DEKALB COUNTY: Designs sought for k-12 arts complex

In the aftermath of developer Sembler Co.’s controversial and, ultimately, failed plan to buy a key piece of school property in north-central DeKalb County, school system officials have requested bids to design a new k-12 performing arts complex on the site.

The move, which comes on the heels of a promise to parents that such an option would be considered, takes the next step toward redeveloping land the DeKalb system has used since the late 1940s. Bids are due back Sept. 30.

But officials and parents said the decision to bid out the design still leaves them years away from actual construction —- not least because DeKalb, struggling to close budget gaps, doesn’t have the money to build the school.

“It’s not something we’re rushing into,” said Patricia Pope, the system’s chief operating officer.

Current estimates place construction costs at about $87 million.

Depending on inflation, how long it takes to turn dirt and how many bells and whistles the complex has, the arts school could cost as much as $198 million —- although that is a high estimate.

Pope said funding likely would come from a mix of public and private sources, adding that having design plans in hand gives the system “something to sell,” especially to private donors. Building costs would not be paid for out of the system’s current construction program.

DeKalb school board members in January unanimously spurned Sembler’s request to buy 31.7 acres at Briarcliff and North Druid Hills roads, ending an oft-times frustrating, nearly two-year negotiating process opposed by many of the site’s residential neighbors.

Sembler still has under contract 70 acres of property on Briarcliff owned by the DeKalb Housing Authority. It plans a mixed-use development there.

The property Sembler wanted is home to an athletic stadium plus aging facilities including the system’s International Student Center for immigrant and refugee students, and the DeKalb School of the Arts, an existing magnet arts high school.

A study completed over the summer said a new arts complex made sense for the school system, both because of the popularity of existing DeKalb arts magnet programs —- including an elementary arts school on a different site —- and because a new venue could be used by the community and rented out for income.

 Staff
Map locates the planned development of the DeKalb School of the Arts. Inset map outlines area of detail in DeKalb County relative to metro Atlanta.