DECATUR, GA-Downtown retailers and merchants in this historic suburban city, five miles east of Downtown Atlanta, aren't too happy over a scheduled $15-million facelift that is expected to curtail activity at some of the stores in the central business district, area brokers and consultants tell GlobeSt.com.
Downtown Decatur is getting an $8-million, nine-story condominium building, a $4.5-million renovation of the 35-year-old Marta station plaza, a $2.5-million renovation and expansion of City Hall and a renovation of the former SunTrust building at Sycamore and North McDonough streets. All of the construction is expected to start in June and be completed in about 18 months, according to city staffers.
Most of the construction is scheduled for Sycamore Street, a restaurant-lined artery that is recovering from a three-year sales slump, area retail brokers tell GlobeSt.com. Like the two-year construction of the Marta station here in the 1970s, some businesses are expected to relocate to the suburbs to cope with the anticipated loss of business from closed streets and restricted parking areas during the construction period, local sources tell GlobeSt.com.
Decatur city officials, however, plan to kick off a $15,000 advertising campaign shortly to advise its estimated 21,000 residents that all businesses plan to stay open during the construction phase.
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