South DeKalb Is Getting Investment. The Question Is Who Owns It.

South DeKalb is seeing new investment along Memorial Drive, Candler Road and Glenwood Road after years of grocery store closures, vacant storefronts and stalled development. But the bigger question is whether longtime residents and local businesses will benefit from that growth or be pushed aside by it.

This episode of This Is Atlanta: South DeKalb Edition examines four projects shaping the area: Candler Crossing, a $28.9 million mixed-use development anchored by Publix; the planned redevelopment of Belvedere Plaza after Kroger’s closure; Cottages at Midway, an 18-home development offering potential down payment assistance; and a permanent small-business and entrepreneur hub planned at New Life Community Alliance for 2027.

These projects were not direct results of Decide DeKalb’s HR&A study. That research is a separate effort focused on attracting investment to South DeKalb without displacing the legacy residents and businesses already there. Together, the study and the active developments show where public officials, developers and community leaders say the area is headed.

Announcements, grants and renderings are not the same as completed projects. A new grocery store does not automatically create local ownership. New housing does not guarantee existing residents can afford to buy it. Business support only matters if South DeKalb entrepreneurs can access it.

We are going beyond the renderings to speak with developers, Decide DeKalb, entrepreneurs and residents. We are asking three questions about South DeKalb’s economic development: Who benefits? Who gets to own? Who gets to stay?

South DeKalb is changing. Whether the people who sustained these neighborhoods will own a piece of what comes next is still being decided.