Construction crews have begun infrastructure work at 720 and 750 Commerce Drive in downtown Decatur, where the site of the shuttered “Baby Kroger” is being transformed into an about $144 million apartment and retail complex called AMLI Market Square. The 4.3-acre project will bring 358 new apartments, a 642-space parking deck, and an approximately 14,500-square-foot grocery space to a stretch of the city that has gone without a walkable, full-service grocery store since the Kroger closed in late 2022.
The total investment breaks down to $108.3 million in direct construction costs and $36.1 million in land acquisition, design, and soft costs, according to official Decatur Downtown Development Authority records. AMLI Residential purchased the land in January 2026 and has since cleared the 2.5-acre parcel at 750 Commerce Drive, according to Urbanize Atlanta. Development officially kicked off in June, and AMLI expects first move-ins in a little more than two years, with preleasing set to start in late 2028.
A Public Incentive Tied to a Grocery Promise
The Decatur DDA approved a $13 million tax incentive package for the development team, but that money came with strings attached. To qualify, AMLI was required to sign a lease for a “Qualified Grocery Store” shell of roughly 15,000 square feet — a size that happens to be an exact match for standard Trader Joe's locations, per the DDA's own evaluation documents. The proposed grocery space is approximately 14,500 square feet, which WABE described as basically the exact size of a prototypical Trader Joe's. AMLI has reportedly inked a lease with Trader Joe's for the grocery space, though the chain has not confirmed the location, consistent with its typical practice of staying quiet on new stores until closer to opening.
The project is tied to a $13 million tax incentive package, and the parking deck will include 134 spaces set aside specifically for retail and grocer patrons, out of 165 total public spaces reserved within the structure. The garage's more than 640 spaces are designed to serve both residents and shoppers.
What Replaced Decatur's Smallest Kroger
The building at 750 Commerce Drive dates to the 1960s, when it opened as a Colonial grocery store before Kroger took over the lease and ran it for more than two decades as the smallest Kroger location in the Atlanta market. Kroger closed the 15,000-square-foot store in late 2022, citing declining sales, according to Urbanize Atlanta. The closure left downtown Decatur without a large-scale grocery option, creating a commercial void.
Decatur's “Baby Kroger” closed within days of Buckhead's similarly nicknamed “Disco Kroger,” marking the simultaneous loss of two historic urban Kroger stores in Metro Atlanta. Before AMLI acquired the Decatur property, it was owned by Atlanta developer Pope & Land Enterprises, and the building had previously housed offices for both the Decatur and DeKalb housing authorities, according to WABE. Pope & Land hired AMLI to develop the mixed-use project.
Amenities, Affordability, and an Unusual Financing Model
Beyond the grocery anchor, AMLI Market Square is planned with 26,000 square feet of ground-level retail, an interior retail courtyard, and public greenspace, per Urbanize Atlanta's reporting on the project's design. The complex will also include a clubroom and lounge, coworking space, a sauna, a pool with two courtyards, and an indoor-outdoor gym with a yoga and pilates studio. Marketing materials for the project describe the pitch directly: “Pick up groceries downstairs or meet friends around Decatur Square for dinner all without turning every stop into a drive.”
Of the 358 total units, 36 will qualify as affordable housing, with developers complying with Decatur's inclusionary housing ordinance. The project's affordable-housing component is tied to that ordinance.
AMLI Residential is developing the project. Preleasing is expected to begin in late 2028. AMLI currently manages multifamily and mixed-use communities across Metro Atlanta.
Infrastructure Catching Up With Density
In August, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners approved an agreement with PPF AMLI 750 Commerce Drive, LLC, involving a $168,500 contribution toward municipal sewer upgrades, according to county records.
Urbanize Atlanta's reporting notes that AMLI Market Square cites its proximity to a MARTA station, Emory University, Emory Healthcare, the CDC, and Decatur Cemetery as selling points for future residents. The project adds to a broader pattern in the city: in 80 new senior apartments near MARTA, Decatur completed The Link at Columbia Senior Residences near Avondale MARTA in February, another transit-oriented affordable housing project. The project includes a planned grocery space for downtown Decatur.
