Decatur has sold the bonds allowing it to purchase the remaining 55 acres of the total 77-acre United Methodist Children’s Home. The city’s expected to close on the property in mid to late August and begin creating a conceptual master plan for the site early next year.
Decatur’s purchase of the property, which the UMCH has occupied since 1873, breaks down into two parts:
- Twenty-two acres are funded through a loan from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, administered by the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority. That loan is for $11,452,000 at 1.7 percent interest rate for 30 years. This is the eastern or rear portion of the tract, including the lake, the forested area that mostly borders Katie Kerr Drive and the Decatur Kitchen Garden.
- Fifty-five acres are funded by bonds that sold for $29, 625,000 with a 3.36 interest rate also over 30 years. But after five years the city can call—refinance, refund or prepay—the bonds.
This includes playing fields, a gym, swimming pool and 31 buildings total. Among the most impressive are the Gothic Revival Moore Chapel, built in 1906, and the 1939 Whitehead Building, once the Home’s school.
Total cost for the entire property is $41,077,000. Counting principal and interest the city will pay $61 million over 30 years. But City Manager Peggy Merriss said the low interest GEFA loan is expected to save taxpayer $3 million over the duration.
The city’s first payment, due this year, is $760,000, but will jump to $2 million a year beginning in July 2019.
