Mobile Home Sales in DeKalb, SC

The panel

Michael Thurmond, @dekalblikesmike, CEO, DeKalb County

Patricia Murphy, @MurphyAJC, politics reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The breakdown

Michael Thurmond was born in rural Sandy Creek, north of Athens-Clarke County. His great-grandfather was enslaved on an Oconee County plantation owned by Harris Thurmond, and three members of his family were sharecroppers in the area. He attended segregated schools, and Clark Central High School wasn't integrated until his senior year.

LISTEN: Michael Thurmond on segregation and poverty in his childhood.

After high school, Thurmond earned a juris doctorate from the University of South Carolina's School of Law. In 1986, he became the first Black legislator from Clarke County since Reconstruction, winning in a 66% white district.

LISTEN: Michael Thurmond on his proudest accomplishment.

Thurmond served in Georgia's Division of Family and Child Services, helping launch the Work First program. As labor commissioner, he helped overhaul the state's unemployment program, adding to his reputation as a "turnaround expert."

LISTEN: Michael Thurmond says he's optimistic for the future.

Tuesday on Political Rewind: The AJC's Tamar Hallerman joins the panel.

Tags: Georgia Politics Georgia Politics Atlanta Macon Savannah Dekalb Dekalb County Michael Thurmond Legislature

Secondary Content

About the authors

Author

Natalie Mendenhall

Senior Producer, Political Rewind

Natalie Mendenhall is a Chicago native who graduated from Wellesley College. She has reported on everything from Hurricane Irma to the Milwaukee Bucks winning the NBA championship. She is excited to tell stories in Georgia's diverse political landscape.

Chase McGee is a Gwinnett County native and graduate of the University of Georgia. He has previously worked on All Things Considered and On Second Thought with Georgia Public Broadcasting and African Perspectives with WUGA. He currently works as a producer with GPB's Political Rewind team.

To cut back on costs, MARTA is no longer considering light rail for a route planned to connect major job centers, such as Emory University and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On Monday, MARTA publicly shared it will pursue bus rapid transit for the Clifton Corridor project. The plan involves running buses in dedicated lanes through the Druid Hills and North Decatur areas. The route would travel between the Lindbergh Center and Avondale rail stations.

The transit agency is considering running an additional high-frequency route in shared lanes with traffic signal prioritization – known as arterial rapid transit – along Clairemont Avenue. It would connect the Lindbergh Center and Decatur rail stations. About 47,800 people live within a half-mile of the proposed BRT and ART routes.

In May, MARTA's Board of Directors is expected to decide whether to build both bus routes or only BRT. The agency will discuss the project with the public at a virtual forum on Feb. 16 and open house on Feb. 18.

The high cost of construction is the primary reason for choosing BRT over light rail. It could cost up to $2.9 billion to construct a light rail line for the project, compared with $1.4 billion for BRT and ART, according to MARTA estimates in 2031 dollars. Annual operation costs are also significantly lower for BRT.

The BRT route could be completed in seven to eight years, a few years sooner than light rail. It would take about 30 minutes for a bus to complete the entire route, only a minute or so longer than light rail. Most of the route would run along a CSX rail corridor.

A challenge will be preventing drivers from entering a portion of dedicated lanes built by existing roads. MARTA is working with the Georgia General Assembly to pass legislation that would allow the agency to deter drivers from using the lanes.

A funding gap must be overcome to complete the entire project. Assuming both BRT and ART routes make it into the final plan, anywhere between $400 million to $800 million is needed for the portion in DeKalb County, according to MARTA's estimates.

The remainder of the project within Atlanta's city limits would be funded by the More MARTA Atlanta program, a $2.7 billion transit expansion made possible by a half-penny sales tax approved by voters. The agency could move forward with the Atlanta portion of the project, even if it's unable to secure funding for the DeKalb portion, said Bryan Hobbs, a project manager at MARTA.

In January, MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood told Atlanta City Council's Transportation Committee that the agency plans to prioritize approximately seven projects under the More MARTA Atlanta program. It still plans to complete all 17 projects, though some will likely come sooner than others. It's unclear whether the Clifton project will make the cut as a priority.

BRT is a relatively new concept in Atlanta. MARTA will deploy the transit mode for the first time with its Summerhill project, which is slated to connect the neighborhood to South Downtown. Last year, the agency swapped out light rail for BRT on a future Campbellton Road route in Southwest Atlanta.

In recent years, MARTA has worked with real estate developers to add residential units, offices, retail and other uses by transit. It's an effort to restore ridership by putting residents and workers on the doorstep of transit, as well as garner short-term revenue through ground leases.

