Decatur Neighborhoods Concerned About Proposed Suburban Plaza Walmart

Decatur neighborhoods have gotten together to share worries about the proposed Suburban Plaza Walmart, which would be located just outside the Decatur city limits.

A committee from the Decatur Heights Neighborhood Association met Sunday with representatives from the Springdale Heights, Glennwood Estates, Sycamore Ridge, Sycamore Station and Glenlake Commons neighborhoods.

According to a list of concerns compiled from the meeting, residents are worried about traffic congestion, environmental impact, the spillover of parking into adjacent streets and many other issues that were listed in bullet point form.

"The idea," the summary of the neighborhood meeting said, "is to work with Walmart and Selig rather than against them, and let them know our expectations are high."

No date for a meeting has been announced. with residents of the Medlock Area Neighborhood Association.

Selig Enterprises of Atlana, the developer, wants to build a Walmart as part of the renovation of the aging Suburban Plaza shopping center at North Decatur Road and Church Street. The firm is seeking a parking variance and would like to build an underground parking garage.

According to a Development of Regional Impact statement filed by DeKalb County, the project calls for the "Demolition of approximately 144,000 sf of existing commercial space and the addition of 149,000 sf for a new total shopping center square footage of 324,614 sf."