DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County leaders broke ground on a $29 million mixed-use development on Candler Road, bringing an economic boost and healthier food options to the community.
Candler Crossing, at Candler Road and Glenwood Avenue, will be anchored by a Publix grocery store and include more than 11,000 square feet of space for other retailers. The property is now an eyesore, filled with piles of rubble from a demolished shopping center.
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Lorraine Cochran-Johnson, DeKalb County CEO, said the development will make for a healthier and more prosperous community that has long struggled to attract investment.
“We will no longer allow our communities to operate in food deserts,” said Cochran-Johnson. “Food is dignity. Access to healthy food options is necessary.”
Candler Crossing will also include a hardscape plaza, green space, a walking trail and a renovated MARTA bus stop.
Mack Wilbourn, president of Mack II, Inc., a fast-food management company, bought the run-down property years ago with hopes of transforming it into something to lift up the Candler Road corridor.
“It’s gonna change the housing, it’s gonna change all of that around it and gonna give jobs and business opportunities” he said.
The Decide DeKalb Development Authority approved a $3.82 million Tax Allocation District. That means future property tax increases on the site is directly reinvested into the community.
Dorian DeBarr, president and CEO of Decide DeKalb, said the project will be a catalyst for more redevelopment in the Candler Road corridor.
“We need to bring other development and signal further to the community, investors, that we are open for business,” he said. “Please invest in all of our corridors.”
Decide DeKalb partnered with Venture South Investments, a shopping center developer, to get the project going.
“You need amenities, you need access to amenities, services, you need access to healthy food,” DeBarr said. “That was absent from this corridor.”
Nicole Massiah, the commissioner for DeKalb County District 3, said Candler Crossing is just the beginning.
“This is just an example of progress and possibility into fruition,” she said. “This is where District 3 charts its own course.”
The project includes 2,000-square-foot affordable retail space reserved for local businesses at 60% of market rent during the first five years. Candler Crossing is expected to be open by the fall of 2027.
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