Decatur Mayor Patti Garrett and United Methodist Children’s Home President and CEO Hal Jones signed the sale agreement Tuesday for the $40 million purchase of the facility’s 77 acres. Decatur now has 100 days to secure financing and then 15 days to close a transaction that is the city’s largest land purchase in well over a century.
The next step is surveying the property. Deputy City Manager Hugh Saxon said this includes establishing the UMCH’s precise boundaries, important topographical features, significant trees and the parcel belonging solely to the Moore Chapel. He said the survey should take 30 days and start immediately.
The contract stipulates the UMCH retains ownership of the chapel, which was built in 1906. The city will also protect the grave of founder Jesse Boring and rename the administration building — which Decatur plans on using — after Bev Cochran, the home’s executive director from 1969-2012.
But Garrett said Tuesday the city also plans on keeping the pool, the gym, and the campus’ two-acre garden, maintained through a collaboration among Decatur, the UMCH and the Global Growers Network.
The home with its staff of 55 will likely vacate in late summer or early fall. The city will then annex the property around October after which comes six to eight months of community sessions leading to a master plan.
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