The plan is to build a grand center mixing commercial, residential and retail opportunities for a downtown Doraville area that would rival Atlanta’s Midtown neighborhood.
Developers of the project, at the site of the shuttered General Motors production plant, say the DeKalb County School Board is the only thing standing in the way of getting it done. Already, a handful of companies have expressed a willingness to be in the mix. Several have backed out, afraid the money needed for infrastructure improvements won't materialize.
The city of Doraville is on board with a planned Tax Allocation District (TAD) that would fund infrastructure improvements. The DeKalb County Commission is, too, so long as the school board says yes.
DeKalb County School District Superintendent Steve Green has said the school district will not participate.
Egbert Perry, CEO of Atlanta developer Integral, said if the school district isn’t on board with the project by June, plans in place may change dramatically.
“They need to understand their role in economic development,” Perry said of the school district. “We want them to know they are not excused.”
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