Decatur Town Center Plan 2.0 Decatur, Georgia
Services Provided
Downtown Planning
Engagement
Urban and Public Realm Design
People Involved
Andrew Overbeck
Darren Meyer
Luis Calvo
Brenda Diaz-Flores
Benjamin Kern
Haoting Shi
Plan Document
Bringing new life to a vibrant and bourgeoning downtown, in Metro Atlanta
A vibrant in-town city just outside Atlanta, Decatur, Georgia is renowned in the region as a shining example of a growing, diverse, and walkable community with a historic town square. With more than 3,500 downtown residents and a MARTA heavy rail station connecting the city with some of Metro Atlanta’s top assets and destinations, Downtown Decatur has experienced incredible growth and development infill in recent years. Nonetheless, new regional competition in the growing Atlanta Metro area and a community desire to retain its small-town charm set the stage for a refreshed vision for downtown. As the first comprehensive look at Downtown Decatur in more than 40 years, the Decatur Town Center 2.0 Plan was an opportunity to evaluate how past planning efforts have been implemented, to take stock of the current state of downtown and the region, and to create a new vision that carries downtown forward into its next phase of evolution.
MKSK led a multidisciplinary team that included market strategists, historic preservation specialists, engagement facilitators, and land use and zoning experts in the creation of an updated vision for downtown
The MKSK team collaborated with the Decatur community to understand Downtown Decatur and develop a strategic framework for the continued success of downtown. Through multiple forms of in-person, nontraditional, and online engagement and three community workshops, more than 1,000 Decatur voices were involved in the Town Center 2.0 Plan. The plan’s concepts and recommendations are organized through seven Goal statements that guided the creation of 23 Objectives and 34 Action Items.
