Decatur sends developer back to the drawing board

Earlier this week, rather than voting on Cousins Properties’ “special exception requests” for redeveloping the Callaway Building Property, Decatur’s commission unanimously referred Cousins’ plans back to the Downtown Development Authority for further review. Commissioners have little issue with the exceptions, but the larger dilemma is that the city wants more retail injected into the project.

Current plans call for 361 residential units 20,000 square feet of retail and 5,000 square feet of office. Cousins’ Senior Vice President Bill Bassett told the commission on Aug. 17 that any more office/retail space “would not make this financially feasible.”

Assistant City Manager Lyn Menne said this week she believes solutions can be found when city officials and the DDA meet with Cousins, a conference that hasn’t yet been scheduled. The time table appears flexible: the remaining DeKalb County employees at Callaway are scheduled to vacate by next April 30, with the building’s demolition scheduled for late spring.