It was an emotional day for elected officials and representatives from developer EDENS as they closed the North DeKalb Mall chapter and opened a new one that will bring a 73-acre mixed-use development to the site.
At a ceremony held on Wednesday, June 26, about 150 people witnessed a ceremonial “bite” in the continuing demolition of the 635,000 square-foot mall that will be reinvented as Lulah Hills, a 2.5 million-square-foot campus that will contain 320,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 1,700 multifamily units, 100 townhomes, and a 150-key hotel.
EDENS, which acquired the property in 2021, announced in 2023 that it would transform the site into Lulah Hills, a 73-acre mixed-use redevelopment.
Both EDENS CEO Jody McLean and Herbert Ames, the company’s senior vice president, became emotional as they talked about the long journey that led to today’s ceremony.
“We thought long and hard about making connections, and not just vehicular connections, but emotional ones,” McLean said. “We are looking forward to cutting ribbons in the future.”
After the event, McLean said her emotions came from her team’s passion in bringing the project to fruition.
“We’ve done this multiple times, but each time I recognize the passion of this team and how hard everyone has worked to bring us to this day.”
CEO Michael Thurmond also expressed his appreciation to county officials and EDENS for closing the deal on the $863 million project.
“This is irrefutable evidence that we have risen to the challenge,” Thurmond told the crowd, which included DeKalb County Commissioners Rob Patrick, Michelle Long Spears, Steve Bradshaw, Mereda Davis Johnson, Ted Terry, CEO-elect Lorraine Cochran-Johnson, and former DeKalb Commissioner Jeff Rader, along key representatives from Decide DeKalb.
He also called on Cochran-Johnson to continue putting a priority on infrastructure improvements, including upgrading the county’s antiquated water and sewer system.
“You can’t have a successful building above ground until you make critical investments underground,” Thurmond said.
After the ceremony, Thurmond said he had no doubts that the development would make it off the drawing board.
“The first meeting I had with Herbert [Ames]we had a gentleman’s agreement that we would get this done before I left office,” he said. “This day symbolizes something. We have had so many challenges with past administrations, and now we have arrived.”
Located near downtown Decatur and Emory University, North DeKalb Mall was Atlanta’s first fully enclosed mall when it opened for business in 1965. Over the years, it contained such tenants as Rich’s, Woolworth, Rhodes Furniture, Mervyn’s, Uptons and Stein Mart.
In 2020, the mall closed its doors, citing poor sales and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
DeKalb County officials granted EDENS $70 million in tax reimbursements for the reconstruction project over 15 years.
The first phase, which will contain retail stores, is expected to open in 2025, according to EDENS.