Alair Buckhead Leads Revitalization of Diverse Clarkston Campus

Georgia Tech's Solar Decathlon Team Partners with PerchBuilt and Alair to Transform Early Learning Scholars' Clarkston Campus

ATLANTA - Feb. 3, 2025 - PRLog -- Georgia Tech's Solar Decathlon Team, in collaboration with PerchBuilt and Alair Buckhead, is spearheading a transformative redevelopment of Early Learning Scholars (ELS), a non-profit for educating children in Clarkston, GA. Known as "the most diverse square mile in America," Clarkston is celebrated for its role as a leading center for refugee resettlement and multicultural community building.

Since the 1970s, Clarkston has welcomed refugees from around the world, evolving into a vibrant, multicultural community representing over 50 nationalities. This remarkable diversity has shaped Clarkston into a beacon of hope, opportunity, and inclusion, recognized both nationally and internationally as a model of refugee resettlement success.

Early Learning Scholars (ELS) provides essential early education services for Clarkston families, offering affordable, high-quality care from infancy through Pre-K. Under the leadership of Dr. Tara Armstrong, ELS has earned recognition from Georgia's Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) for its innovative curriculum, excellent teacher-child interactions, and its commitment to providing a nurturing and inclusive environment where children thrive.

Georgia Tech's Solar Decathlon Team has chosen the ELS campus as the centerpiece of its 2025 submission to the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon competition. This visionary project will expand the existing facility from a single building to an interconnected campus of eleven sustainable, energy-efficient structures. The redevelopment aims to reduce operational costs while creating a modern, inspiring learning environment that supports both current and future generations.

This ambitious project brings together industry leaders in design, development, and construction:

• PerchBuilt: Led by Scott Ball and Taylor Kennedy, PerchBuilt provides expertise in sustainable architecture and innovative design solutions.
• Alair: As the development and construction partner, Alair brings proven leadership to the project. Georgia Tech Professor and Solar Decathlon Faculty Advisor Frank Wickstead, representing Alair, played a pivotal role in connecting the project to Georgia Tech's Solar Decathlon Team.