Q: Your DeKalb County Farmer’s Market, near Scottdale, east of Decatur and Avondale, has cleared a huge piece of property. They’re working on building something. Can you tell me what’s going on?
—Tom Gunn, Decatur
A: Your DeKalb County Farmer's Market has begun clearing land for a massive expansion. Currently in a 140,000-square-foot building – about the size of a Walmart Supercenter – Your DeKalb Farmer's Market is expected to expand to a space that will be at least 517,949 square feet, according to a 2012 Development of Regional Impact report by the Atlanta Regional Commission.
Final plans also could include a 718,367-square-foot warehouse, 2,637 parking spaces and two new driveways on land between the market’s current building and parking lot and nearby DeKalb Industrial Way. The expansion likely will be made in four phases – Phase 1 is expected to be finished next year – with the final phase being projected to be complete in 2023, according to the report. Your DeKalb County Farmer’s Market, at 3000 East Ponce de Leon Ave. in Decatur, began as a produce stand in 1977.
Q: Has President Barack Obama’s grandfather, from Hawaii, ever visited the White House? If he has, how many times has he visited?
—Tanya Kent, Suwanee
A: Stanley Dunham, Obama's grandfather on his mother's side, died in 1992, when he was 73, 16 years before Obama was elected. Dunham and his wife Madelyn raised Obama in Honolulu from the time he was 10 years old through high school while their daughter Ann lived in Indonesia.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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