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Lockridge Forest: A Woodland Filled with Friends

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lockridge forest
The club beginning 1970 | Spring 1992 | (Photos courtesy of Ron Walsh)

A neighborhood like Lockridge Forest really does feel enchanted thanks to the neighbors and community members. With over 450 homes and a nine-acre Swimming & Tennis Club, some residents have enjoyed the perks of living this community for almost 50 years.

Phil Sadd explained how it felt when he first moved to Lockridge Forest Community in 1991. “It really was like living in a forest — it still is.”

Pavilion Construction Summer 1995

Animals such as deer, owls, beavers, hawks and cranes (oh, my!) can still be spotted in your own backyard if you hail from this area of Peachtree Corners. But even more than the scenery, Sadd said he loves the sense of community. That’s why he became a City Councilmember in 2012, just after the city was incorporated.

Working together to improve

Lockridge Forest sits right on the Dunwoody and Gwinnett county lines, and it’s centrally located to over 50 businesses, schools, churches and temples. “Being right at the edge, I was worried we wouldn’t get as much attention, so I wanted to make sure this community had a voice,” Sadd explained. “I wanted to make an impact.”

Pig Roast & Pool Fun 1999

And he did. When he first moved into Lockridge Forest, there were no sidewalks, curbs or gutters. Mothers with strollers or families with small children would walk on dirt paths. Sadd has spent years setting up and maintaining amenities along Spalding Drive and Winters Chapel Road.

“The City Council has been extremely helpful with this and supported us through this process,” he said, adding that they even had the opportunity to partner with the City of Dunwoody, because a portion of Winters Chapel Road rests in their territory. “Dunwoody has been a great government partner to work with over the years,” he added.

Progressive Dinner 2000

When Sadd isn’t working on improving the community, he is enjoying the perks of living there. It’s the closest neighborhood in Peachtree Corners to I-285, so many residents enjoy shorter commutes. Some of the neighbors are so close, they even vacation together! Not to mention the many events put on by the Civic Association at the Swimming & Tennis Club, such as annual Easter Egg Hunts and Halloween Parades, as well as senior lunches, pig roasts and chili cookoffs.

Residents like Ron Walsh see to it that Lockridge Forest remains a desirable location to live or even staycation. “When we first moved to Peachtree Corners, my friends told me: You’re moving to the boonies, no one will visit you out there,” he said. “But now it has become a desirable place to visit.”

Swim & Tennis Club

Walsh has been involved in the Swim & Tennis Club for the past 30 years; at times he has been president and now he serves as Treasurer. The club first opened in 1971 when 22 members of the Lockridge Community put their own money on the line to build the pool. After a tornado came through in 1998 and ripped through the forests and club, one citizen offered a private loan to have the pool redone — with no interest. It really was a labor of love.

“It’s a park-like atmosphere,” Walsh said. “There’s a creek winding through it and when the trees are blooming and you can’t hear any traffic, it feels like you really are in a forest.”

Well sign us up! Actually, you can sign up for membership to this gem of a club because they accept families from any neighborhood, not just Lockridge Forest.

“We collect membership dues in April and May, and last year we weren’t even sure if we would be able to remain open,” Walsh said. But thanks to some hard work, the Swim & Tennis Club was able to put CDC protocols in place that allowed them to remain open to families.

In fact, last year they had the largest membership to date. After the challenges of 2020, it’s no surprise that families are valuing quality outdoor time.

Walsh talked about the importance of having places like the Swim and Tennis club available to the community. “The problem with technology overload is that we’re not giving ourselves the challenge to be bored, to be thinkers and writers and to just have the time to create,” he said.

With community members like Walsh and Sadd, it’s easy to be excited about the world returning to normal and watching Peachtree Corners continue to thrive even while going through some transitions. They both agree that residents of Lockridge Forest, who come from all walks of life, are good neighbors who feel more like family.

Kris Bird is an Atlanta-based freelance writer who specializes in Marketing and Communications. After earning her degree from Stony Brook University, Kris has been working as a science fiction and fantasy novelist for the past decade.

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Commercial

Redline Property Partners Sells Parcel at Sun Court for Mixed-Use Development

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2 sun court

Real estate investment firm Redline Property Partners has sold excess land at its Sun Court project in Peachtree Corners for development as a mixed-use property. It will create a live-work-play destination in Technology Park.

Spalding Site Partners LLC, a development partnership led by Fred Kay and Bruce Fernald, has acquired the 2.2-acre site. The new development will include 170 high-end residential units, ground-floor retail, fitness center and an extension to the Peachtree Corners public trail system.

The site is located adjacent to the 2 Sun Court office building in the heart of Peachtree Corners, just off Peachtree Parkway. The new development will join Redline’s four-story, 98,040-square-foot office tower Sun Court on the site.

“We are thrilled to put this excess land into development, bringing even more best-in-class amenities to our Sun Court office tenants,” said Andrew Webb, Redline’s President and Managing Partner. “With this development, Sun Court will become an even more vibrant live-work-play destination in Peachtree Corners.”

Redline purchased the Sun Court property in 2017 and immediately began building-wide capital improvements to the office tower, including rebranding the building and renovating all common areas, plus creating a new outdoor tenant lounge.

