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Hey, Memorial Drive Corridor! This week: the old Citi Center Kroger site at 3479 Memorial Drive is getting a $24.3 million makeover, with a full-service grocer expected among the new tenants. We're also tracking Isaias cleanup, Kevin Gillespie's big announcement, and a fall events calendar that runs from Oakland Cemetery after dark to Little 5 Points Halloween.

- News — Hutton's Belvedere Plaza overhaul leads the way, alongside Isaias power outages, Kevin Gillespie stepping away from restaurants, and layoffs in DeKalb's law department.
- Business — Smorgasburg has canceled the rest of its 2026 season, while Thicc Burger launches a late-night residency above Pisces on Edgewood Avenue.
- Events — Rodrigo y Gabriela and Interpol play The Eastern, Oakland Cemetery's 20th Capturing the Spirit tours begin, and the Whiskey Festival and Little 5 Points Halloween Parade round out the weekend.
- Government — Fulton set its millage rates and moved to abolish its ethics board, while Atlanta committees take up a Memorial Drive Greenway land purchase this week.
- Construction — A 12-unit condo is in review on Kirkwood Avenue, a new barbershop is on file at 1503 Memorial Drive, and GDOT's pedestrian-safety projects continue along the Memorial Drive corridor.

Let's dive in.

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Images: Overhaul for offensively nicknamed Kroger roars ahead
Developer Hutton is moving forward with a $24.3 million investment at Belvedere Plaza, 3479 Memorial Drive, where the former Citi Center Kroger closed in September. Decide DeKalb approved a $3 million Urban Renewal Fund award, Hutton aims to attract four new national retailers including a full-service grocer, and renovations are scheduled to finish by next summer.

Isaias knocks out power to tens of thousands across metro Atlanta
As of 2 p.m. Saturday, about 50,000 Georgia households were without power, according to poweroutage.us, including 4,300 in DeKalb County, 2,500 in Gwinnett and 2,000 in Fulton. Isaias made landfall Friday as a Category 2 hurricane and had weakened to a post-tropical cyclone, while a high wind warning and flood watch remain in effect for North and Central Georgia until Sunday morning.

Chef Kevin Gillespie stepping away from the restaurant industry, leaving Atlanta
Gillespie confirmed the decision in an Oct. 2 Instagram post, citing a "life-threatening personal health crisis." He will retain an ownership stake in Gunshow in Glenwood Park, which continues under Chef de Cuisine Cody Chassar, according to Red Beard Restaurants president Marco Shaw.

DeKalb County Board of Education votes Dr. Norman C. Sauce as permanent superintendent
The Oct. 5 vote was supported by Board Chair Allyson Gevertz, Andrew Ziffer, Whitney McGinnis and Deirdre Pierce. Tiffany Hogan voted against, citing a non-competitive hiring process, Awet Eyasu abstained, and Diijon DeCosta was absent.

Community meetings planned for DeKalb 2055 land use vision
The DeKalb County Planning & Sustainability Department is hosting a Visioning Series of district meetings from 6 to 8 p.m., beginning Oct. 22 at Mason Mill Recreation Center and running through Nov. 18. The 2055 Unified Plan Update covers land use, housing, economic development, sustainability and community investment, and a virtual open house survey closes Oct. 15.

DeKalb County law department undergoes 'restructuring'
About 10 of the county's 18 attorneys and three administrative staff were laid off Friday, Oct. 9, according to a laid-off senior assistant county attorney, and seven open positions will not be filled. A county spokesperson said the law department is not being eliminated and an in-house team will work alongside outside counsel.

BUSINESS

Smorgasburg ends 2026 season early as new burger residency opens on Edgewood Avenue — Smorgasburg Atlanta, the pop-up food festival that debuted in South Downtown nearly a year ago, canceled its Oct. 3 market and its remaining 2026 markets and is expected to return in 2027, while Thicc Burger has begun a Friday and Saturday night residency, serving smash burgers and patty melts from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m., in the upstairs space above the Edgewood Avenue dance club and bar Pisces.

