Preliminary maps tease new details on a developer’s plan for transforming a floundering mall into a massive mixed-use community.
The renderings show an early vision for how real estate developer Edens might bring life back to North DeKalb Mall, a 77-acre property encumbered with vacant storefronts. The maps have not been publicly advertised or released by Edens; they were first reported by Decaturish and obtained in a records request by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The maps were shown during a Jan. 11 closed-door meeting on Zoom, which Decaturish Editor Dan Whisenhunt briefly attended before being asked to leave. He told the AJC he didn’t know the meeting wasn’t open to media outlets, since he was given access by a DeKalb County commissioner.
“These developers are not generally the talkative sort,” Whisenhunt said. “They want to have a public meeting and get feedback that way, which is fine. It’s nothing personal, but I know the plan would be in somebody’s public record, so I just went ahead and asked for it.”
Records requests with the county revealed preliminary plans for a nearly 50,000-square foot grocery store. The renderings also retain the AMC theater and Marshall’s retail store that are already located at the mall.
Edens, which purchased the property last year for an undisclosed price, has declined to release details on its redevelopment plan. However, paperwork filed with the state in late January reveal the company’s vision for the shuttered mall include a hotel, close to 2,000 residential units and more than a half a million square feet of retail and office space.
Edens declined to comment about the preliminary site plans. Given the maps are preliminary, it’s possible they will change before they are shown to the public by Edens. Whisenhunt added that it seemed only select members of the Medlock neighborhood were present during the virtual meeting.
According to the company’s website, Edens owns and operates nine properties in the metro Atlanta area, including Buckhead Marketplace on West Paces Ferry Road; Toco Hills on North Druid Hills Road; Merchants Walk on Johnson Ferry Road in Marietta and Brookwood Village on Peachtree Road.
Due to the gigantic size of the North DeKalb Mall project, Edens had to complete a Development of Regional Impact (DRI) application in order to begin the rezoning process. The application said the project aims to feature 300,000 square feet of retail space, 200,000 square feet of office space and a 150-room hotel. The project vision also includes 1,700 multi-family apartment units and 100 townhomes.
The application estimates the project will be completed by 2028. The first public meeting to discuss the developer’s plans is scheduled for Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.
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