City Government
Peachtree Corners State of the City Address [Article]
A decade of good management has resulted in brighter prospects and bigger plans.
With a decade of smart growth and responsible stewardship under its belt, the city of Peachtree Corners released its annual State of the City address online, just before the end of 2022. As a leader in incubating new technology, it’s no wonder that one of the most prosperous fruits of what is quickly being called the “Silicon Orchard” has decided to use a new method of disseminating information about its future.
Through a video link, shared through email addresses of residents and stakeholders and accessible through the Peachtree Corners website, officials provided information about the city’s growth and development. They included transparency about issues that have emerged and how they are being dealt with.
Everyone is invited to take a tour of the city with Mayor Pro Tem Weare Gratwick and learn more about the construction, recreation, infrastructure, education and redevelopment projects that have been completed — and to find out what is on the horizon for Peachtree Corners.
“We’ve been a city for 10 years and have a lot to show for it,” said Mayor Mike Mason in the video’s introduction. “For those of you who remember the “PTC Yes!” campaign, the theme was ‘We’re at the tipping point,’ meaning we needed to act to give our community the tools to control our own destiny.
“At that time, our city was literally at the tipping point of decline,” he explained. “Property values were stagnant, companies were moving out, and the area was starting to show its age. There were still a lot of great things about Peachtree Corners, and by focusing on a balanced approach to redevelopment, public safety and quality of life, we’ve tipped things back towards progress and continue to maintain a zero-city tax rate for all of us.”
Mason and other city leaders don’t take all the credit for the city’s success.
“There’s a lot to be proud of. And it’s not just due to a great city council, but to the balanced approach to new development and redevelopment that we followed for the past 10 years,” Mason concluded.
Updated vision
“As most of you may know, most of the development in this area was done by a gentleman named Paul Duke during the 70s and 80s. After 50 years, things were starting to look a little in need of redevelopment,” said Mason. “So that’s why, since the very beginning, we’ve adopted a balanced approach, with some new development and some redevelopment to our efforts.”
Mason pointed out that nothing stays shiny and new forever, and that’s why carrying out the vision and adjusting it as needed for the future is a cornerstone of economic development in Peachtree Corners.
Gratwick started his city tour at the Town Green where the new playground equipment was installed this year. To say it has been a big hit is an understatement. It was designed for children aged 5 to 12 and includes some equipment specifically for special needs children.
As one of the most substantially enhanced playground systems in the county, it has spiral slides, bridges, game panels and obstacle climbers, according to the manufacturer. The size of this commercial-grade structure permits it to entertain groups of more than 100 children.
The multi-leveled playhouse section boasts six slides: five tube slides and one open-aired spiral slide. Kids can dash between the slides along the various bridges. When they’re not involved in high-octane activity, they can make music on the chime panel or marvel at the gear panel.
“There are places for parents to sit, and there will be a permanent shade structure once it comes in,” said Gratwick.
Residential, retail development
The enhanced park is just one amenity that encourages increased residential, and therefore retail and commercial, growth. Gratwick pointed out that The Forum, a hub of development has become the city’s largest revitalization project.
“It is really hard to believe The Forum is over 20 years old now and in need of some attention. Vacancies had gotten to 25% and were threatening to go higher. Everyone agreed we needed to do something to save it,” he said.
After North American Properties purchased the site, there was a difference of opinion about the role housing should play in the redevelopment plan, specifically apartment housing.
“In the end, a majority of the council felt additional housing was necessary to create the energy needed to support and improve our shops and restaurants at the Forum and offset the headwinds of changes in retail that have been accelerating since the pandemic,” said Gratwick.
- Phase one of North American Properties’ plan includes enhancements to the middle of The Forum where it will relocate parking and create interactive community spaces, including a small green space and a food hall with outdoor seating.
- Phase two will include new apartments which will be located behind the landscaping off Peachtree Parkway. This landscaping will remain in place with apartments behind where the pavement stops.
- Phase three will include a new boutique hotel.
Gratwick went on to emphasis that a city can’t have a “no apartments zone” and that Peachtree Corners City Council is looking at every proposed housing project on it individual merits and how it fits into the city’s master plan.
“There is a state mandated requirement that every city rewrite its land use plan every 10 years,” said Gratwick. The city is in the midst of a development survey and needs as much input as possible. There will be community forums and online surveys where residents and stakeholders are encouraged to learn more about the process.
