North DeKalb Mall fully wiped away for Lulah Hills project

A year and change after it officially broke ground, the demolition of North DeKalb Mall has set the stage for north Decatur’s version of a ground-up lifestyle center in the vein of Halcyon or The Battery Atlanta.  

Real estate developer Edens recently shared aerials of North DeKalb Mall’s demolition on social media that show the mall has been almost fully wiped away—apart from larger retail buildings that will be incorporated into new development—allowing for infrastructure work across the 73-acre site. 

Prior to demo, the 1960s mall property was vacant, apart from a Marshalls clothing retailer and AMC movie theater, echoing the plight of many traditional, suburban-style malls in the metro. As with Gwinnett Place Mall and other formerly popular shopping destinations ringed with parking lots, North DeKalb Mall had been the subject of redevelopment talks for years as tenants slipped away.

Edens plans to convert the North DeKalb Mall property into a more diversified town center called Lulah Hills. It kicked off redevelopment in summer 2024. 

Lulah Hills calls for nearly 2,000 units of housing, in addition to shopping, dining, and lodging options. 

Decide DeKalb relayed in May that Publix will relocate from a nearby location to anchor the $850-million Lulah Hills project, with expectations of opening in early 2027. Decide DeKalb previously approved a $70-million tax break for the project in hopes of helping revitalize the area. 

The DeKalb economic development agency also reported that “exciting retail announcements [are] expected in the coming months” at Lulah Hills in the May article.  

As of 2023, Edens, a national firm with regional headquarters in Atlanta, was aiming to deliver the first phases of Lulah Hills development in 2025. (Clearly, that’s not happening.) We’ve asked Edens reps for an update on construction, phase-one delivery, and any other tenant signings, and this story will be updated with any additional information that comes. 

Edens’ other retail properties in the metro include Whole Foods-anchored Buckhead Market Place and the refreshed Toco Hills.

Overall, Edens’ Lulah Hills blueprint calls for 2.5 million square feet, with a new PATH Foundation trail linking the property to nearby Emory University. The redevelopment breakdown: 1,700 multifamily units, 100 townhomes, a 150-key hotel, roughly 320,000 square feet for retail and restaurants, and no office space. 

Edens officials have previously said their goal was to fully open the reimagined mall property in 2028.

When it debuted in 1965, North DeKalb Mall was the first in metro Atlanta to be fully enclosed, operating where North Druid Hills Road meets Lawrenceville Highway until it shuttered in 2020. Edens acquired the mall property the following year.

In 2022, DeKalb’s Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a Market Square Tax Allocation District, or TAD, to help kickstart the mall’s redevelopment. The TAD also covers areas near the mall property, including North Druid Hills Road and Lawrenceville Highway, in hopes of spurring economic development similar to what other parts of DeKalb have seen in recent years, county officials have said. 

In conjunction with other redevelopment projects in the area, backers have said the TAD could spell $806 million in new property value for the outdated commercial zone—nearly 20 times the current valuation. The tax measure will also help fund affordable housing in central DeKalb, alongside new parks, landscaping, lighting, and transportation and mobility enhancements, per county officials. 

In the gallery above, find a preview of how the finished Lulah Hills district is planned to look and function. 

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