By Grace Donnelly, contributor

DeKalb County, GA — The Decide DeKalb Development Authority (DDDA) Board on Thursday, voted to approve a contract to keep Dorian DeBarr in his role as president for four more years. 

DeBarr joined DDDA in 2016 as senior vice president and chief financial officer after more than four years working for Invest Atlanta. He has been serving as DDDA president since 2019. 

The board also approved the first quarter financials for the DeKalb Private Hospital Authority, the February financials for the DDDA, and approved the exit of a lease to Acuity Brands Lighting as it came to the end of its 10-year term. 

DeBarr called into the virtual board meeting from New York City, where he was convening with experts from the Urban Land Institute about redevelopment best practices. During his president’s report to the board, he shared that DDDA held the “first of many” small group meetings in Southwest DeKalb in March.

“This meeting consisted of just really strategic stakeholders as we look to improve and redevelop and drive economic prosperity in this portion of the county,” DeBarr said. 

The discussion included representatives from the DeKalb County School Board, the private sector, and the community, he said, noting that along with the tax allocation district (TAD) approved for the region late last year, giving all stakeholders a voice is important for successful economic development in the area. 

“We’ll continue to grow this meeting and this group, and we’re really excited for what comes next,” he said. 

The DDDA marketing team shared that it is developing a DeKalb County Black business guide, which is expected to launch in August.

DeBarr has been selected by MARTA as part of the team reviewing proposals for transit-oriented development around Kensington Station along Memorial Drive. 

He reiterated broader trends in the commercial real estate industry, as interest rates are expected to remain high.

“Commercial real estate transactions for the year of 2023 were the lowest they’ve been in 10 years. The last year they were that low was 2010-2011,” he said. “We were fortunate enough here in DeKalb County to see the opposite of that. We had tremendous growth and tremendous investments.”

DeBarr said he is already seeing a shift toward repositioning existing assets rather than new construction and anticipates an increase in transactions in the second half of 2024 and into 2025 as the industry adjusts to the “new normal.”

In an update on the local film industry, DeKalb Entertainment Commission Director Shelbia Jackson shared that the county has received 24 applications and issued 14 project permits despite a looming threat of further labor strikes. She also highlighted the success of the DeKalb County Student Film Fest. 

Board member Andrew Greenberg noted that the loss of a post-production tax credit in Georgia has led to more editing work remaining in California or New York.

“That’s why New York has the entire ecosystem for film, and why so many of the production companies are headquartered there and a lot of the IP is owned there. Here, we still have some post-production done in DeKalb County, but most of it goes back to California,” he said. “I think DeKalb has some good opportunities there.”

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