EDENS, Crescent Communities and NTT Urban Development Push $850 Million Lulah Hills Redevelopment Forward in Decatur

Construction is accelerating at Lulah Hills, the $850 million mixed-use redevelopment of the former North DeKalb Mall site in Decatur, Georgia, with several buildings now erected and the project's first residential component approaching topping-out. Developer EDENS, a national firm with regional headquarters in Atlanta, is leading the effort alongside co-sponsor Crescent Communities and capital partner NTT Urban Development Corporation.

The 78-acre site is planned to deliver 2.5 million square feet of new development, including approximately 320,000 square feet of retail, restaurants, and entertainment space; roughly 1,700 multifamily units; 92 for-sale townhomes; and 2 acres of public greenspace distributed across the property.

Construction Milestones: Publix, Apartments and Early Retail

A prototype Publix grocery store anchoring a section of the site off Lawrenceville Highway is fully standing and on track to open in the spring, according to EDENS officials. The store represents a relocation from a nearby existing Publix location and serves as the retail anchor for the project's first phase.

The six-story Novel Lulah Hills apartment building, developed by Crescent Communities, broke ground in December and is swiftly taking shape. The building will contain 303 apartments across five residential levels, with ground-floor retail below. Anchoring that retail space is Anthropologie, with additional lifestyle and fitness tenants also signed. The building sits at the terminus of a newly created street called Lulah Avenue.

Several early tenants are already operating or have been announced for Phase 1. Refuge Coffee opened in July at a repurposed fuel station at 3861 North Druid Hills Road, joining the Marshalls clothing retailer and AMC movie theater that were retained from the original mall property and remain open. Additional signed tenants include Design Within Reach, Herman Miller, Solidcore, Firepit Pizza Tavern, Honeysuckle Gelato, Les Mains Nail Bar, LaserAway, and Foxtail Coffee.

NTT Urban Development Makes Atlanta Debut at Novel Lulah Hills

NTT Urban Development Corporation, a Japan-based real estate developer, is serving as a capital partner in the Novel Lulah Hills component alongside Crescent Communities. The Lulah Hills project marks NTT Urban Development's entry into the Atlanta market, following the company's involvement in projects in Dallas, New York, and Boston.

DeKalb County's Board of Commissioners approved a $70 million tax reimbursement for the project through a Market Square Tax Allocation District, structured on a pay-as-you-go basis over 15 years. Under that arrangement, EDENS pays taxes upfront and receives reimbursements from incremental TAD revenue generated by the improved property value.

Phase 2 and Long-Term Buildout

L.L. Bean announced in July that its first Georgia location will open at Lulah Hills as part of the project's second phase. The store is planned at 15,000 square feet and is targeted to open in 2028. Empire Homes, formerly known as Empire Communities, is slated to build 92 for-sale townhomes on the site.

At full buildout, Lulah Hills is planned to include roughly 1,700 multifamily units along with the retail, townhome, and greenspace components.

Background: From Shuttered Mall to Mixed-Use District

North DeKalb Mall opened in 1965 as the first fully enclosed mall in metro Atlanta, operating at the intersection of North Druid Hills Road and Lawrenceville Highway until it closed in 2020. By the time of its closure, the property had been largely vacant for years, retaining only Marshalls and the AMC theater as active tenants. EDENS acquired the mall property in 2021.

In 2022, DeKalb's Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the Market Square Tax Allocation District covering the mall site and surrounding corridors along North Druid Hills Road and Lawrenceville Highway, with the stated goal of spurring broader economic development in the area. Demolition of the mall structure began roughly two years before the current construction activity, and vertical development has been underway since.

The Lulah Hills project represents one of the more advanced examples of mall-to-mixed-use conversion in metro Atlanta, a region where numerous similar redevelopment proposals for aging suburban mall properties remain in earlier planning stages.

Sources

EDENS / Urbanize Atlanta — "How North DeKalb Mall's Replacement Is Coming Together," Sept. 11, 2026