Presented by Rally Built Homes

Hey y’all, before we get into it, two quick things: 1. Did you know if you have any questions or feedback you can just reply to this email? We read and reply to pretty much everything. 2. Next week we’ll be publishing Tuesday morning due to some staff vacation time, but then we’ll be back to our normal Monday morning routine.

Hey, Brookhaven / Chamblee! This week: an 18-story vacant tower at 1800 Century Boulevard came down in a controlled implosion at 7:45 a.m. Saturday, and Brookhaven City Council voted 3 to 1 to move ahead with a fire station at Blackburn Park. Stick around for a Halloween-heavy event calendar, a goodbye to CHOPT at Brookhaven Station, and a sad last call for Moondog Pub & Grub on Oct. 30.

- News — Beyond the Chamblee tower implosion and the Blackburn Park fire station vote, you'll find Marist School's 125th anniversary, the DeKalb E-SPLOST renewal on the November ballot, and a proposed non-discrimination ordinance amendment whose committee discussion was deferred to Nov. 5.
- Business — Moondog Pub & Grub on Peachtree Road plans to close after the night of Oct. 30, CHOPT closed its Brookhaven Station salad spot on Oct. 25, and a new Doraville Goodwill debuts a GoodBIZ Market for local micro-entrepreneurs.
- Events — Halloween takes over, with a murder mystery dinner in Doraville, a spooky pasta workshop, Murder Mystery at Petite Violette on Oct. 30–31, and the Miles For Bethany 5K on Saturday, Oct. 31.
- Government — Chamblee council took up rezonings and a first reading of massage ordinance amendments, DeKalb commissioners moved along more than $110 million in contracts, and Brookhaven meets again Oct. 27.
- Construction — A $1.68M apartment amenity renovation at 1105 Town Blvd has closed out, and SR 13 resurfacing and signal upgrades on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard are underway.

Let's dive in.

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Chamblee office tower demolished in controlled implosion
The 18-story vacant tower at 1800 Century Boulevard came down at 7:45 a.m. Saturday, near Clairmont Road and I-85. The building emptied in 2025 when the Georgia Department of Revenue moved its headquarters, and a plan to convert it to apartments was later dropped; the property's future use is unclear.

'Fills a giant hole in response time': Brookhaven moves ahead with new fire station at park
Brookhaven City Council voted 3 to 1 to move forward with a fire station on a 1.35-acre site at Blackburn Park along Ashford Dunwoody Road at Johnson Ferry Road. DeKalb County will pay for, build and operate the station, which is expected to break ground in late 2027, under a 50-year lease at $1 a year; the city says the site is an unused parking lot and that it plans landscaping buffers and new trees in response to concerns about tree loss, traffic and noise.

Marist School marks its 125th anniversary with new exhibits and events
Marist School is celebrating its 125th anniversary during the 2026-2027 academic year. The school opened on Ivy Street in 1901 with 32 boys, moved to Ashford Dunwoody Road in 1962, and marked Founders Day on Oct. 2 with a Mass and the blessing of the new Marist Bell Chapel.

Education sales tax renewal is on the ballot this November in DeKalb County: Here's what it would do
The one-cent E-SPLOST supports the DeKalb County School District, Atlanta Public Schools and City Schools of Decatur, and approval would create E-SPLOST VII. E-SPLOST VI passed with 81 percent of the vote in November 2021, and the district has since paid APS $2.9 million and City Schools of Decatur a little more than $9 million after a revenue-split certificate was not submitted in 2022.

Proposed DeKalb County amendment seeks to expand LGBTQ+ non-discrimination laws
The amendment would extend the county's 2023 non-discrimination ordinance to cover non-county employment and housing, which the current ordinance does not. It is sponsored by commissioners Robert Patrick, Michelle Long Spears and Ted Terry, and committee discussion originally set for Oct. 20 was deferred to a Nov. 5 meeting at 9 a.m.

