Sembler Vet Behind New North Decatur Retail Center Project

A former Sembler executive and one of metro Atlanta's most prolific retail developers is behind the effort to buy Scott Boulevard Baptist Church and turn it into a 40,000-square foot retail center.

Atlanta-based Fuqua Development, started earlier this year by former Sembler president Jeff Fuqua, wants to redevelop the church into Decatur Crossing, which will include a bank, restaurants and retail shops, according to a company flier about the project.

That development does not yet include the residences adjacent to the church along Barton Way and Blackmon Drive that were contacted last week by Atlanta Land Group about selling their homes and land to redevelopers. The Fuqua Development flier shows a redevelopment area only where the church currently sits.

Atlanta Land Group's letter to residents regarding the proposed deal did not say it was working for Fuqua Development, though the group's website does list Sembler as a client.

Atlanta Business Chronicle reported Monday on some of Fuqua's projects in metro Atlanta, including a $90 million mixed-use development in Buckhead that included a 150,000-square foot Walmart until it faced heavy community opposition.

Decatur Crossing would sit directly across North Decatur Road from a redeveloped Suburban Plaza, including a new Walmart Supercenter that has been criticized by some nearby residents.

Fuqua Development's website said it hopes to have Decatur Crossing completed by spring of 2014.