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Monday, October 12
- Bessie Branham Fall Break 2026 | Bessie Branham Recreation Center
- DIY Dreamers Fall Break Camp | Oakland Cemetery
- Oakland Tour | Oakland Cemetery

Tuesday, October 13
- Rodrigo y Gabriela | The Eastern
- Magic Movement | Grant Park- Greenspace F
- The Reynoldstown Yoga Reset | Lang-Carson Park
- CNIA Monthly Meeting | Cabbagetown Neighborhood Improvement Association

Wednesday, October 14
- Parcels | The Eastern
- Up for Debate | Pullman Yards
- ParkGrounds Bingo | ParkGrounds
- ONE Transportation Committee Meeting | Our Neighborhood Edgewood

Thursday, October 15
- Interpol w/ DIIV | The Eastern
- Capturing the Spirit of Oakland 2026 | Oakland Cemetery
- Wine Lips | The EARL
- Adam Mamawala Comedy | Argosy
- Concert Series: Outdoor | Cabbagetown Neighborhood Improvement Association
- Voivod | 529 Bar

Friday, October 16
- The Friday Bike Bus! 🚲 | Our Neighborhood Edgewood
- Heyday 80s Halloween | 529 EAV
- Boots on the Beltline Dance | Terminal South/Switchman Hall
- Fruition | The Earl

Saturday, October 17
- Atlanta Magazine's Whiskey Festival | Pullman Yards
- Tree Tour: Trees, Trails, History | Grant Park
- Whethan | The Eastern
- 2026 Little 5 Points Halloween Festival & Parade | Little 5 Points Community Center
- Boo at the Zoo | Zoo Atlanta
- Zumba/Hip Hop Cardio | Terminal South/Switchman Hall

Sunday, October 18
- Crafts & Crates: ATL Underground Reunion | Halfway Crooks Brewery
- ACOTAR Theories Night | All The Tropes (Kirkwood)
- "Minnie Evans: Draw or Die" Film Screening | DH Stanton Park

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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

Fulton County Board of Commissioners
Commissioners set the 2026 millage rates, including an 8.87 mill General Fund rate, after Commissioner Bridget Thorne's push for a lower 8.22 mill rollback rate died for lack of a second. The board also voted 4-1 to start abolishing the Fulton County Board of Ethics and replace it with independent hearing officers, and it directed the County Attorney to draft the ordinance. Commissioners approved about $14 million in standby wastewater construction contracts and $3.76 million more for maintenance and improvements at the Camp Creek facility. They put a $9.58 million senior and behavioral health transportation contract extension on hold, so that service's funding stays unsettled for now. The board also directed the County Manager to write policies for how the county uses artificial intelligence, while a proposal to limit public comment to agenda items failed for lack of a second. Your property tax bill will reflect the new rates, and the ethics change will reshape how complaints against county officials get heard.

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners
At its Committee of the Whole meeting, the board moved dozens of items toward final votes, starting with an $11.1 million contract for upgrades at the Scott Candler Water Treatment Plant. Nearly $15 million in road, manhole and pavement marking contracts advanced too, along with $4.63 million in federal HUD grants for park and facility renovations. Commissioners also moved a plan to declare 30 vacant county-owned properties surplus and hand them to the DeKalb Regional Land Bank Authority, which aims to put them back into productive use. Contested items still waiting on a final decision include a resolution requiring a health and environmental study before the data center moratorium can end, plus two rezoning requests along Briarcliff Road. If you live near the county line, the water, road and land bank decisions affect the services and vacant lots around you.

Atlanta City Council
The full council's October 5 meeting agenda included a citywide rule requiring a special use permit for any new self-storage facility, and minutes aren't yet published, so outcomes aren't confirmed. The agenda also put $2.34 million for a new 12.6-acre park in southwest Atlanta up for a vote, along with an ordinance ending admission fees at city pools during open swim hours. Several industrial-to-mixed-use rezonings were on the table, and a proposed $68 million sale of the Atlanta City Detention Center to Fulton County, with a 50-year leaseback, stayed in committee. Data center proposals to ban potable water for cooling and create a task force also stayed in committee. The Committee on Council took up a resolution to place certified police officers at recreation centers used as polling sites, along with measures to make sure public commenters speak in sign-up order. That committee also considered a charter amendment requiring a council member to sponsor all legislation and an independent investigation into the city's dealings with Foris Webb III.

Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education
The board took up final adoption of the tax levy resolution for the FY2027 General Fund budget, which sets the school portion of your property tax bill. It approved construction management contracts for renovations at Booker T. Washington High School and the Medical Magnet Academy, and building upgrades at Mary Lin Elementary. A third contract bundles HVAC and building systems work at Parkside Elementary, Heritage Academy and Hollis Innovation Academy. The board also approved leasing the former Towns Elementary property to the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyer Foundation and Compudopt, which puts a vacant school building back to community use. Updates to the student screen time policy and an E-SPLOST VI sales tax reconciliation with DeKalb schools moved forward as well.

Notable Neighborhood Mentions

Atlanta City Council
- Memorial Drive Greenway (264 Memorial Dr SE) — The Atlanta City Council considered legislation proposing the purchase of 0.32 acres at 264 Memorial Drive SE for approximately $1.59 million to expand the Memorial Drive Greenway.