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Business

Commercial Roofing Company Continues Legacy of Excellence

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Jay Thornton & Eric Abell at Parsons Roofing New Office Ribbon Cutting

Parsons Roofing recently moved its headquarters to Peachtree Corners to remain close to family and poised for growth in the southeast U.S.

Those familiar with local history know that the Parsons surname is synonymous with development in the area. The Parsons Family Stores were staples for more than a century.

Calvin Parsons and his wife Kate inherited her father’s general store that began in 1876 as a single trading post outside of Lawrenceville. Parsons grew the business to several stores throughout north Georgia that sold everything from groceries, clothing, and dry goods to hardware and building materials.

Today, the Parsons name continues its legacy of quality service in the southwest Gwinnett County area. Parsons Roofing Company recently moved operations to Peachtree Corners. Its owner, Jay Thornton, is the great-grandson of Calvin Parsons.

In the 1960s, the building supply division moved to a separate location south of downtown Duluth and was operated by Jay Thornton’s grandfather. One of the Duluth location’s mainstays was selling roofing products. 

The present-day Parsons Roofing Company is a commercial roofing contractor and no longer sells roofing products. The company now focuses on the installation, repair, and restoration of commercial roofs.

As a fifth-generation member of a family dedicated to hard work and forward vision, Thornton noted that Parsons Roofing Company has grown into a regional business with clients across the southeast. 

Thornton started a residential shingle roofing company out of his grandmother’s basement 10 years ago. His work ethic and dedication to quality helped his business take off. He gained a partner in Eric Abell and eventually turned the focus to commercial projects.

“I started this company with a strong belief that consumers need a roofer they can trust. Before I started Parsons Roofing, I had worked in the roofing industry for years and was disheartened. Every company I worked for cared about money first and the customer second,” Thornton states on his company website.

“I felt that it should be the opposite. I believe that if you are honest and take care of the customer first, everything else will fall into place. So that’s what we’ve built our business on here at Parsons As our customer, you’ll feel the trust and respect for your needs from us right away.”

Growing the business

Abell and Thornton opened up their first office in the Chamblee area as Prestige Roofing in 2018. The business model was so successful, they outgrew the space. As it turned out, they continued to outgrow their accommodations so they’re now in a space on Medlock Bridge Road in Peachtree Corners. 

The move is perfect for many reasons, said Jennifer Sudderth, director of sales and marketing. It’s near family and the community that the company wants to be a part of, it’s in the heart of metro Atlanta — one of the hottest commercial building markets in the country — and it’s centrally located to other growth areas where Parsons plans to extend business, like Nashville, Orlando, and Raleigh.

The company already has major projects in the works in Nashville with plans to open an office there by the end of the year. Next will be satellite offices in Orlando and Raleigh, keeping a manageable distance from home base.

Although the pandemic may have had adverse effects on many businesses, Sudderth said Parsons Roofing barely felt the impact.

“Roofing is a need, not a want,” she said. “If you’re a commercial operation with a leaky roof, there’s not an option to put it off.”

And supply issues didn’t plague the business, either. Most roofing companies don’t keep a lot of inventory, and commercial roofing doesn’t come in a variety of styles and colors. It was possible to store enough supplies to get through rough patches when goods weren’t being transported on time.

Even though Parsons Roofing isn’t going to be a household name, the company believes in community connections and family ties. It has joined local chambers of commerce and other business organizations and is involved in philanthropic endeavors locally.

Although Peachtree Corners is the largest city in Gwinnett County, it has a small-town, homey vibe, said Sudderth.

That hometown connection, along with expanded technology, economic development, and business growth, should keep Parsons Roofing in the area for another century.

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Business

NAC International Signs New Lease at 2 Sun Office Building

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A world-leading provider of nuclear fuel cycle technology and consulting solutions,NAC International, has signed a lease at 2 Sun in Peachtree Corners. The company is leasing 23,000 square feet lease in the Class-A office building.

The 98,040-square-foot property in Technology Park recently underwent significant renovations to add amenities. 2 Sun now offers an outdoor tenant patio, campus-wide Wi-Fi and food delivery service for tenants.

Lincoln Property Company Southeast, one of the U.S.’s largest diversified commercial real estate companies, and Redline Property Partners made the lease announcement. Lincoln’s Senior Vice President Michael Howell, Vice President Matt Fergus and Senior Leasing Associate Seabie Hickson represented the landlord, Redline Property Partners. Cory Hall and Bo Keatley of Savills represented the tenant.

“Peachtree Corners is one of the premier business atmospheres in metro Atlanta, and 2 Sun offers a range of first-rate amenities both on and near the property,” said Lincoln’s Fergus. “The recent capital improvements allow 2 Sun to capture growing demand in the submarket.”

Northeast Atlanta continues to outperform other submarkets over the past couple of years, boasting the lowest vacancy rate among major metro Atlanta areas at just 15.9% across all property classes.

The office submarket also saw positive absorption of 5,117 square feet in Q3 of this year, marking the fifth quarter in the past six with positive absorption, according to a report from Lincoln.

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