Work began this spring on redeveloping the former AT&T parking lot and storage area into a residential-only development of 136 units. In the foreground is the outline for extending New Street 250 feet and emptying in front of the new Talley Street Upper Elementary School. For the next month Talley Street which fronts the school will be closed as the developer connects its storm, sewer and water lines to the municipal system. Bill Banks file photo for the AJC
By Bill Banks
Beginning this week utility work will close a portion of Decatur’s Talley Street alongside the Upper Elementary School for at least the rest of this month. Much of the labor will be underground, connecting the city’s storm sewer and DeKalb County’s sanitary sewer and potable water network to the residential development, now under construction across from the school.
Talley will be closed to vehicular traffic as a link from South Columbia Drive to Sams Street and vice versa, though pedestrians will have access on the south or school side of Talley.
According to Jennings Bell, Decatur’s project civil engineer, the goal is to reopen Talley before school begins August 4, though it remains unclear if students will report to the building on that date.
The new development covers the 7.3-acre lot once owned by AT&T. Plans call for 45 stand-alone townhomes (most facing Talley St.) and 91 condos. The development also includes extending New Street by 250 feet, bisecting the project and linking East College Avenue with Talley.
The entire project is expected to take two years, although that’s dependent on a number of factors including the current pandemic.
Bell said that the project includes a thorough remaking of the north side of Talley Street including new curbing, a new and wider (10 feet) sidewalk, street furniture, tree wells and plantings.
Read the original story in AJC.com.
