. You should have experienced it as it was and you might think differently of it.
I understand how you feel, but don’t judge Decatur by the small number of people on DM (no offense DM). By the way, who was your barber? I always preferred the cherry smash at Stacy’s.
Udog — My barber was Mr. Denmark. He moved out Lawrenceville Highway back in the late 60’s and owned Rehoboth Barber Shop until to late 80’s, I guess. The Cherry Smash was pretty good too but the Vanilla Coke and Cherry Coke are both so Iconic of my childhood. There is a group from the old Medlock Elementary folks on Facebook that gets together a couple times a year to reunion and reconnect. Haven’t had an opportunity to take part yet.
This post saddens me. While I do like much of the current Decatur, I wish I could have experienced your Decatur, too.
It’s ok. The kids growing up in Decatur today will have fond memories just like this guy. The memories will be different that’s all.
You realize, gri5thj, how that post might have come across to me? I am no newcomer- I moved here in 1989. Perhaps I read it wrong, but I thought it was pretty snotty. I see now you may have meant it other ways. Guess we are not meeting in the minds today. No worries. We have all the time in the world to make up.
“The neighborhoods” aren’t monolithic. A lot of us in the area welcome the revitalization of Suburban Plaza, which has been zoned for big-box retail since the ’50s and moribund since the ’80s.
I’m not clear on what DeKalb County was supposed to have been mediating or between whom.
What is really sad about this situation is that when Wal-Mart vacates the neighborhood (and they will in due course [history has a tendency to repeat itself]), there will be a big gaping scar in the area and no single entity would be able to afford the ‘rent’ or property taxes for that strip of land. So there’ll be oodles of parking space for an area that will resort to looking as it does now. So, whoever inherits the property will be left with the same issues, I suspect, by the end of the decade.
Look at the cycle of events presented by Selig himself about the cycle of ‘big box’ stores (and national chains) that come into the area and subsequently migrate elsewhere.
I think this won’t necessarily be the case but I could be proven wrong. I believe the overall impact is going to be positive. But all of the traffic studies and business case models in the world can’t truly predict what’s going to happen.
I do hope that Walmart does not continue to take active measures to render the Ace Hardware unprofitable. I surmise that this will not be the case, though, based on their inclusion of a home/garden section when they previously promised not to do so.
Most home/garden items at Wal Mart are crap on a stick. I don’t think Ace has much to worry about
So what’s there now is not a big, gaping scar?
Please site an example of an abandoned WalMart Supercenter?
Robert, as a child of WalMart, I can you for a fact they are all over the country. My mom has closed stores and reopened bigger stores a 1/2 mile away. In fact, she is sitting right here and tells me yes, they will close and abandon one location and reopen whatever the new concept is just down the street rather than remodel the existing.
i believe the industry term for that is “built-in crapalescence”
Please provide an example of a Super WalMart being abandoned. I don’t believe there is one. Earlier versions of the store before they were in the grocery business were abandoned in cheap rural locations. I do not believe a Super WalMart has ever been abandoned and I have absolutely no fear that on in a urban setting would be the first. Please provide evidence you have to the contrary.
Do you work for Wal Mart, Robert?
Why would you ask him that rather simply answer the question he asked you? Do you work for Target or Good Growth DeKalb? If what you say is true, I, like Robert, would simply like to see the evidence rather than hearing, “trust me, it’s true because my mom said it.”
J_T, I don’t like the attitude with which the question was presented. He gave no evidence either other than what he assumes, but you are demanding that I justify myself with evidence to prove to you that my mother is telling the truth. My mom left this morning, but next time she I talk to her I will ask her and I will certainly let you know. You can go on my facebook page, J_T, and see my mom worked for Wal Mart if you need proof from me that I have a source. Where does Robert get his evidence other than assumption? And by the way, is that site over 27 acres? It takes 27 acres for an actual supercenter.
Attitude is often given in the same manner in which it was gotten. Just sayin’
I thought I was being nice when I answered him the first time. I guess it is time for me to go back to my hole and not come out.
I went to some of the early meetings held by MANA and recall the Walmart project manager stating something about how they had never closed a certain kind of Walmart. I cannot recall what type of store it was, but he definitely chose his words very carefully.
Your scenario is sometimes the case when Walmart owns the abandoned property and won’t allow a competitor to move in. However, Walmart is not going to own this property.
Should WalMart be redistricted into the Westchester, Clairmont or Glennwod school district?
Clothing and housewares go to Glennwood, furniture and lawn and garden departments go to Clairemont, and toys and electronics go to Westchester.
We would prefer lawn and garden at Westchester please. We have to renovate the wildlife habitat. People have been parking their cars in it!
There will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth, lol.
