UMCH property eligible for historic register

Halfway through its “visioning process” for the old United Methodist Children’s Home property, Decatur still hasn’t made any decisions regarding future uses. That won’t come officially until the city commission approves a final master plan in August or September.

But consultant Cooper Carry has prepared three options for the site, and it’s likely that the final master will be a hybrid of those. During a May 7 commission work session two Cooper Carry representatives emphasized that most who’ve given feedback—they’ve now received over 1,300 comments and suggestions—want to save the property’s historic structures.

Of particular interest, according to Associate Principal Kyle Reis, is the granite barn that was built around 1910.

But a 2015 study by Kennesaw State University identified 19 buildings as potentially contributing to a historic district. Seven of those were built between 1903 and 1919 and another, the Whitehead Building constructed in 1939, is a stunning old school schoolhouse with large windows and a number of open archways.

Through the Kennesaw State study, the property was declared eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, but the UMCH chose at the time not to follow up with the requisite paperwork. Reiss said this week the city has the “flexibility” to finish the job and put it on the Register.

Four circa 1970s duplexes and two single-family homes on the property’s southern and southwestern section aren’t considered historic and would be demolished. The concepts include cottage style and multiplex housing in this vicinity, with 28 to 30 houses in concept one, 60 in concept two and 128 to 130 in concept three.