Cornerstone Jazz Collective has entered into a purchase agreement for the property at 141 E. Trinity Place in downtown Decatur. The company plans to apply for a loan from the Georgia Cities Foundation to finance part of its rehabilitation and renovation project.
Greene’s Fine Foods is currently located in the building and has been selling candy, toys and other treats to Decatur residents and visitors for about 16 years. Greene’s is still open and has not yet announced a closing date.
The owners of Greene’s – Phil and Tommy Greene – previously confirmed that a potential sale was imminent and said their plan was to move the current business to another, yet-to-be-determined location.
The Decatur Downtown Development Authority supported the loan request during its Aug. 9 meeting. The Georgia Cities Foundation loan normally has a maximum of $200,000 per project. The amount of the loan for the jazz collective has not yet been announced.
“I would like to point out that these types of loans are processed through the development authorities,” said Deputy City Manager Angela Threadgill.
The DDA has no financial responsibility related to the loan. The loan would be made to the DDA, and the DDA would then pass the loan on to Cornerstone. The Georgia Cities Foundation requires DDAs to qualify projects that contribute to a city center and master plan.
“You don’t want to spend money on projects downtown that are inconsistent with what you’re doing,” said DDA attorney Kyle Williams. “The money comes from them, the lender itself is the city foundation, but (the DDA) is the middleman there.”
Cornerstone Jazz Collective would receive the loan once it purchased the property.
Cornerstone Jazz Collective expects to close the deal on the property on August 30. The asking price is $4 million, and the owners have estimated renovation costs at $2 million. Decaturish previously reported that the renovation would take about 12 months. Cornerstone’s owners hope to begin renovations in the fall.
The jazz collective will include the Phoenix City Jazz Club, a restaurant, a place for music lessons and retail sales of musical instruments, according to Eileen Fishman, a business consultant and investor in the project. Musician Will Scruggs is the founder and manager of the collective.
The building will also include a coffee shop and a café, Scruggs told the DDA on August 9.
Scruggs, a local musician, used to provide music at Ray’s in the City restaurants and knows many people in the local music scene. One question that is often asked is: Where is the jazz club in Atlanta?
Scruggs hopes to answer that question with Cornerstone Jazz Collective.
“There is a lot of great jazz talent in the metro Atlanta area, but we don’t have a place where the artists can really flourish and where the community has access to that great talent,” Scruggs told the DDA on Aug. 9. “I have a vision to create an oasis called the Cornerstone Jazz Collective, and hopefully the headquarters will be right here in downtown Decatur.”
The property is about half an acre and over 9,000 square feet in size. There are 23 parking spaces in the parking lot. It features a new commercial kitchen, grease trap, walk-in refrigerator and 16 beer taps.
“They have really taken great care of the building and we believe it is the ideal place to realize this vision,” Scruggs said. “Our plans include redesigning the courtyard and adding a new entrance on the side of the building. We can keep the facade in its historic condition.”
The owners plan to replace some windows with a door to allow access via the patio area.
The main floor will house the music room and the restaurant. The second floor will house a lounge for the musicians and a recording studio. The basement will house the music store and rooms for private lessons.
“We’re going to build an elevator so we can open up the basement for the music store,” Scruggs said. “That’s the big change we’re making on the property, but the only real change is putting in an elevator and a scullery in the back corner of the property.”
The building would also have banquet space for private rentals. Scruggs hopes Cornerstone Jazz Collective will also serve as an additional venue in downtown Decatur. Better Together Solar is a corporate sponsor of the project. They will add solar panels to the roof and electric vehicle charging stations in the parking lot.
Scruggs added that the goal is to create a collaborative ecosystem where tenants work together to drive traffic to the property.
“We’re going to offer our tenants affordable rents and revenue-sharing leases to help them get started and hopefully create a little jazz engine right here in downtown Decatur,” he said. “We want to create access to the arts. We want to nurture the next generation of jazz talent and hopefully we can be a role model with our new model for a community-owned social enterprise.”
The plan calls for Scruggs to own the building and operate the music venue. There will be a lease for the restaurant and music store. Scruggs and Fishman have a letter of intent from Atlanta ProWinds, which will operate the music store and provide the music lessons.
Tandem Bank in Tucker is financing the project with a 50/50 debt-equity ratio. The bank will help Scruggs and Fishman build and finance the construction budget.
This story was provided by WABE content partner Decaturish.
