The gauntlet has been thrown!

In an article in The Champion newspaper this week County Commissioner Jeff Rader says that in order for Walmart to receive the parking variance it has requested to build fewer spaces than is required under the current code, they will need to “have to show how their project will adapt and change people’s travel behaviors.”

OK, so this is obviously isn’t a really much of a gauntlet.  It’s a purposely vague statement, as one should expect from a public official expected to weigh the pros and cons of any development for a community.  But it sure would be interesting to think about what it would take to change the travel behaviors of Walmart shoppers, wouldn’t it??

So if the Walmart design needs to “adapt and change people’s travel behaviors” the first, most obvious questions are “How many people?”and  “change their travel behaviors in what ways?” Read the rest of this entry »

Tonight, the Decatur City Commission approved a $51,000 change-order for Fire Station #1, increasing the budget 3% from $1,792,000 to $1,843,000.

At the meeting, Deputy City Manager Hugh Saxon noted the reasons for the change, which are also noted in the city commission meeting materials…

• concealed or actual site and building conditions, including relocation and adjustment of underground utilities, an additional structural steel beam at the new dormitory addition, changes to the relocated fire pole assembly, the addition of a dry fire sprinkler system in the training tower and miscellaneous masonry, steel and concrete repairs ($31,000)
• owner’s and architect’s requirements, including improved lighting and electrical equipment, a new sidewalk and protective railing at the southwest corner of the building, a resilient rubber floor in the fitness room, and a heavy duty rainwater tank system ($19,700)

The project is on schedule to be completed in April and May 2012 with an LEED Gold Certification, according to Mr. Saxon.

As reported on Patch the other day, the DeKalb County Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing on the planned renovation of Suburban Plaza on Wednesday, December 14th at 1pm (how convenient!) at the Maloof Auditorium at 1300 Commerce Drive in downtown Decatur.

Interested in reading Selig’s parking exception application and parking study for yourself?  Well, we just happen to have a copy.  CLICK HERE to read all 24 pages.

Initial highlights…

• Selig hopes for a reduction from 1,786 spaces (or 5.5 spaces/1000 SF) to 1,269 spaces (or 3.9 spaces/1000 SF) because they believe that “the character of use of Suburban Plaza is such that the full provision of parking spaces required by the Zoning Ordinance is not necessary because actual demand for parking will be much less than the number of spaces required by the Ordinance.”
• Selig points to other “successful shopping centers in similar urban locations in the Atlanta area” that are functioning adequately with” the parking ratios being proposed by Selig.
• They note that MARTA buses currently serve Suburban Plaza and there’s “the possibility of being an integral component of the proposed Clifton Corridor Line.”
• The applicant is “committed” to participating in the Decatur Shuttle system, Emory Shuttle system, and other mass transit systems.
• They argue that the variety of uses in the shopper center allows to “shared parking.”  They go on to detail how grocery stores need more parking on the weekend and in the evening, while restaurants require parking during lunch and dinner, and the bowling alley will have higher demands for parking at night.
• Construction of an underground parking deck will locate 79% of Walmart’s parking underground
• Sidewalks will be built on all street frontages.  “The center will be a hub of transit activity including the Decatur and Emory shuttles over both the near and long term.”
• Selig puts DeKalb County “on notice” that the owner believes “any action other than to approve the application as requested…will result in a violation of the owner’s constitutional rights, including Article I, Section I, Paragraph I; Article I, Section I, Paragraph II; and Article I, Section III, Paragraph I of the Georgia Constitution and the 5th and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution.”

The AJC reports that DeKalb County is implementing 1-hour parking in Emory Village in an effort to attract more visitors to the area.   According to the AJC…

The county will restrict parking to one hour from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays on North Decatur and Oxford roads near the commercial strip. Signs detailing the change will be up soon.

This seems like a good move, since parking is such a commodity around Emory.  (ALL neighborhood parking in the area is resident only these days and Emory’s parking decks cost students an arm – and perhaps a leg – each semester.)

Thanks to Steve for pointing this out!

Decatur’s City Commission meeting last night was a surprising package of the abnormal.

First, many city commissioners showed open frustration over a completed MAK Historic District new construction home, which had multiple elements not approved by the Preservation commission that had “slipped through the cracks” and had been constructed.  After being denied by the HPC, because it didn’t follow the agreed upon specs, the home owner appealed to the city commission.  Many of the commissioners stated they hoped city staff would “close the holes” in the design review process and make sure that things did not escalate to this level again.  Mayor Bill Floyd stated that he believed this was a “staff mistake” and could not penalize the homeowner, forcing him to remove a metal deck from his backyard and take out double-columns on his porch, because of gaps in the system. The commission reversed the HPC’s decision to denying the Certificate of Occupancy.