MARTA foresees transit-oriented development sprouting along its BRT routes. The introduction of BRT in other cities spurred an increase in development within a half-mile of routes, especially for multifamily projects, according to 2020 research compiled by South Carolina's Lowcountry Rapid Transit.

Ranked by Median household income

Contracts, Bids, Proposals

FLORIDA

Florida East Coast Realty Inc. is in the planning phase of a design-bid-build project for a $1-billion, 92-story, 2-million-sq-ft mixed-use tower in Miami, the One Bayfront Plaza Mixed Use Tower. With a target construction start date of September, plans call for the demolition of an existing 19-story building and construction of 1,361 apartments, 200 hotel rooms, a parking garage for 2,117 vehicles and an associated pedestrian bridge as well as more than 100,000 sq ft of retail space on 3.35 acres. Florida East Coast Realty Inc., 100 S. Biscayne Blvd., Ste. 1100, Miami, 33301. DR#07-00734692.

FLORIDA

Immocorp Capital and the city of West Palm Beach are in the design phase of the Northwood Square apartments-grocery-retail development, a $70-million to $75-million design-bid-build project set to start construction in April. Plans call for three nine-story reinforced concrete buildings housing 382 condominiums, 28 studio apartments, 191 one-bedroom apartments and 163 two-bedroom units on 3.3 acres alongside 63,200 sq ft of retail space, a 58-space parking garage and an amenity deck with swimming pool, fitness center and game room. Immocorp Capital, 18851 NE 29th Ave., Miami, 33180. DR#17-00761738.

SOUTH CAROLINA

BMW Manufacturing Corp. is designing the 1-million-sq-ft BMW Hi-Voltage Battery Assembly Facility near Spartanburg, expected to cost $700 million. Construction by Evans General contractors is set to begin in May for the single-story, structural steel building to house a high-voltage electric vehicle battery assembly facility. Site clearing is underway. BMW Manufacturing Corp., 1400 Highway 101 S, Greer, 29651. DR#22-00800571.

GEORGIA

The Georgia Dept. of Transportation is planning a $5.5-billion, three-part design-build project to add two new elevated, barrier-separated express lanes in both directions of Interstate-285 in Fulton, Cobb and DeKalb counties, which it says is the one of the most heavily traveled and congested interstate highways in the country. The project proposes the new lanes in three main areas: on I-285 from Interstate 20 to Paces Ferry Road, on I-285 from Henderson Road to I-20 and on Interstate 75 from Ga. 155 to Interstate 475. The work schedule for bridge replacements over railroad tracks and roads and collector-distributor lanes is still to be determined. Georgia Dept. of Transportation, 600 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta, 30309. DR#17-00625020.

FLORIDA

Triple Five and PCL Constructors are revising the master plan for a new amusement park in Miami, the American Dream Miami Retail and Entertainment Master Report, detailing a 225-acre amusement park with 7.2 million total sq ft of building space including indoor ski slope, water park, man-made saltwater lake, artificial reef, 3,000-seat movie theater, performing arts center, ice skating rink, museum, bowling alley, 2,000 hotel rooms, 3 million sq ft of retail space and 2 million sq ft of entertainment space. Reviews and approvals are pending for the estimated $3-billion to $4-billion project. Triple Five, Attn. Debbie Patire, Sr. VP of Marketing, Ste. 3000 West Edmonton Mall 8882, 170th St., Edmonton, Alberta, T5T 4M2. DR#15-00457084.

NORTH CAROLINA

The North Carolina Dept. of Transportation is evaluating bids for a $621.5-million design-build paving project to construct improvements to Haywood Road in Asheville. NCDOT is expected to award the project to one of three bidders by March 17 and start work April 1. NC Dept. Transportation, 1020 Birch Ridge Drive, Raleigh, 27610. DR#21-00821476.

FLORIDA

Moss & Associates has started construction on the $450-million One Ashley condominium and hotel tower project located along Tampa’s Riverwalk. Work includes a 39-story structural steel building totaling more than 1.4 million sq ft with 207 condominium units, rooftop swimming pool and café. Off-site improvements include modification to the alignment of Ashely Drive South, sidewalk improvements and 719-space parking garage. Two Roads Development, 1217 S. Flagler Drive FL 2, West Palm Beach, 33401. DR#15-00584411.

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Channel 2 Action News has obtained the list of nearly 4,000 DeKalb County Water/Sewer Service customers who have failed to pay their bills for so long that county officials are considering cutting off service to those homes in coming weeks.

Michael Thurmond, CEO of DeKalb County, told Investigative Reporter Richard Belcher in mid-July that those customers need to pay or set up a payment plan by September 1. Otherwise, they could lose service.