This headline confuses me. Somebody is tearing down a Walmart to build a Suburban Plaza? ‘Cos that’s how it reads. Wouldn’t that be a hoot?
I don’t care how it came about or who is at fault. All I know is that I’m depressed at the thought of driving by ANOTHER WalMart daily when something really cool could’ve been there instead. Sigh.
Sadly, it seems that Walmart wanted to be there and the really cool thing did not.
On the bright side, this redo of the shopping center is bringing work to people in the architecture and construction fields, who were hit hard in Atlanta during the Great Recession. Maybe new people will even be hired.
“Sadly, it seems that Walmart wanted to be there and the really cool thing did not.”
Also, it seems that the people who wanted the really cool thing there were not willing to put their own time and money into making that happen. It’s always easier to criticize others and tell them what to do with their own money. Fortunately, GGD can now re-focus their anti-Walmart energies into protesting the YDFM expansion that will surely create more traffic havoc than the Suburban Plaze redevelopment
This is really, really sad to me. I lived in Avondale Estates for thirteen years and was not in favor of WalMart moving into the abandoned Avondale Mall. Avondale Mall was in worse condition than Suburban Mall, but I was really, really concerned about the impact that putting a Walmart there would have on the neighborhood. My concern was that, once something goes in, it will be a long time before something else can go in. Of course, the developers gave Avondale residents a big song and dance about how nice it would, be – how nice it would look and how well it would blend in and what an improvement it would be – how the business would help serve the residents of Avondale. Basically the gist of it was that it would revitalize the area. I encourage folks to take a field trip to the WalMart on Memorial Drive next to Avondale. Just go and spend an hour there. Look at what was received, versus what was promised.
I go there frequently. Personally, I think it’s a huge improvement over the rat-infested, abandoned mall that was previously there. But, that’s just me…
Yes, it was an improvement over what was there, but it is not what was promised. Many Avondale residents saw demolishing the mall as an opportunity to encourage businesses that would also serve the residents of Avondale. I personally am not comfortable shopping there. For example, on each occasion I have been there, I have been singled out and accosted by people in the parking lot asking me for money. I don’t see anyone else being hit up. I am targeted and that makes me uncomfortable. I have spoken with other residents of Avondale have had similar experiences, and feel the same way.
Oh, well it’s totally different if those people make you feel “uncomfortable”, “singled out” and targeted.” This has completely changed my opinion so excuse me while I run out to plant a Stop Walmart sign in my yard.
Sarcasam is a defensive mechanism some folks use to try to avoid discussing the actual issue. The issue is that there was an opportunity there to bring in an anchor business that would appeal to a wider population, including the residents of Avondale. Target is an excellent example of a store that truly hits the middle of the road. Check out the Target near Little Five Points on Moreland. Excellent example. It draws from all surrounding neighborhoods and I I have never felt unsafe there. No one has ever accosted me in the parking lot. Maybe it’s the poor lighting, but WalMart just seems to draw a more hostile clientele. Oh, wait – you shop there don’t you…..
My car was stolen from that Target parking lot. The difference between the two is just in your head. If you speak for the residents of Avondale (which I’m sure you don’t), it sounds like y’all should step down from that high horse.
reports of an armed robbery there this morning.
I have shopped with regularity at the Avondale Walmart and the Edgewood Target, since each one opened. I have been accosted by panhandlers in the parking lot many times at Edgewood and never once at Walmart. I consider that the luck of the draw, since I’ve had similar experiences at the Kroger on Dekalb Industrial and the Publix at N. Decatur/Clairmont. I’ve never felt the slightest bit unsafe at either Edgewood or Walmart. I’ve had very good customer experiences in both stores. I have felt intensely aggravated in both places at various times by incompetent drivers, oblivious pedestrians, discourteous shoppers and inefficient employees. Such is the price of leaving the house.
Nope, sarcasm is actually my first response whether being defensive or offensive. And I really don’t think anyone could ever accuse me of avoiding the actual issue, especially on this topic!
The issue is that YOU wanted a Target, got a Walmart and are now really, really sad. I’m happy to have a Walmart instead of an abandoned mall and you just don’t understand why you couldn’t have something “better”. I happen to find all that pretty darn funny for reasons that you clearly can’t wrap your head around.
BTW, Walrus, I can assure you that you are good company in getting your car stolen from the Edgewood shopping center. I know at least two other people who’ve had the same experience!
