Overhaul of downtown Decatur corner is D.O.A. Now what?

Josh Green

Tue, 12/17/2024 – 15:35

An infill project planned for a prominent, empty Decatur corner described as a “premium dog park” where “doggie dreams come true” will in fact not be coming true. Which begs the question: What should step up in its place?

Dog-centric hangout Off Leash, billed as a “state-of-the-art oasis for canines and dog owners,” has pulled the plug on its new Alpharetta location after only five months in business in a former Rite Aid Pharmacy. The company has also axed plans for a second location in downtown Decatur, as Decaturish/Appen Media first relayed.

Off Leash was initially slated to open this year on a Decatur corner across the street from Kimball House restaurant and the city’s popular Dairy Queen. A pause in construction last summer lent the first indication that not everything was going according to plan.

Michael Wess, a Bull Realty partner who brokered the leasing deal with Off Leash, declined to offer details this week as to why Off Leash cancelled Decatur plans and what might come next for the property. Off Leash’s website has been taken down.

“I don’t have any information to share, unfortunately,” Wess said.

Overview and context of the properties today. Courtesy of Bull Realty; designs, Robert M. Cain, Architect

Joe May Cleaners, a dry-cleaning business, relocated from the lone building at 240 and 250 E. Trinity Place earlier this year, as preliminary construction work moved forward. That work has been paused now for months.

The .65-acre property in question includes an open field that’s long been a blank spot in downtown Decatur’s otherwise walkable, vibrant urban fabric. Next door is a low-rise building where the dry cleaners had operated before vacating to a new location nearby.

Prior to pre-construction work, the building and corner lot in question at 240 to 250 E. Trinity Place in Decatur, as seen in May 2022. Google Maps

One potential layout option with an emphasis on patios and greenspace, as shown in Bull Realty marketing materials. These renderings don’t fully reflect how the Off Leash concept would have looked. Courtesy of Bull Realty; designs, Robert M. Cain, Architect

Off Leash’s plans called for an indoor restaurant (for humans) with a large patio attached. Next to that would have been a private dog park, partially covered.

In the gallery above, find more context and marketing materials that illustrate how the Decatur corner site could be activated, with or without trained “dogtenders” onsite.

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