BUSINESS

Moondog Pub & Grub closing in Chamblee — The locally owned pub and sports-bar-style restaurant at 5077 Peachtree Road, owned by Tommy and Felicia Burda, announced it will close at the end of the night on October 30, citing financial challenges.

CHOPT closes its Brookhaven Station location — The New York-based salad chain's roughly 2,600-square-foot restaurant at Brookhaven Station, 4058 Peachtree Road, closed Oct. 25 after opening in February 2024; no official reason was given, though neighbors and employees pointed to crime and loitering at the center, and six metro locations remain, including Toco Hills and Ansley Mall.

New Goodwill with GoodBIZ Market micro-store concept opens in nearby Doraville — Goodwill of North Georgia opened its 72nd store, a 43,000-square-foot location at 5600 Buford Highway NE in Doraville, on Oct. 16 with its first GoodBIZ Market, which lets local micro-entrepreneurs sell as rotating consigned vendors.

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Monday, October 26
- Spooky Scavenger Hunt | Brookhaven Branch Library
- Adopt a Creepy Cuddly Creature | Brookhaven Branch Library
- Mah-Jongg Mondays Free Play | Chamblee Library

Tuesday, October 27
- Adult Life Skills Class | Chamblee, GA
- Coffee & Contacts at Distillery of Modern Art | 2197 Irvindale Drive

Wednesday, October 28
- English as a Second Language (ESL) | Chamblee Branch
- Ghosts: A Halloween Writing Workshop | Wild Aster Books

Thursday, October 29
- LEGO Day at Chamblee | Chamblee Branch
- Money Matters - Financial Education and Budgeting Workshops | Chamblee, GA
- Mindfulness for Everyday Life | Chamblee Branch
- Shadows and Secrets: A Coraline Reading Club Adventure | Doraville Branch Library

Friday, October 30
- Halloween Book Bash | Wild Aster Books
- Midnight at the Masquerade: Murder Mystery Dinner | Merely Players Presents
- A "Spooky" Pasta Making Workshop by Eventful | Chamblee, GA
- Designed for Ease: Dialog Between Gravity and Your Bones | Chamblee Branch
- "The Bridge to a Better Tomorrow" Annual Gala | 4445 Buford Highway
- Estimated Prophet | VISION STUDIOS
- Murder Mystery @ Petit Violette (Oct. 30–31) | 2948 Clairmont Rd

Saturday, October 31
- Miles For Bethany 5K | Assembly Studios
- Brookhaven Farmers Market | Brookhaven Farmers Market
- Day of the Dead Craft for Teens | Chamblee Branch
- Magic: The Gathering for Teens | Chamblee Branch
- 3rd Spot: Georgia vs. Florida | City of Chamblee
- Save The Date-Halloween at Clack's Corner | Brookhaven Fields Community Association

Sunday, November 1
- Chamblee Municipal Court November Amnesty Program | City of Chamblee

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Note: our information comes from posted meetings documents (agendas and minutes when available) — latest source document hyperlinked to each meeting.

Past Week Roundup

City of Chamblee
The City Council met Oct. 20 with a packed land-use agenda, though minutes aren't published yet, so outcomes aren't confirmed. Council took up a rezoning and a related Development of Community Impact application covering a cluster of properties along North Shallowford Road and East Johnson Circle. It also had a rezoning and a Future Development Map amendment for a Peachtree Road property, and the map change matters because it shapes how dense or commercial that stretch can become over time. Staff action items included parcels along the Northeast Expressway and Buford Highway, plus a proposal from Sumter Consulting tied to the city's Human Resources Director position, and council had a first reading of amendments to the city's massage ordinance, which governs how those businesses operate in Chamblee. The Public Arts Commission also met Oct. 22, but its agenda file wasn't available, so what it covered isn't known.

