Decaturish reports on Avondale’s purchase of the now infamous, half-built Publix site with quotes from Mayor Ed Rieker.

Avondale Estates Mayor Ed Rieker said the city’s purchase of downtown property that’s been vacant for years is a sign that the city has regained some economic momentum.

Rieker said the 4.09 acres located along Oak Street, Franklin Street and North Avondale Road has been a drag on the city’s development prospects.

“It has been a deterrent to development because it just has put us in kind of a stuck place,” Rieker said.

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Photo courtesy of Google Maps

From a letter to the community from Avondale Mayor Ed Rieker…

We only need one more signature on the Senate side to move the bills forward so that the bills can be passed on the Senate side.

This legislation allows the annexation of 23 commercial properties bordering East College Avenue and Maple Street, west of the City of Avondale Estates’ City line to Sams Crossing. The City of Decatur will also be annexing 10 commercial properties bordering Sams Crossing, east of its City line to Sams Crossing. If successful, both cities will extend their borders to meet at Sams Crossing, eliminating the unincorporated island that currently separates the two cities.

Patch reported yesterday that instead of waiting for already scheduled meetings to go through the necessary three readings of the Sunday alcohol sales amendment in Avondale Estates, Mayor Ed Rieker has rushed the process in order for the city’s businesses to sell alcohol this coming Sunday, November 20th.

Lo and behold, the Beer Growler in Avondale just sent out an email this morning alerting followers that they will be pouring this coming Sunday.  The email claims they’ll be the first craft beer store in Georgia open on Sundays.

Decatur is expected to allow Sunday sales starting next Sunday, November 27th.  We’ll know for sure after this Monday’s city commission meeting, though it’s little more than a formality at this point.  I sure hope Growlie the Growler shows up to show his support!

A year after Decatur led a failed effort to annex a portion of College Avenue into Decatur and Avondale Estates’ city limits, Avondale Estates has now taken the lead and is making a serious effort, during the current state legislative session, to bring this strip of “blighted” land under the two cities’ jurisdiction.

In a letter to his community this morning, Avondale Estate mayor, Ed Rieker, urged Avondale residents to contact elected state and county representatives and urge them to support Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield’s effort to pass legislation that would bring College Ave land west of Sam’s Crossing into the city of Decatur and land east of the Crossing into Avondale’s city limits.

The mayor’s letter includes an attachment that summarizes Avondale’s argument to approve the annexation, which Rieker promises he “will also be distributing…to those elected officials at the state and county level that we are lobbying to help State Representative Stephanie Stuckey-Benfield pass the annexation legislation during the 2010 session that started today.”

Among the mayor’s stated reasons for annexation are to “regulate future growth and development, increase the presence of law enforcement and to beautify the gateway into our city.”  Rieker notes that the area under consideration, which consists of 23 properties belonging to nine separate owners, has become “blighted and considered by residents an area prone to criminal activity”.

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