Half a decade after it was killed by the economy, the newest addition to Decatur's downtown area — a five-story, mixed-use development with apartments and retail space — has been officially re-announced. Locally based Carter, which calls itself "one of the nation's leading real estate development, investment and advisory firms," issued a press release Wednesday proclaiming the pending arrival of 315 West Ponce, a $40-million project that will include 233 apartments and 10,000 square feet of street-level retail. You can probably guess the development's address; it'll be situated two blocks from Decatur's downtown square. "While Decatur has experienced significant population and retail growth during the last 10 years," Carter's chief development officer, Conor McNally, said, "no new apartment projects have been delivered since 2001, which makes the time for this project ideal."
Construction is apparently slated to start this summer — about five years after it initially lost steam — but the company offered no timeframe for completion. The folks at Carter did say 315 West Ponce will "target young professionals" and offer one-, two- and three-bedroom units, as well as a pool, clubhouse, fitness center and "two outdoor courtyards with greenspace."
It'll essentially be thrown up around the 10-story office building/bank near West Ponce's intersection with Ponce de Leon Place. The project will also include a parking deck — to be shared among the apartments, retail and existing building — that's already drawn the ire of neighbors.
Otherwise, what say you? Is an apartment injection of this scale what Decatur needs, or was the city doing fine without more people?
— By Curbed contributor Tyler Estep
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