Meet the people behind South DeKalb’s next chapter ahead of the full-length episode arriving this October.
Presented by Decide DeKalb Development Authority
A childhood memory became a cake business. A federal job loss became a creative studio. Family land became a vineyard. Alongside those stories, shopping centers are being reworked, and a cottage community is creating another path to homeownership.
These are the connections we’ve been exploring in This Is Atlanta: South DeKalb Edition. The full-length episode arrives this October. Ahead of its release, we’re bringing together the stories and resources from our visits behind construction fences, conversations with entrepreneurs, and stops at the places helping residents turn an idea into something they can build on.
What emerged is a story about how new investment can connect with the talent, history, and businesses already here and how residents can find a place in what comes next.
A community with history worth carrying forward
South DeKalb’s story reaches back well before the latest redevelopment announcement. Black families bought homes and built businesses here through the 1970s and 1980s. Shopping centers became familiar gathering places, and local businesses gave residents reasons to spend their money close to home.
At Belvedere Plaza, where Rich’s opened in 1959, that history helps explain why the center’s next chapter matters. At the Gallery at South DeKalb, which opened as South DeKalb Mall in 1968, we explored a place woven into the area’s shopping and social life, including its role as an address for Black-owned businesses.
Our reporting left the Gallery’s future unresolved. Its inclusion in redevelopment discussions is a reason to keep following it, while remembering that the businesses and customers already there have a stake in the outcome.
What is taking shape at Candler and Belvedere
At Candler Crossing, Venture South Investments partner Evan Conder walked us through plans for a Publix, additional retail, a renovated MARTA stop, and a student mural project. He described Decide DeKalb’s role in making the development financially possible through the Southwest DeKalb tax allocation district.
For residents, these pieces connect: groceries, transportation, nearby businesses, and a public space that reflects the neighborhood. Our Candler Crossing article and groundbreaking video explain the investment behind the project.
At Belvedere Plaza, Hutton’s Brandy Chadwick clarified an important detail during our visit: three planned retailers would occupy the former Kroger space, while a grocery store was planned for a later phase at the far end of the center. In our interview, she also described local ownership within the tenant mix and encouraged entrepreneurs to explore leasing opportunities with Hutton.
That makes the redevelopment relevant to both shoppers and business owners. A refreshed center can bring customers back; the opportunity for local entrepreneurs depends on whether they can find a workable place within it.
Creating more ways to own a home
A short distance away, Cottages at Midway connects neighborhood investment to homeownership. MicroLife Institute’s Will Johnston showed us the site planned for 18 detached cottages around shared green space. He explained why nearby groceries, parks, and gathering places matter when choosing where to build.
The planned mix includes six homes for buyers at up to 80% ($66,000 for a single adult) of Area Median Income, six at up to 120% ($99,00 for a single adult), and six at market rate. Public financing is intended to help make the income-qualified homes attainable. Our latest reporting also explains why buyers should look closely at individual prices, monthly costs, and the written terms attached to assistance.
Read our Cottages at Midway feature for the ownership model, assistance questions, and the developer’s projected timeline.
The entrepreneurs already building here.
For Chef Nevia Giles of Platinum Cake Designs, the beginning was a cake decoration her mother brought home from a class. That childhood fascination grew into a business she started in South DeKalb in 2015, in the community where she grew up.
When we visited, she described the relationships she built at a Decide DeKalb event: contacts in different municipalities, conversations about funding, and new information about where she could do business. Her experience shows how showing up can open the next door. Watch our Platinum Cake Designs feature.
At L&L Crafty Finds, mother-and-daughter owners Linda and LaToya turned family creativity into a place for others to gather and make something. LaToya described moving into full-time entrepreneurship after her federal department closed.
They researched the idea, used a SCORE class to learn about securing commercial space, and connected with the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce. A pitch competition helped them sharpen their business plan and win $5,000. They then worked on visibility, using content and relationships to introduce more people to the studio. Watch their L&L Crafty Finds story.
Their paths show why business support needs to reach beyond opening day. Finding a space, understanding finances, meeting customers, and building a network all shape whether an idea can last.
Where business owners go for the next step
At the South DeKalb Pop-Up Business Incubator at New Life Church we met entrepreneurs at different stages of that journey.
Solomon Cormier of Pride Road described finding information about certifications, licensing, and connections that could help his established hibiscus business scale. Amanda of Kandy Lady on Wheelz spoke about learning much of the business on her own and seeking mentorship to help sustain it. Watch our Pride Road interview.
New Life’s Michael Bryant placed that work within a broader mission of helping families stabilize and move forward, describing services including food assistance, GED support, and career services. Decide DeKalb’s Geoffrey Loften told us the pop-up was also testing the idea for a permanent entrepreneur hub planned at New Life in 2027.
For owners ready to explore support, our Small Business Loan Fund explainer connects to another resource: capital paired with technical assistance. Visit Decide DeKalb’s business resources and loan program page for current details and eligibility.
Family land becomes a reason to visit.
Our visit to Arabia Mountain Vineyard brought the ownership story into a different setting. Chief Experience Officer Hakemia Jackson introduced us to a family-run destination where vines, a creek, and places to pause are part of the experience.
The family’s story traces the vineyard to land held for more than 30 years and inspiration from a trip to Napa Valley. What they have created gives people another reason to spend a day in South DeKalb, while showing how a family can shape the future of land it already owns.
Watch our Arabia Mountain Vineyard feature and the South DeKalb Built This reel to meet the people behind it.
Helping residents buy and stay
Our coverage also follows resources designed to help residents participate in DeKalb’s future. HomeStart is a planned countywide program to help eligible buyers with down payments and closing costs. It has its own requirements, separate from the assistance described at Cottages at Midway. Explore our HomeStart video, carousel, and the official program overview for details and launch updates.
For eligible longtime homeowners, BrighterHome is designed to fund critical repairs that make staying possible. Decide DeKalb’s published plan provides up to $30,000 per home, subject to eligibility and a ten-year residency commitment after repairs. Its published timeline anticipates applications in the first quarter of 2027.
Our BrighterHome video and carousel explain the basics. The official BrighterHome overview covers requirements and timing.
Find your connection to South DeKalb.
Across these visits, investment became something we could see in individual decisions: an entrepreneur asking for guidance, a developer working through financing, a family deciding what its land could become, and a community making room for more people to own a home.
The full-length This Is Atlanta: South DeKalb Edition arrives this October, bringing these visits and conversations together. South DeKalb’s next chapter will be shaped by how those efforts connect—and whether residents and local businesses can use the opportunities being created.
Start with our South DeKalb series overview, explore the features linked throughout this story, and share a resource with someone who could use it. Which South DeKalb business, development, or community resource should we visit next?
After spending time with the people building in South DeKalb, what stood out was how connected these efforts are. Grocery access shapes daily life. An attainable home gives a family a place to put down roots. Support for a local business helps an entrepreneur build a future in the community they already call home. Decide DeKalb is being intentional about supporting those needs together. The people we met already have the talent, ideas, and commitment. These investments can give them more room to grow. This is what makes this work meaningful: helping the residents and businesses who have invested in South DeKalb for years have a lasting place in its future.