Thurmond sounded a slightly softer tone in an interview with Channel 2 today.

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“We have no desire to cut off services, because what we want to do is help people who are having challenges to overcome those challenges and pay what’s owed so that we can continue to serve all of our customers,” Thurmond said.

He told Belcher: “The only thing (customers) can’t do is not do anything.”

DeKalb announced an end to its water bill moratorium September 1, 2021, but Channel 2 broke the story this summer that the county had not cut off service to a single customer since then. The county reports that the vast majority of water revenues are collected but also acknowledged in early August that customers now owe over $54 million.

A little more than one-third of that is owed by a relatively small number of households — about 2% of residential customers. Those are the customers whose attention the county wants to get right now.

For several years, DeKalb’s water and sewer system was dogged by widespread billing errors caused by faulty meters that had to be replaced. Since then the calls to Channel 2 from angry customers with outrageous bills largely have dried up.

TRENDING STORIES:

Warnings are going to the 3,838 overdue customers on the spreadsheet DeKalb sent Belcher this week. After a few hours with the numbers, he learned:

The total owed by the accounts most at risk for service cut-off is $18,743,290.

A home on Woodland Cove in South DeKalb has, by far, the largest unpaid bill at $464,422.

A woman, who said she’s a tenant at the Woodland Cove address, met Channel 2 at the door.

“I think it’s a mistake,” she said. She blamed a sewer leak. When asked what she plans to do, she said, “We’re moving.” She said she did not have a phone number for the owner.

“Those people who are not paying, that’s just not an option,” Thurmond said Wednesday. He encouraged people: “Don’t wait. Make an arrangement.”

But he also brought up the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the rising incidence of monkeypox in DeKalb County as reasons not to be indiscriminately tough on non-payers.

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“We’re going to proceed, but the last thing we want to do is cut off water in the middle of a health crisis. We’re going to balance the need to collect the money that’s owed while protecting the health of our broader population,” he told Belcher.

“We expect people to do the right thing” he said. “Every citizen should pay his or her fair share.

According to the CEO, customers still in arrears after Sept. 1 have 20 days to pay, then another 10 days to set up a payment plan.

After that, “You might be subject to termination,” Thurmond said.

IN OTHER NEWS:

DeKalb County is moving forward with a financing tool that county leaders hope will provide a jolt of economic development while helping to resuscitate a moribund mall property.

DeKalb’s Board of Commissioners this week unanimously approved the Market Square Tax Allocation District, or TAD, for North DeKalb Mall's planned redevelopment. The TAD will also cover areas near the mall property, to include North Druid Hills Road and Lawrenceville Highway, in hopes of spurring economic development similar to what other parts of DeKalb have seen in recent years, according to county officials.

Governments use TADs as tax increment financing tools to help generate investment in distressed or underdeveloped areas that otherwise wouldn’t occur. DeKalb County leaders have been working with business boosters Decide DeKalb to craft a vision for the North DeKalb Mall area—with a reimagined mall property serving as the nucleus.

Edens, a national developer with regional headquarters in Atlanta, plans to remake the mostly vacant, 1960s mall into something resembling Avalon in the northeast section of ITP Atlanta. Only the existing AMC movie theater would remain in place.

Courtesy of Edens

Edens’ plans call for 300,000 square feet of “innovative and creative retail,” 180,000 square feet of Class A offices in two buildings, and a 150-key hotel, all woven together by greenspaces and bike paths.

On the residential front, 100 townhomes and 1,700 multifamily units are also in the works.

Developers have previously said their goal is to open the reimagined property, which Edens now owns, in 2028.

Courtesy of Edens

The mall redevelopment might be the centerpiece, but DeKalb County’s ambitions for the Market Square TAD are bigger.

The tax measure will help fund affordable housing in the central DeKalb area, alongside new parks, landscaping, lighting, and transportation and mobility enhancements, county officials said this week.

The TAD has a potential appraised redevelopment value of $625 million on the mall site, which is currently appraised at $16.2 million. In conjunction with other redevelopment projects in the TAD area, officials say the TAD could spell $806 million in new property value—nearly 20 times the current valuation.

The broader vision “is to encourage redevelopment of outdated commercial areas into modern uses for this district,” said Dorian DeBarr, Decide DeKalb development authority president, in a prepared statement. “We’re thrilled that [commissioners] approved the TAD, which fits into the goals set out by the 2050 DeKalb Unified Plan. We’re excited to work with Edens, the new owner of North DeKalb Mall, to spur economic development in this district.”

Head up to the gallery for a detailed look at Edens’ plans for the mall property, as presented earlier this year.

• New owners promise retail revival for Gallery at South DeKalb mall (Urbanize Atlanta)