Decatur Town Center Plan 2.0

Decatur Town Center Plan 2.0 Decatur, Georgia

Role

Planning / Urban Design

People Involved

Andrew Overbeck, Darren Meyer, Luis Calvo, Benjamin Kern, Haoting Shi

Typology

Downtown Plan

Project Timeline

2022-2023

Collaborators

Development Strategies, Hummingbird, Gray & Pape, White and Smith, City of Decatur

Award

2024 IDA Award of Excellence in Planning, Design and Infrastructure

Bringing new life to a vibrant and bourgeoning downtown in Metro Atlanta

Located in the heart of DeKalb County, the City of Decatur is a vibrant community known throughout Metro Atlanta as a walkable island in an otherwise car-dominated region. Home to notable restaurants, three MARTA stations, and a charming small-town feel, by 2030 Decatur is projected to grow from 25,000 to 28,000 Decaturites. With momentum on its side and quality of life in mind, the city’s comprehensive plan champions Downtown Decatur as best positioned to accommodate this growth and demand.

As the mixed-use core of the city with access to transit, downtown is primed to continue to grow and improve. Through extensive community engagement that included three community meetings, online activities, online and paper surveys, booths at community festivals, stakeholder roundtables, and a steering committee of community leaders, Decaturites shared a vision for the future of downtown that was overwhelmingly positive and beaming with opportunity. The result is a plan that outlines a vibrant future for downtown—a greener, more walkable, and more livable district that is welcoming to all residents and visitors.

 
 

The plan’s seven goal statements, 23 Objectives, and 34 Action Items establish a blueprint for downtown’s next phase of evolution. From a refreshed vision for Decatur Square – the city’s premiere community gathering space – to concepts for shared streets, mixed-use developments, and a new ambassador program, the Decatur Town Center Plan 2.0 is both visionary and geared toward implementation.

The planning process engaged more than 1,000 Decaturites who shared their passion and love for downtown. Throughout the engagement process, Decaturites described a walkable and vibrant downtown beloved by the community. Led by a team of City Staff and the MKSK planning team, the following groups, meetings, and platforms were convened to craft the vision for downtown: a Steering Committee of 17 community leaders representing a broad spectrum of downtown residents, businesses, and organizations; 15 Stakeholder Focus Groups with multiple individual interviews and follow ups to engage with those most familiar with downtown; a dedicated project website with online activities including an online survey and an interactive map to better reach a wide range of Decaturites; presence at community festivals, events, board meetings, and neighborhood association gatherings; non-traditional engagement events, such as pop-ups, running club gatherings, walking tours, and “meetings in a box;” and three Community Meetings, held at each of the three project phases, to have one-on-one conversations with Decaturites and share the plan’s progress and recommendations.

 
 

The Vision for Decatur Square

 
 

Enhance Historic Character

 
 

Improve Connectivity

 
 

The 1982 Town Center Plan set out to address downtown’s over-reliance on surface parking lots. Since then, downtown has added mixed-use buildings on empty lots and downtown has experienced an influx of new residents. However, much of the northern half of downtown is still dominated by auto-oriented development patterns and streets that are devoid of street trees and pedestrian comfort.

As such, this plan focused on the Commerce Drive corridor on the northern side of downtown. Originally built as a traffic bypass for downtown, this thoroughfare is typified by surface parking and large setbacks. Recent redevelopment has introduced a more urban condition, with walkable streetscapes, and mixed-use development with ground floor uses. Understanding this opportunity, the planning team developed conceptual plans for Opportunity Sites emphasizing walkable spaces, ample public spaces, new retail amenities, and sustainable infrastructure. The Commerce Drive corridor is also reimagined with street trees, wide sidewalks, and bike infrastructure that ties into the regional trail network. In doing so, these improvements support new development while also serving existing residents by increasing walkability, providing gathering spaces, and adding new businesses.

 

Opportunity Sites

 
 

The City of Decatur is committed to implementing the Town Center 2.0 Plan and is already undergoing key initiatives to realize this vision. In its implementation chapter, the plan identifies immediate priorities to jump-start success in the first days following plan adoption, outlined in the plan as a 100-day Action Plan.

Since the adoption of the plan, the City of Decatur and the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) has lived up to its commitment through the following actions:

  • The DDA implemented various pilot programs to test ideas outlined in the plan, including a Downtown Clean Team with extra services for trash collection and leaf blowing, a free downtown circulator to connect downtown residents with a nearby grocery store, and a Square Safety Team to provide additional officers during weekends and nights.

  • The City and the DDA launched a new Downtown Ambassador program to enhance the downtown experience.

  • The City and the DDA will be working to provide clear and concise parking information, update public parking wayfinding signs, expand on-street parking management to new high-demand streets, and reprice hourly rates and violations.

  • The City embarked on a future collaboration with Zero Empty Spaces to set up art installations at vacant downtown storefronts, starting in May of 2024.

  • In preparation of the 2026 World Cup in Atlanta, the City, DDA, and Tourism Bureau invested $8 Million toward implementing the plan’s vision for a reimagined Decatur Square. The newly renovated Decatur Square re-opened in the Spring of 2026 and included many of the aspects detailed in the plan, such as replacing the bandstand with a new stage, adding a new hillside park, and building a public restroom.