Images: Stylish church project changing downtown Decatur block Josh Green Tue, 04/08/2025 - 13:36
Eight months after construction kicked off, a Catholic church expansion project is making a visible mark along one of downtown Decatur’s busiest traffic corridors.
The modern-style project in the 600 block of W. Ponce de Leon Avenue will be a school expansion and other uses for St. Thomas More Catholic Church and School. It’s part of a larger, master-planned growth spurt for a parish founded in 1941 and situated on the western fringes of downtown Decatur.
Scheduled to open this fall, the topped-out, two-story school expansion was designed by Atlanta-based Houser Walker Architecture, whose portfolio includes several church renovations and expansions around Georgia.
The topped-out Saint Thomas More Catholic Church and School expansion this week. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
St. Thomas More Catholic Church/Houser Walker Architecture
Estimated to cost $15 million, the expansion’s first phase includes a 12-classroom building overlooking W. Ponce de Leon Avenue for kindergarten through fifth grades, along with meeting room spaces. (The school currently operates in the basement of an administration building and a third-floor space above the church’s sanctuary.)
That floor above the sanctuary will be converted into multiple meeting rooms of various sizes filled with natural light, per church leadership.
According to a master plan completed in 2023, future development phases could see an eye-catching new worship building with soaring interiors erected on the flipside of the church from the new school.
How the new St. Thomas More worship building would stand near the corner of W. Ponce de Leon Avenue and W. Trinity Place. St. Thomas More Catholic Church
St. Thomas More Catholic Church
The expansion project broke ground in August. The development teams also includes Parrish Construction Group, Flippo Civil Design, and Shear Structural engineers.
In the gallery above, find more context and photos for this St. Thomas More expansion phase and potential future ones.
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636 W. Ponce de Leon Ave. Decatur Saint Thomas More Parrish Construction Group Saint Thomas More Catholic Church and School Houser Walker Architecture Flippo Civil Design Shear Structural Atlanta Churches Atlanta Architecture Decatur Churches Decatur Construction Decatur Development
Images
St. Thomas More Catholic Church's 636 W. Ponce de Leon Ave. location (in red) in the context of downtown Decatur and surrounding neighborhoods. Google Maps
The topped-out Saint Thomas More Catholic Church and School expansion this week. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
Projected look of the current two-story school expansion along W. Ponce de Leon Avenue. St. Thomas More Catholic Church/Houser Walker Architecture
St. Thomas More Catholic Church/Houser Walker Architecture
The church's Parish Commons building today. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
School expansion construction progress this week, with downtown Decatur buildings in the distance. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
St. Thomas More Catholic Church
How the new St. Thomas More worship building would stand near the corner of W. Ponce de Leon Avenue and W. Trinity Place. St. Thomas More Catholic Church
Planned look of a future beam-heavy worship building to be located down the block from the school expansion. St. Thomas More Catholic Church
Subtitle Initial phase includes new St. Thomas More Catholic Church school building, more
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