Decatur Planning Director Amanda Thompson brought this to the attention of the city commission on Monday night and I asked her to forward me the details so I could share with the online world.

Downtown Decatur was placed on the National Register of Historic Places this October and the Cakes & Ale build out along Church Street will be the first local business to reap the benefits.  Here are the cold hard facts:

Cakes and Ale is a case study of a city, property owner, business owner, and the state and federal government working together to preserve an important part of the historic square and establishing a new business that will bring diners and dollars to Decatur.

1) Federal preservation tax credits equaling 20 % of renovation costs (no cap) will be captured by the property owner.

2) State preservation tax credits(25% with a cap of $300K) and a 8 ½ year property tax freeze will be captured by the property owners and the value will be given to the business owner for the build out costs.

3) A low interest loan from the GA Cities Foundation will be acquired by the Decatur DDA on behalf of the business owners to help purchase the equipment for the restaurant and fund some of the build out.

4) Federal program allowing the tax credit of equipment purchase will be utilized by the property owners. The end result of this program is that the equipment will cost them less than 50% of the original cost.

The initial demolition of non-historic interiors has uncovered an old wall advertisement for Mrs. Teeles Bakery and Alberts Real Estate. The original wood floors in two of the spaces are in good enough condition that they can be saved and restored.

In related news, the MAK District is currently applying to the State Preservation Office for a similar listing on the National Register of Historic Places.  MAK was Decatur’s first local historic district, but it isn’t currently listed with the NRHP.

I don’t think I’m going out on a limb when I say that a lot of Decatur’s pride stems from its historic neighborhoods. (Lord knows it’s not coming from Quizno’s plaza!)

Now the city, in conjunction with the Decatur Preservation Alliance and DeKalb History Center, is giving you a helping hand in learning about and maintaining your historic home!

On Saturday, October 25th from 10a-5p, Decatur will host its first-ever Old House Fair at the Holiday Inn Conference Center.  Admission is only $10 in advance and $15 at the door.

All the details can be found here.

Many longtime residents will already be painfully aware of this, but I noticed a slightly less blatant travesty of urban renewal than the new DeKalb County Courthouse when I was perusing AtlantaTimeMachine yesterday.

Take a look.

OK, so here’s a pic looking across the north side of the Square…see the white-faced Lenz Inc building that used to house Square Roots and Zocalo? Eh…you could take it or leave it, right? But to the trained eye that brick on the northern and southern elevations tells the building is much older than this minimalist facade would lead you to believe.

Well, take a look at the second pic from 1948 below.

That’s the same beautiful building before it had its face ripped off!

How can I be sure? Well if you need confirmation beyond the brick elevations (or you just don’t trust me) check out the window pattern on the second floor. Three sets of three. Same building.

So, here’s the question…how much of the original front facade is still under that (I’m guessing) stucco? The roof line has definitely been changed from partial mansard (tile?) and those parapets are no longer there, but maybe, just maybe, some of the building’s detail still exists beneath the surface.

DeKalb tax records say it was built in 1938, but I’d be very interested to hear if anyone out there knows any other historical info about this particular building. Can you imagine bringing that back to the Square?