Secondly, the city commission unanimously voted down the long-debated 1004 Clairemont Road subdivision project, which was originally approved by the Planning Commission in March 2010 with 14 conditions (see page 75 of meeting materials).   The development of the old Cliff Valley School property has a storied history among residents in the area, who strongly disproved of an original plan back in the mid-2000s of the construction of a traditional subdivision, complete with cul-de-sac on large lot that was originally compiled by a school that never was able to undertake its planned expansion.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you haven’t yet done so, you might want to check out Thomas Wheatley’s cover story in Creative Loafing this week, which does a most excellent job of summing up the unresolved “problems” with Atlanta’s biggest revitalization project – “south downtown”.   After detailing the area’s vibrant past…

Grocery stores sold everything a person would need to make three meals a day, as well as specialty items such as pig’s feet to pig heads. At Roy’s, where you could select a live chicken, get its head chopped off, and watch the decapitated fowl run around the store. Another shop sold “rat cheese” — cut from a block of sharp New York cheddar — for rodent traps or sandwiches. Yet another bar-be-qued chicken.

…and less vibrant recent past…

Nearly 30 homeless men and women huddled together, resting underneath the long ramp leading to the Garnett Street MARTA station. Others slept on the steps of the police department headquarters in the shadow of the city jail. Even more wandered the streets, asked motorists passing through for help, or stood alone in parking lots.

…Wheatley starts to think about possible solutions and dives head first into a Pandora’s Box of urban fun…

Everyone’s in agreement about the key ingredient needed to help south downtown grow: more people. Which raises the obvious question: How do you coax new residents and tourists to a historic area that has very few vestiges of its glorious past, offers little in the way of decent shopping, and which becomes a ghost town after workers hop in their cars at 5 p.m. to head to the ‘burbs? How do you build retail when the number of residents hasn’t reached critical mass and probably won’t if such basic amenities as grocery stores aren’t nearby? It’s a chicken-or-egg scenario, one that leaves many interested parties scratching their heads.

h/t: ATL Urbanist

The Medlock Area Neighborhood Association website has photos of the six concept sketches displayed at last night’s Medlock/Suburban Plaza/Walmart meeting last night of both the new Walmart and the rehabbed Suburban Plaza.

The Medlock neighborhood association met last night and has provided a very detailed recap regarding everything that is currently known about Selig’s plan to bring Walmart to a redeveloped Suburban Plaza.

Not only have they posted a conceptual site plan (above – click to enlarge), but also plenty of additional details about the proposed development.  To sum up…

• Developer is very interested in community feedback and is aware the residents want a more walkable, bikeable area
• Selig has ordered a traffic study on its own dime, but county state roads surrounding the site will make it a complicated process
• Walmart would take over the space “occupied by the thrift store and the discount mattress store. The Walmart would feature 500 underground parking spots; Walmart would pay for this.”
• The Walmart would be 147,000 square feet with 40,000 square feet dedicated to groceries
• Selig would also reface all other buildings in the plaza
• Trader Joe’s was not interested in the site
• Walmart will not have a garden center – a concern with Intown ACE Hardware fans

The Medlock Neighborhood Association has scheduled an entire meeting to cover the details of this plan on November 2nd at 7pm at North Presbyterian Church at 611 Medlock Road.

But don’t just go on my summation, there’s a lot more info in the Medlock post!

We all know the story of Decatur’s CVS plaza and the city’s hard-won campaign to convince the developer to place the drugstore along the sidewalks of Ponce and Commerce.  Unarguably, a huge win for our city.  If the CVS building was tucked back into a corner of that massive lot, that Decatur intersection would still be an unpleasant place for pedestrians.

But, while the fight was won to move the building, it’s obvious that CVS wasn’t willing to compromise more than that.  And that story can be told by observing its street-facing windows.

You can almost hear the CVS corporate interior designers saying, “OK, they can move the building forward, but hell if we’re going to change the interior layout!”  (Apparently, I imagine that corporate designers swear a lot.) So while we get a nice row of windows fronting our sidewalks, they are covered with funky red panels, because…well, it’s a building living in the city that grew up in the ‘burbs.  Drivers care little about the placement of a building’s window.  Behind these particular windows, you won’t find window displays, but the back’s of the cashiers’ heads as they ring up an endless line of customers or the rear-side of an extra display that couldn’t find wall space.

This layout is so familiar that it’s no surprise to most these days, but it is still regrettable.  How much more enjoyable would that strip of concrete be today with a hugely ornate Halloween display instead of panels of red raindrops?  (Maybe these panels were Peter Gabriel’s inspiration?)

But of course this is Decatur.  For every shortsighted, corporate “this is the way we’ve always done it” decision, there’s local innovation and reinvention.  We take the lemons grown out of the 1960s and turn them into sweet, downtown PLACES, which hold near-universal appeal to bipeds.  So it wasn’t hard for me to locate some windows of found opportunity.  Case in point…

Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATE: TNT has updated their post to say that Dunkin’ is out, but Chipolte still plans to open in the space and there’s “another concept was waiting in the wind [wings?] and is lease negotiations as we speak…”

Tomorrow’s News Today reports that both Dunkin’ Donuts and Chipotle will soon be opening in the old Druid Hills Bookstore space along Oxford Road in Emory Village.  The location is even MORE prime nowadays thanks to the new Barnes &Noble student book store across the street.

In case you’re not familiar with the area, here’s the location on Google Maps.  (However, note that the street view is a bit dated.  Where you see trees across the street is now a giant B&N/Starbucks/Student Center.)