Homes along Sixth Avenue improving as city awaits streetscape plan

Oct. 17—Austin Dupper understands why people bemoan the deteriorating condition of his recently purchased house and several other houses along Sixth Avenue just north of Delano Park because the unsightliness also bothers him.

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But the 28-year-old has the same goal as the city does with its planned $8 million Sixth Avenue streetscape — transform a corridor that determines the first impression people get of Decatur into a street that's more visually appealing. Dupper's small part of that goal is still a big task: renovating a 92-year-old home on the northwest corner of Sixth Avenue and Sherman Street.

"I've always wanted to be a homeowner and do something that would revitalize a home in my hometown," Dupper said. "When I drove down Sixth Avenue, I saw these homes, too. I was excited when I saw this home was available."

He's part of a potential renaissance of homes on Sixth Avenue between Gordon Drive and Johnston Street that could coincide with the streetscape improvements.

His next-door neighbor's home on the southwest corner of Jackson Street and Sixth Avenue is under contract. The home on the northwest corner of those streets is for sale.

Realtor Teri Watson, of MarMac Real Estate, said the owner renovated the home on the northwest corner of Jackson and Sixth, built in 1924 according to county records, and "it looks beautiful inside." However, the owner has chosen to let the buyer, when there's a deal, do the exterior renovations at 450 Jackson St., she added.

A youth minister at First Baptist Church, Dupper bought the home at 421 Sixth Ave. S.E. out of foreclosure in March. He is now renovating the four-bedroom, 2,800-square-foot home by himself, except for using the occasional specialist for tasks like exterior painting, electrical work and plumbing.

Both the interior and exterior need major work. The yard was so overgrown he had to rent an excavator, but he has already made headway with clearing brush, limbs and weeds. A deck on the house's north side is rotting so he plans to replace it with a small deck pergola.

Inside, it's a new adventure every day.

"I'm taking it one room at a time, one day at time," said Dupper, who sometimes gets help from his brothers and their teammates on the Decatur High football team.

Dupper said he planned to improve the sidewalk in front of his home along Sixth Avenue, but a city official told him to hold off. The city received a $640,000 federal grant for sidewalk improvements along Sixth Avenue from the Transportation Alternatives Set-aside Program.

Improvements like those occurring on the west side of Sixth Avenue are what Stratton Orr, chairman of the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce committee on the Sixth Avenue streetscape, and city leaders are hoping for as they prepare for the beautification of this main entrance into Decatur.

Consultant Volkert Inc., of Mobile, is working on a streetscape plan to beautify Sixth Avenue from the Hudson Memorial Bridges at the Tennessee River to Prospect Drive Southeast at Delano Park.

The plan for this 1-mile section is to replace much of the center turn lane with a landscaped median and revamp the appearance along the sides of the street. The plan also would eliminate two sets of traffic signals and change traffic flow around Delano Park to one way.

"I've heard some comments from people who said, 'I wish they looked better,'" Orr said of the homes along Sixth Avenue, between Jackson Street and Gordon Drive.

Orr and Mayor Tab Bowling said they're thrilled to see homeowners like Dupper upgrade their properties.

"What I'm seeing is progress and people trying to make improvements," Bowling said.

Private property improvements

Orr said the hope is that city investments to beautify Sixth Avenue will spur private improvements, not only to these homes, but also to the businesses along the 1-mile route.

He said the goal is to see a repeat of the city's successful upgrades, like parking improvements and landscaping, along Second Avenue and Bank Street Northeast.

"The city's investment led to more private investment, and that's one of the reasons our downtown is doing so well," Orr said.

Orr and Bowling said Volkert continues to work on design and engineering for the streetscape plan, which requires coordination with the Alabama Department of Transportation because Sixth Avenue is also a highway, U.S. 31.

Progress renovating the homes along Sixth Avenue has been slow. They're in Albany Historic District, which puts them under a historic overlay that limits what the owners can do to the homes' exteriors.

City Chief Code Enforcement Officer David Lee said he had concerns about the condition of these properties. He contacted some of the owners and said he's pleased with the progress that's been made in the area.

Two homes on the east side of Sixth Avenue on the north and south corners of Sherman Street were built in 1924 and 1929, according to Morgan County records, and they also appear to be deteriorating. Lee said both homes are tied up in probate proceedings so he can't push for improvements at this point.

Spot zoning possible

Bowling said the city is considering what he called "spot zoning" that would possibly allow low-traffic businesses like accounting, architecture or law firms to open in some of the homes along Sixth Avenue.

City Planner Lee Terry said the problem is the city doesn't have a zoning category that allows this type of business with enough limits to suit nearby residents.

For example, the owners of land at West Moulton Street and 11th Avenue Northwest wanted to rezone their property in 2017 from a B-1, local shopping, to a B-2, general business, so they could open a car lot.

However, the Planning Commission rejected the request because neighboring residents feared that, if the car lot closed, the new zoning would allow too many uses of unwanted businesses adjacent to a residential neighborhood.

Terry said a new zoning category that might fit this limited business need may be included in a new zoning ordinance the city hopes to approve soon.

The city hired Clarion Associates LLC in late 2019 to do a rewrite of the city's 40-year-old zoning ordinance. The city is paying the North Carolina company $195,000 to draft a new ordinance.

The group presented the first half of the proposed new ordinance in January 2020, but Terry said the coronavirus pandemic delayed completion of the second half of the rewrite.

Terry said Clarion presented the second half of the proposed ordinance recently to a small group of residents and hopes to make a public presentation soon.

— bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432. Twitter @DD_BayneHughes.