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Hey, Druid Hills / North Decatur! This week: ground has been broken on Ellory House, the next piece of the old North DeKalb Mall redevelopment, with 274 apartments and 39,000 square feet of retail planned. We've also got Fall Festival in Emory Village on Saturday, October 24, plus a few school headlines worth a read.

- News — Beyond Ellory House at Lulah Hills, you'll find the I-285 Express Lanes builder announcement, DeKalb's new superintendent on closures and safety, and a rise in AP exam participation and scores.
- Events — Eagle Eye hosts author nights, Fernbank runs Teen Night and evening hikes, Callanwolde has Jazz on the Lawn, and Saturday, October 24 brings Fall Festival in Emory Village and the Haunted Trail at Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve.
- Government — Commissioners' October 13 agenda included data center ordinances and an $11.12 million water plant contract, with two Briarcliff Road rezonings on the radar and a Committee of the Whole meeting October 20.
- Construction — Permits cover a mechanical buildout on N Decatur Road, a medical office renovation on Clifton Road, a $200,665 remodel on Reserve Way, and HVAC and plumbing filings at Emory's Woodruff Circle.

Let's dive in.

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Next section of North DeKalb Mall's replacement officially a go
RangeWater Real Estate and Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate Co. have broken ground on Ellory House, a mixed-use component of the 78-acre Lulah Hills redevelopment of the former North DeKalb Mall. The project calls for 274 apartments and 39,000 square feet of retail on Lulah Avenue, across from Lemon Park.

Builder for new I-285 Express Lanes chosen, paying state record $23.6 billion to collect tolls
The Georgia Department of Transportation has chosen Top End Mobility Group to build new express toll lanes along Interstate 285 between Tucker and Sandy Springs. The private developer is paying a record $23.6 billion to collect tolls on the corridor, with construction scheduled to finish by 2034.

DeKalb superintendent addresses closures, safety and teacher retention
Dr. Norman Sauce was officially named DeKalb County School District superintendent this month after serving as interim leader since 2025. School officials say no final decisions have been made on campus consolidations or attendance redistricting, with community meetings scheduled for 2027, and Sauce also discussed the district's weapons detection systems following a gun incident at Clarkston High School.

DeKalb County School District sees rise in AP exam participation and scores
The number of AP exams taken in the 2025–2026 school year rose about 5% from the previous year, while the number of scores of 3 or higher increased by 12%. Fifteen high schools increased the number of exams taken, and 17 increased their percentage of scores of 3 or higher.

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Monday, October 19
- StoryWalk® at Mason Mill Park | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- JWJI Colloquium featuring Christina Cross (Harvard University) | Emory Bookstore
- Nisha J. Tuli & Mai Corland | Eagle Eye Book Shop
- English as a Second Language (ESL) | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- Fall 2026 Community Meeting | Medlock Area Neighborhood Association

Tuesday, October 20
- Book Talk Rabbi Adina Allen, Jewish Studio Project | Emory University – Candler School of Theology
- Friends of the Toco Hill-Avis G. Williams Library Meeting | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- Oct 20th Stitch N Bitch Like Heck | Heck House
- 2026 SHCA Annual Meeting | Sagamore Hills Civic Association

Wednesday, October 21
- Fall Flower Arranging | Chamblee, GA

Thursday, October 22
- Resistance Bands Exercise Class | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- Dino Talk | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- Katee Robert & Terry J. Benton-Walker- The Tarot Trials | Eagle Eye Book Shop

Friday, October 23
- ANATOMY OF A TRAILER: Hollywood Trailer Editing with Paul Valtierra | White Hall Room 102
- Friday Movies | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- Teen Night: Hallow-Teen | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- Live Animal Encounter | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- Evening Hikes | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- 🎸 Ivy Road Band Live Benefiting Ronald McDonald House Charities | Napoleon's Grill
- Scott Hawkins- Blacktail | Eagle Eye Book Shop
- Pete Ayres Quartet: 2026 Jazz on the Lawn | Callanwolde Fine Arts Center

Saturday, October 24
- Dinosaur Trick-or-Treat | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- Lauda Musicam Baroque Orchestra—English Masters (Oct. 24–26) | St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church
- Kopatich | Wild Heaven Toco Hills
- Birds Georgia Forest Walk | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- Fall Festival in Emory Village | Druid Hills Civic Association Events
- Fall Festival & Haunted Trail | Medlock Area Neighborhood Association

Sunday, October 25
- Dave Deckebach | Wild Heaven Toco Hills
- Meet a Ranger | Fernbank Museum of Natural History

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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

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners
Commissioners took up a packed agenda on October 13, though minutes aren't published yet, so outcomes aren't confirmed. Two data center items were up for a vote: one ordinance would define and classify data centers for county oversight, and another would require an independent health and environmental study before the county lifts its data center moratorium. The board also considered ordinances on vehicle drifting, unauthorized camping, animal restraint, and a restriction on selling dogs, cats, and rabbits in pet shops. On the spending side, the agenda included an $11.12 million contract for upgrades at the Scott Candler Water Treatment Plant, a $7 million contract for manhole cover repairs countywide, and a $3.33 million contract for repainting road markings. Commissioners also weighed accepting about $4.6 million in federal grants for park and community center improvements, along with new rules for blasting operations near communities.

Notable Neighborhood Mentions

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners
- 3040 Briarcliff Road — A rezoning from Office-Institution to Local Commercial is being proposed to allow new commercial salon suites.
- 729 Old Briarcliff Road — A rezoning is being proposed from Office-Institutional to Medium Density Residential to permit a single-family attached townhome development.

Meetings This Week
- DeKalb County Board of Commissioners — Committee of the Whole | Oct-20, 9:00 AM | key topics: Old Briarcliff Road townhome rezoning, HUD park improvement grants, new traffic signal installations
- DeKalb County School District — Board of Education | Oct-26

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Permits
- 1784 N Decatur Rd NE. Commercial plumbing and HVAC permits issued on Oct. 9, with several filed for each trade. The work covers new plumbing fixtures, duct alterations, and new terminal units and air distribution. That much mechanical work points to a full interior buildout.
- 1525 Clifton Rd NE. Commercial alteration permit ready to issue. A vacant first-floor space in an existing six-story medical office building is getting an interior renovation for what looks like a new concierge practice. You'll likely see a new name on the directory soon.
- Reserve Way. $200,665 residential remodel on a single-family home, now closed. The job covered the kitchen, powder room, all bathrooms, and laundry room, plus a closet-to-locker conversion. It's finished, so the contractor trucks are gone.
- 101 Woodruff Cir NE. Commercial HVAC and plumbing permits filed Oct. 16 and pending review. The filings don't say much, but they show active work on the Emory campus.

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Until next week,
Druid Hills / North Decatur Busybody

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