Ok last post on this. I just freaking hate WalMart. The lighting sucks. The aisles are too narrow and claustrophobic. The shelves are too high, an inevitably I get stuck in one of those aisles behind an exceptionally large person with fifteen kids running around with lollipops stuck in their mouths and sticky, dirty hands. It takes forever to find anything and I end up wandering around, ticked off and full of sticky mess from someone else’s kids. When I finally find what I want, it takes ten years to get the doggone salespeople to help. It is like being trapped in hell. And when I finally escape, I am like a vagrant magnet in the parking lot. Not that there is anything wrong with vagrants. Or exceptionally large people. Or kids with lollipops. Or crappy salespeople. It must be the lighting.
In response the Walrus, I don’t speak for all of the residents of Avondale. I speak for me. And I like my horse. I worked hard for it, and dammit I am not getting off. Wah.
If you hate all those things about WM, why do you shop there? Your complaints lack credibility if you continue to go there.
Um. I don’t continue to go there. I had to go there at least a couple of times to have had an opportunity to develop an informed opinion, though. Right? I am sad because I would like to have a place where I can shop that I like to shop that is closer. I have a right to feel that way. I am not boycotting with a sign in my yard. Although if I wanted to, I also have a right to do that.
I hate Moe’s. So I don’t go there. Problem solved. It doesn’t make me sad when they open new stores, nor do I go about protesting Moe’s in an effort to prevent other people from buying insanely crappy burritos.
Don’t let all the lights fool you into thinking you are safe taking a stroll through Kirkwood past dark Kim.
signed,
Former Kirkwood Resident
But in actuality, there is crime everywhere in the city. And it’s a fact of life near Atlanta whether there’s a Bed Bath and Beyond present or not. Ill be packing up my bubble and heading Johns Creek any day now, where the only drama are bored drunken housewives, and the occasional pervert.
The parking lot I have most frequently been approached by panhandlers at is the Whole Foods parking lot (Ponce location).
I have discovered that a great way to make panhandlers back off is to be accompanied by a toddler having a meltdown. However, a crying child does not deter the mall survey people.
I have never felt unsafe at the Edgewood Target but I have never quite gotten the hang of the store layout, so it’s not my first choice of Targets.
I find that layout (Edgewood Target) to be annoying for the same reason as IKEA. You can’t just run in and run out if you only need a few specific things. On a given day I may need cat food, a couple of grocery items, light bulbs and detergent. Even though I could buy all of that at Target, I find it easier to run in and out of PetCo, Kroger and maybe even Lowes, than to struggle through the maze that is Target. I want my stores laid out on grids. That way, it’s also easier to find alternate routes and avoid the aisles where toddlers are having meltdowns!
So what is wrong with it, exactly? I’ve shopped there several times and find it pretty dang convenient for some things. It’s not the prettiest store, but it’s by no means a dump. And it is so far on the outskirts of town that I can’t discern any impact on Avondale.
Been there many times. Don’t understand what you mean.
Yeah, there have been no new, thriving businesses on Memorial. Only a new bank, an Aldi, a Zaxby’s and a host of small businesses. It sure has dumped the neighborhood.
I’m no fan of WalMart, and I was a frequent visitor to Avondale Mall when the Macy’s outlet was there. (Oh, how I miss it! New clothes on a grad student budget…)
But really — that abandoned mall was creepy and scary. I would have loved to see a performing arts center, or a — wait for it — Trader Joe’s — go in there. But that wasn’t going to happen.
I don’t shop there, but I’m frequently in the area. I hate to say it, but it does represent an improvement over the post-Macy’s mall.
Some serious first world problems going on in here.
Love it or hate it, seems Wamart is the first domino and that whole are is lighting up with redevelopment ideas and dollars (as well as the improvements that will come from the LCI, and just imagine if MARTA light rail makes it to that intersection).
So, if Walmart up and leaves in 5, 10 years, it will be vacating a revitalized area. Assuming that City of Decatur/County seat, DeKalb Medical, Emory, CDC, VA Hospital are still here, I don’t believe for a second that the “abandoned Walmart” will turn into Thunderdome. Instead, other retail will move in, and if the area continues to thrive, the stats will draw more upscale merchants.
I agree. If collaborative efforts continue around the LCI and a commonly supported vision for the area, and if that vision gets codified in new zoning criteria, by the time Walmart abandons the area it may very well be a reasonable proposition to just level the strip and start developing a new block structure over the whole parcel.
Definitely less likely that their departure will kill the area. By all appearances, it’s heading into an up cycle right now, which has high probability of lasting a while.
I can count on two hands the number of times I’ve ever been in a Wal-Mart, and I live right down the road from the Avondale one. I just choose not to support them. They are against organized labor and they barely pay a living wage to many of their employees. They also have a pattern of ignoring sexual harassment claims from women working under oppressive management. If you are interested, read or watch some discussion about Welfare and the Wal-Mart loop (http://video.msnbc.msn.com/mhp/51386019#51386019). They can build as many Wal-Marts as they want, but they’ll never get my business.