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners
At its Oct. 20 Committee of the Whole meeting, commissioners shaped the agenda for the next full board meeting and moved along more than $110 million in contracts. They sent two multiyear deals worth about $55 million each to standing committees, one for general contractors handling county facilities, parks and roads, and one for construction management on water and sewer projects. Commissioners removed a $153,800 contract for moving election equipment, and they advanced a short-term warehouse lease to house post-election operations and the state-required audit in November. They also approved eminent domain filings for two properties tied to the Constitution Road Freight Corridor project, and those will get public hearings before the full board. Smaller items headed to the consent agenda include $285,000 in federal pandemic-relief interest funds for eviction, utility and food assistance in District 5, $100,000 for mental health services in District 1, and several pet-support programs, including $20,000 for LifeLine Animal Project spay/neuter training. A separate Special Called Meeting was held the same morning, but no agenda or minutes are available for it.

Notable Neighborhood Mentions

City of Chamblee
- 2342 N Shallowford Rd & East Johnson Cir — A multi-parcel rezoning and Development of Community Impact proposal is on the agenda for redevelopment across ten properties along North Shallowford Road and East Johnson Circle.
- 5800 Peachtree Rd — An application to rezone the property alongside an amendment to the city's Future Development Map is under consideration.

Meetings This Week
- DeKalb County School District — Board of Education | Oct-26 | key topics: student safety and wellness, workforce development pathways, shared infrastructure and facility use
- DeKalb County Board of Commissioners — Board of Commissioners | Oct-27, 9:00 AM | key topics: acquisition of the Snapfinger Road YMCA, residential rezonings on Gresham and Old Briarcliff roads, federal park grants, regulations on street drifting and public camping
- City of Brookhaven — City Council Work Session | Oct-27, 4:30 PM
- City of Chamblee — Downtown Development Authority Regular Meeting Agenda | Oct-27, 6:30 PM | key topics: The Oliver administrative fee review, Trackside economic development compliance and tax abatements, third-quarter financial reports
- City of Brookhaven — City Council Regular | Oct-27, 6:30 PM | key topics: Dresden Drive culvert replacement and trail study, Duke Road emergency streambank stabilization, Parks and Recreation awards
- City of Brookhaven — 2026 Planning Commission Retreat | Oct-28, 9:30 AM | key topics: workforce housing text amendments, school facility capacity and enrollment updates, regional affordable housing strategies, City Hall project overview
- City of Chamblee — Discover Chamblee Advisory Committee | Oct-28, 12:00 PM

CONSTRUCTION | Presented by

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Permits
- 1105 Town Blvd, $1.68M amenity renovation closed out. The project refreshes the common spaces at the 1105 Town Brookhaven Apartments, so residents get upgraded shared spaces.
- 2970 Clairmont Rd, Ste 1020, $66K commercial buildout wrapped up. The suite got new office walls, fresh flooring, and paint.
- W Brookhaven (residential), $110K single-family outdoor project closed. It includes a new driveway, retaining walls, terraced steps, tree removal, grading, and a new swimming pool. You may have heard some of this one.
- 4386 Chamblee Dunwoody Rd, hotel/motel permit closed. It needed DeKalb Watershed Management review to get its FOG permit, the grease-control sign-off for commercial kitchens.
- 5522 New Peachtree Rd, Ste 118, assembly use permit closed after Fire Marshal review for a new business. Something new is opening in the area.

Road Work

Under Construction
- ATMS / System Optimization on Peachtree Industrial Blvd from Peachtree to New Peachtree (DeKalb County) — Crews are upgrading traffic signals and signal-timing systems along this stretch of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard to keep traffic moving more smoothly.
- SR 13 Resurfacing from Fulton County Line to Chamblee Tucker Road (DeKalb County) — Crews are repaving SR 13 (Buford Highway) from the Fulton County line to Chamblee Tucker Road.

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Until next week,
Brookhaven / Chamblee Busybody

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Disclaimer: We use advanced data retrieval and analysis techniques across hundreds of sources, and may be prone to occasional error. Independently verify information with a secondary source, and please let us know if we got anything wrong via the feedback form.