Jobs here help neighboring economies
Perhaps the most highly anticipated project in recent years is Intuitive Surgical bringing its East Coast headquarters to Peachtree Corners. The robotic-assisted surgery technology company is bringing more than 1,200 jobs with an average salary of over $130,000. It is investing more than $600 million to create a state-of-the-art medical campus that will bring visitors who will fill the 19,000 hotel rooms used annually in Peachtree Corners.
While that is a huge boon to the city, it means a lot to the surrounding area as well.
“We are approaching a point where we will have more jobs in the city than residents, which is a sign of a healthy, vibrant community,” said Gratwick. “Of course, with that comes challenges; we will need to continue …to meet the right balance of growth and preservation of things that make us the great city to live in now.”
To add to the employment growth, the city created Curiosity Lab as a smart technology incubator. It has attracted numerous businesses and thousands of jobs.
“Curiosity Lab was founded when our staff discovered there was a missing second step in the evolution of technology, particularly with autonomous vehicles,” said Gratwick. “There was the initial phase, the controlled lab, the crawl space, if you will, and the run space which would be active in users, but there wasn’t a place to test with variables in place.”
Curiosity Lab sets Peachtree Corners apart from most other cities because of its 5G enabled living laboratory for testing and developing smart city Internet of Things (IoT) and mobility. Gratwick mentioned two companies that are making important strides.
SkyMul has created software to provide drones with the ability to remotely tie together rebar in construction projects. The young company, headed by CEO Eohan George, took over half of Curiosity Lab’s design space to further develop its SkyTy drone solution, according to a press release. The goal is to tie reinforcing bar (rebar) at construction sites almost two and half times faster, 32% cheaper and with 84% less labor than manual rebar tying.
Gratwick also highlighted Pipedream Labs, a company that is testing an innovative underground delivery system. The company has leased space in the development and will be testing the delivery of packages and food.
Quality of life
In the video, Gratwick pointed out that the city has almost completed the 1.74 mile stretch of multi-use trail along east Jones Bridge Road.
“If you recall the mayor’s presentation from last year, when he talked about the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Chattahoochee RiverLands project, this will be part of a 150-mile stretch of multi-use trails from Buford Dam all the way down to Newnan,” said Gratwick. “Our project will have a pedestrian crossing at Johns Creek.” He added that discussions are already underway with the city of Johns Creek.
Gratwick wrapped up the presentation by pointing out efforts to improve the quality of life in Peachtree Corners. Parks, trails and retail developments are obvious, and they are projects that are highly visible. He added that just as important are the components you can’t see.
“If you’ve been in Simpsonwood Park lately, you’ve probably noticed the Wolf Creek Lift Station improvement,” said Gratwick. “While this is a county project and not a city project, it is a much-needed upgrade to the sewer that serves the northwest quadrant of our city. …This is not a sexy project, but it is one that will ensure that we will have ample sewer capacity and no interruptions to service.”
Additional projects discussed in the State of the City video is embedded below. Please scroll down.
Planning a city and keeping it vibrant, safe and efficient for its residents, businesses and visitors takes the input of the entire city. That’s why Peachtree Corners has asked the community to help with its next development plan.
Officials estimate it will take about two minutes to answer the multiple choice questions that will guide growth activity, including projects and policies aimed at improving the economic climate in Peachtree Corners.
View the Peachtree Corners 2022 State of the City address at State of the City 2022. Take the business survey at Business Survey (surveymonkey.com).
In what has now become tradition, the Southwest Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce hosted mayors from Berkeley Lake, Norcross and Peachtree Corners at a panel discussion on July 12 at the Hilton Atlanta Northeast.
The conversation centered around strategies for revitalizing and expanding metro Atlanta cities, with a focus on redevelopment, zoning ordinance reform, pedestrian and bicycle safety and investing in local schools and affordable housing initiatives.
Zoning changes
“We are beginning a really big project in our city. We have had ordinances that we’ve been working on ever since the city was incorporated in the 1950s,” said Berkeley Lake Mayor Lois Salter.
“We feel that we need to overhaul the whole zoning ordinance system and hire a consultant to come and elicit understanding and opinions from our citizens. We want them to be a part of that. We have some folks that resist any kind of regulation. They just want us to regulate their neighbors,” she added.
