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Phase III of Fuqua’s Decatur Crossing on its way to final approval

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Phase III of Fuqua’s Decatur Crossing on its way to final approval

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This rendering shows all three phases of Fuqua's Decatur Crossing development. Click to enlarge.

This rendering shows all three phases of Fuqua’s Decatur Crossing development. Click to enlarge.

By Sarah Gleim, contributor 

On May 3, the DeKalb County Planning Commission unanimously approved the application by Fuqua to rezone Phase III of the Decatur Crossing development. The next and final step is for the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners to approve the plan. That meeting is set for May 17.

The property, which includes 9.1 acres on Scott Boulevard, Church Street and a portion of Blackmon Drive, is being rezoned from a suburban and commercial redevelopment to a town center for development of a mixed-use commercial and residential development.

Theresa Same, Medlock Area Neighborhood Association (MANA) Zoning Chair and Chair of the DeKalb Cross-Neighborhoods Council, said they have been working with Fuqua for several months to make the site appropriate for the area.

“We want something that fits in with the community,” she said. “We think it should be pedestrian-oriented, so we’ve asked for sidewalks, and we want green space.”

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They have also been working with Fuqua to ensure Phase III will include some portion of workforce housing, or housing aimed at households earning from 60 to 120 percent of the area’s median income. The plan currently is slated for a fast food restaurant, grocery store, apartment building, storage facility and senior housing, although no specific tenants have been confirmed to date.

Same said MANA and the DeKalb Cross-Neighborhoods are very much in favor of the senior housing, as it’s something the area needs and has requested for some time. She coordinated a community meeting in April with Columbia Residential, the developer selected for the senior housing, to discuss the proposed development.

“[The senior housing] has definitely been the piece that we have been asked about the most,” Same said. “We wanted the neighbors to understand what it means to have subsidized housing, and if they can even live there.”

The 90-unit development would be for seniors aged 62 and older, and would offer annual leases managed by Columbia. Currently, Columbia is in the process of applying for a low-income housing tax credit, which allocates federal and state tax credits to qualified rental properties that reserve a portion of their units for low-income tenants. The application is due in June, and final zoning on the entire development must be approved before the application can be submitted.

While there is no specific timeline yet on when build out on Phase III will actually begin, Same said she believes the project will get the go ahead from the Board of Commissioners this month. “As long as nothing is deferred, I think there is a good possibility it will be approved [on May 17].” She did say Fuqua is securing the proper permits to begin demolition on the dilapidated building that sits on the property, and it should be gone within 30 days.

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