Meetings This Week
- Atlanta City Council — Zoning Committee | Oct-12, 11:00 AM | key topics: citywide zoning code overhaul, redefining family in city zoning, BeltLine industrial to mixed-use rezonings, Inman Park outdoor dining
- Atlanta City Council — Public Safety & Legal Administration Committee | Oct-12, 1:00 PM | key topics: limits on weaponized robotics, alcohol licensing procedures, police incident lawsuit settlements, federal justice assistance grant
- DeKalb County Board of Commissioners | Oct-13, 9:00 AM | key topics: Briarcliff Road rezonings, data center regulations, drifting and public nuisance crackdown, park HUD grant acceptances
- Atlanta City Council — City Utilities Committee | Oct-13, 10:00 AM | key topics: data center water cooling restrictions, commercial septic tank ban, water bill spike relief, lead line replacement funding
- Atlanta City Council — Community Development/Human Services Committee | Oct-13, 1:30 PM | key topics: Memorial Drive Greenway land acquisition, park maintenance funding, federal housing grants, Confederate street renaming review
- DeKalb County Board of Commissioners — Committee of the Whole | Oct-13, 5:30 PM
- Atlanta City Council — Transportation Committee | Oct-14, 10:00 AM | key topics: Centennial Yards complete streets grant, Pelham Street right-of-way abandonment, South River Gardens traffic study, traffic signal upgrades
- Atlanta City Council — Finance/Executive Committee | Oct-14, 1:30 PM | key topics: Atlanta City Detention Center sale, FY 2027 property tax rates, developer tax incentive compliance, DeKalb County annexations

CONSTRUCTION

Permits
- 930 Kirkwood Ave SE: New construction of a sprinklered, 12-unit condo building is in review. The permit covers the core and shell, so you'll likely see a full building go up here, with the usual construction noise and truck traffic.
- 1503 Memorial Dr SE: A new 3,763 SF, two-story barbershop is on file. The plan reuses as much of the existing pavement as possible. The city wants additional materials before it moves forward.
- 1070 Washington St SW: A new duplex with front and rear porches and attached garages is on file. The city is waiting on additional materials.
- 951 Hank Aaron Dr SW: A multi-family mechanical permit covers two complete HVAC systems with ductwork, 8 bath exhausts, 4 dryer vents and 2 vent hoods. That's a big install, and the city wants additional materials.
- 791 Wylie St SE: A multi-family alteration will replace a wood roof deck that crews already removed during roofing membrane work. Expect rooftop noise while it's underway.
- 1260 Glenwood Ave SE: A commercial plumbing permit for a grease trap installation has been issued. That usually means a restaurant or food business is getting set up or upgraded.

Road Work

Under Construction
- SR 42/Us 23 @ SR 154 & @ Arkwright Place — A new median on Moreland Avenue at Arkwright Place will limit turns to right-in/right-out, paired with a signalized pedestrian crossing.
- I-20 from Capitol Ave to Flat Shoals Road - Lighting — Crews are swapping the old high-pressure sodium lights along this stretch for energy-efficient LEDs, and may also replace poles, conduit and wiring.
- SR 154 @ 7 Locs in Dekalb & 1 Loc in Fulton - Vru — Mid-block pedestrian crossings and restricted-turn intersections are being added along Memorial Drive between Moreland Avenue and Candler Road and between Hill Street and Pearl Street.
- SR 3 & SR 42 @ 6 Locs in Clayton & Fulton - Vru — Pedestrian hybrid beacons are being installed at four spots along Moreland Avenue (SR 42), plus restricted-turn crossings with beacons at Woodstock Road and on SR 3 at Camelot Parkway.

Service Requests
- Overgrown Right of Way: Seven reports came in on Chastain St SE (2), Hosea L Williams Dr and Woodbine Ave (2), Ormewood Ave SE, Bill Kennedy Way SE, and Glenwood Ave SE. Crews have already cleared six of them.
- Potholes: You'll find five reports on Maynard Ter SE (2), Howard St NE (2), and W Pharr Rd.
- Downed Trees: Three reports covered 1st Ave SE (2) and Richardson St SE. All three are cleared.
- Traffic Signal Repair: Two non-emergency reports came in along Hosea L Williams Dr, one on the SE side and one on the NE side. Both are fixed.
- Litter Removal: Someone flagged litter in the right of way on Cleveland St SE.
- Graffiti: A report on Glenwood Ave SE asks for graffiti removal in the right of way.

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Until next week,
Memorial Drive Corridor 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.