During a Tuesday executive session, Decatur’s school board voted to purchase .95 of an acre, currently a DeKalb County DFCS parking lot just south of the Avondale MARTA lot that’s slated to become a mixed-use development.
But on the same night, DeKalb County’s commission announced it wants another appraisal of the property, which could delay City Schools Decatur’s purchase for at least a month. Or DeKalb could kill the deal altogether if it decides not to approve the appraisal.
CSD wants to combine this acre with an adjacent acre owned by developer Columbia Ventures and build an Early Childhood Learning Center on the southwest portion of the site.
Superintendent David Dude said Friday that purchasing the property doesn’t guarantee a new ECLC gets built here, “but it makes it a lot easier to build the building we want.”
It appears, given this week's recommendation by a facilities task force, the current ECLC will eventually have to find another home. The task force recommends renovating College Heights, where the ECLC now resides, into an elementary school holding 293 students.
If DeKalb does wind up agreeing to the appraisal, the school board would not have to take another vote. Cost of the property is about $1 million, Dude said.
About the Author
