The old Bowen Press building at 312 Church Street is one of the more unique buildings in Downtown Decatur.

Bowen operated out of the space until the early 1970s, according to local residents.  (See a 1943 exterior photo of the building here and 1927 interior photo here)

For years the building space behind the street front retail locations (Sapori, the coming Brushstroke Sushi Izakaya, Re/Max) has been rather hidden from the general public, serving as an offices for SafeCo Insurance and most recently a temporary City of Decatur office space.

However, we learned with much fanfare late last year that Guy Wong would soon be opening up a new restaurant, Big Boss Chinese, in part of the space off the street.  And now we learn – via the Decatur Focus – that Trinity Mercantile & Design is moving into and renovating the space, exposing the old barrel vaulted ceilings.

Trinity Mercantile & Design is also growing. Owners Lisa Turner and Wallace Bryan are moving the business across the street into a bigger location adjacent to Big Peach Running Co. The new store can be accessed from Church Street or Trinity Place. The new space, once occupied by SafeCo Insurance and used for several years as temporary office space by the City of Decatur, takes advantage of the beautiful, historic architecture of the building.

Take a peek inside and feast your eyes on the gorgeous barrel vaulted ceiling they have exposed.

The city goes on to describe the building a “retail and restaurant center that will bring more energy and foot traffic to this side of the square”.  The blurb also notes that neighboring Sapori di Napoli will also soon be adding a covered patio.

It sure will be interesting to see this space when it’s all built out.

From the latest Decatur Focus…

Work on streetscape improvements in the Trinity corridor is scheduled to begin this month. This project will expand the streetscape network from the area surrounding the square to the N. Candler intersection. The developer of the Trinity Triangle will pay for streetscape improvements around this project to close the gap and create a much improved pedestrian and cycling experience. This portion of the streetscape project will also extend improvements down Church Street from Trinity Place to the tunnel under the railroad tracks.

If you’re in need of a reminder, the city’s website describes the project thusly…

The Phase V Downtown Decatur Streetscape project area includes the south side of East Trinity Place from North McDonough Street to Church Street, both sides of East Trinity Place from Church Street to just past the Fire Station, and Church Street from East Trinity Place south to East Howard Avenue. The purpose of the project is to improve accessibility and safety for pedestrians and to reduce conflicts between pedestrians and motorists. Potential improvements will be located in the public right of way and will include new sidewalks, crosswalks, curb ramps, street trees, pedestrian scale lights, and trash receptacles.

Conceptual Plan rendering courtesy of City of Decatur website

From this month’s Decatur Focus…

We are considering alternatives to the pedestrian and cycling detours in place because of the closing of E. Howard Avenue between Church Street and the former Dairy Queen. First, let’s put the rumors to rest about why the street was closed.  The was done to provide a staging area for the Trinity Triangle development to limit the conflicts between construction activity and traffic on Trinity.  When construction is finished, the street will be reopened.

We originally planned to run the construction fence along the edge of the PATH trail along this block of E. Howard in order to keep it open.  However, that plan would have included a crosswalk right at the railroad tracks for pedestrians and bicyclists, creating a very unsafe situation.  Cars traveling north across the tracks have a limited view of cyclists and pedestrians as they come over the crest of the railroad crossing.  Because a portion of the sidewalk around the former Diary Queen is still intact, there is a possibility of moving the crossing slightly away from the tracks and reopening the PATH trail for a few more months.

However, with the construction of Phase V of the downtown streetscape improvements starting in early 2015 and the ongoing construction of the Trinity Triangle, this area will continue to be less safe for pedestrians and bicyclists and detours will still be needed to provide safer options.  We are looking at creative solutions to address the problem by we are going to need your patience and flexibility for the next year or so as detours and crossing locations change.

Anyone want to offer any creative solutions?  Here’s a map of the area if you need it!

From the September Decatur Focus…

Recycle your old electronics and styrofoam and safely shred and recycle your documents all in one place. it’s simple and convenient. Just drop off your recyclables 9 a.m.-1 p.m. (sorry, early drop-offs are not possible.)

Since we started in 2005, we’ve diverted more than 1,000,000 pounds of electronics from landfills. contact sean Woodson at 404-377-5571 or [email protected] for more information and last-minute updates, or visit decaturga.com/electronicsrecycling.

Paper Shredding

this is a great opportunity to ensure that your important personal documents are dis- posed of properly. aaa security shredding provides secure on-site document shredding, and all shredded documents will be 100 percent recycled. Most document types are ac- ceptable, including bills, invoices, correspondence, canceled checks, tax records, financial statements, purchase orders, and blueprints and maps.

these items cannot be shredded: cardboard, glass, plastic, magazines, napkins, news- papers, paper cups and plates, plastic or sprial-bound notebooks, phonebooks, three-ring binders, and trash.

Styrofoam recycling

• Make sure foam has the “6” symbol on it
• rinse and separate food service containers from other foam • No straws, lids, tape or stickers
• No foam peanuts or insulation material

In an article included in the March issue of the Decatur Focus, city staff recount how “History has shown us that development in Decatur comes in short bursts followed by lulls with little to no development.”  The article goes on to detail the various spurts of commercial development over the last 50+ years, before addressing current development projects…

Now after a five-year quiet period, we find ourselves in another development cycle that has folks asking the age-old question referenced in the first sentence above. Yes, there are several projects coming on line over the next few years. Many of these projects were in progress before the great recession hit and are coming back to life as access to financing returns. The 315 West Ponce apartment development is currently underway. Other apartment developments have been approved behind the Fidelity building and on the Trinity Triangle parcel between Dairy Queen and Twain’s. Like the condominium developments in the previous decade, the apartment developments are responding to a big hole in our housing market. The majority of these developments will be one-bedroom with some two-bedroom units and efficiency units included in the mix. Only a very few three-bedroom units are planned in one of these buildings. The primary market for these apartments is young professionals in an age group and income bracket that is finding the road to homeownership much more difficult these days.

It is interesting to point out that during the 1970s our city used a number of creative development options to provide different types of alternative housing in and around single-family neighborhoods. Townhouse developments along the eastern edge of Commerce Drive and in the area of Sycamore Drive provided a transition zone between single-family neighborhoods. Cutting-edge cluster home developments like Charter Square on W. Trinity Place and Wimberly Court off of Upland Road were successfully developed along with similar projects on Pinetree Drive and throughout other Decatur neighborhoods.

For the first time, a type of home ownership other than traditional single-family was possible in our city. New neighborhood developments like Swanton Heights, Rosewalk and Sycamore Ridge continued this trend in the 1990s. Although each of these developments was initially met with public skepticism they continue to be populated with some of our most active and supportive residents just as we found with the mid-rise condominiums constructed. We expect the same experience with the apartment units that will soon join our housing mix. These new residents are attracted to the Decatur lifestyle and will bring a younger demographic to help balance our diversity.

From this month’s Decatur Focus…

Having trouble finding this elsewhere, so AGAIN from the Decatur Focus!

Decorate your home or business in the colors and traditions of the season and enter Decatur’s fourth annual Halloween Decorating Contest. Submit a photo to [email protected] by noon on Monday, Oct. 28. Be sure to include your name and address.

Judges will ride by the addresses and make their decision Monday evening and the winners will be posted on the Decatur website, the DowntownDecatur Facebook page, and the www.thedecaturminute.com blog. Winners will receive special yard signs on Tuesday, Oct. 29, to display throughout the week

The coveted Commissioners Cauldron will be presented to the winner at the Nov. 4 City Commission meeting. If you have questions or need more information email [email protected] or call 678-553-6573.