ARC Awards DeKalb County $200,000 LCI Grant for Candler Rd/Flat Shoals Parkway Area Plan Update

The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) announced that DeKalb County has awarded a $200,000 Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) Grant for the Candler Rd./Flat Shoals Parkway Area Plan Update. 

The ARC awarded $1,420,000 in LCI grants for six planning studies across metro Atlanta to help communities transform into more walkable, bikeable, live-work-play environments. The LCI program helps reduce vehicle miles traveled and improve air quality by creating vibrant, mixed-use developments that encourage walking or other alternate modes of transportation. Once the communities complete their studies, recipients become eligible to apply for federal transportation funding to bring their visions to life.

“I see this LCI plan update as more than a planning study,” said Juliana Njoku, DeKalb County Planning & Sustainability Director. “It is a catalyst for coordinated reinvestment in one of South DeKalb’s most important corridors. The Candler Road/Flat Shoals Parkway area has tremendous cultural, economic, and transit-oriented potential.”

A starting point for mobilization, the County will update the original 2007 LCI plan to identify new recommendations and investments that will align with MARTA’s upcoming major transit investments in the South DeKalb area. It will bring all major stakeholders, including key Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and MARTA, back to create a refreshed multimodal blueprint for the Candler Road/Flat Shoals Parkway area.

Through the LCI plan update, the Candler Road/Flat Shoals Parkway neighborhood, greater South DeKalb area, and key stakeholders will have an opportunity to transform historic underinvestment into a coordinated planning movement within the study area’s approximate 1,900 acres. 

“We are honored to have the Candler Road–Flat Shoals Parkway Area Plan Update selected for funding through ARC’s Livable Centers Initiative Program alongside other outstanding regional partners,” said Larry Washington, Long Range Planning Manager. “This award represents an important first step in shaping a long-range plan for the community for years to come — one that will guide future growth, connectivity, economic development, and quality of life along the corridor and throughout South DeKalb.” 

For more about the LCI program and the impact it has had on the Atlanta region, visit atlantaregional.com/community-development/livable-centers-initiative.