Norcross Mayor Craig Newton agreed that evolving needs are an important reason to change the zoning, and planning for what lies ahead is paramount. He pointed out that all Georgia cities must implement a comprehensive plan to maintain their qualified local government certifications and remain eligible for selected state funding.
Land development
“We intend to focus on improving pedestrian bicycle safety downtown and establish a sidewalk activity improvement,” he said. “We’re also looking at approving parking in our town center and constructing the Norcross Greenway, which will bring a much-welcomed park, green space and a trail,” he added.
The county announced earlier this year that the project involves redeveloping the existing property into a park that will span almost two acres. It will offer various community spaces, including a multi-use trail, playground, covered picnic area, restroom building and a 41-space parking lot.
In addition to its amenities, a 12-foot-wide concrete trail segment will wind through the park and utility corridor, connecting Singleton Road to Dickens Road.
The trail is part of the 2018 Gwinnett Trails Countywide Trails Master Plan‘s Norcross to Lilburn Trail with an internal loop trail connecting to the neighborhood.
Commercial use
Peachtree Corners has had several “community-friendly” projects come online in the past year, but the effects of the pandemic continue to linger.
“When you think about the future, you’re thinking about the landmass and buildings and commerce. Probably the most significant issue facing a lot of us in the near term is modern office space,” said Peachtree Corners Mayor Mike Mason. “There’s a lot of space. The question is, are people going to come back?”
He said that the central retail area has shifted with the revitalization of The Forum and that’s making city leaders rethink city planning.
“We’re having a look at our code and things like that. But from another point of view that will drive the decision about what communities are going to look like,” he said. “For example, there are people coming into the city that say some buildings are technologically obsolete.”
Public safety
Even though Berkeley Lake is the smallest of the three cities and has the highest average home values, all the mayors agreed that public safety is a growing concern.
“Living in Norcross offers residents a dense suburban feel that’s somewhat rural compared to the city of Atlanta,” said Newton. “But some of our public safety initiatives are increasing police presence in high crime areas.”
As the only one of the three cities with a full police department, Norcross is seeking creative ways to implement effective community policing strategies to build trust and communication between law enforcement and the residents.
Newton mentioned programs such as Neighborhood Watch, youth outreach programs and educational initiatives along with enhancing emergency response capabilities with training for the local fire department and EMS services.
“Our response time goal is for an officer to be on-site in an emergency within 30 minutes,” he said. “But that doesn’t happen.”
Extended-stay hotels tend to attract crime, so Newton said the city has worked with owners to improve lighting in the public spaces to deter criminal activity.
“We’ve partnered with nonprofit businesses and local stakeholders to support social services employment opportunities for at-risk individuals,” he said. “By working together with various organizations and entities were able to address the complex challenge of public safety.”
Community accountability
With no police force, Berkeley Lake relies heavily on cameras and old-fashioned “knowing your neighbors,” said Salter.
“Some of our individual HOAs are buying and furnishing and paying for cameras to safeguard their neighborhoods,” she said.
Although there may be pockets of criminal behavior around the city, Salter said a police officer once described Berkeley Lake as a “black hole” of crime because there’s so little crime data.
“One of the reasons for that we feel is that historically we’ve been a very neighborly people,” she said. “There is an amazing system of community cohesiveness.”
Peachtree Corners is taking its own approach.
“We’ve recently added a Marshal Service and as Lois mentioned we’re also leaning on technology,” said Mason.
The marshal department doesn’t take the place of the services provided by Gwinnett County Police, it primarily enforces city code and aids Gwinnett PD when necessary.
“We’re utilizing as much technology as we can,” said Mason.
Gwinnett PD is instructing where to locate cameras and the city keeps adding them. There have been several instances in the last year or so where coordination among agencies and the use of technology have thwarted or caught criminals.
At the end of the day, the three mayors said the cities all rely on each other. Being so close means that economic development, enhanced entertainment and other desirable amenities are boons for them all.
Final Restaurants Announced for New Politan Row Food Hall at The Forum
Fun for All Ages: The Neighborhood Christmas Train 2024 Experience
The High Museum to Showcase “Thinking Eye, Seeing Mind”
GAC Shares Joy of Christmas with Annual Can-A-Thon Support
GAC Shares Joy of Christmas with Annual Can-A-Thon Support
Final Restaurants Announced for New Politan Row Food Hall at The Forum
The High Museum to Showcase “Thinking Eye, Seeing Mind”
Fun for All Ages: The Neighborhood Christmas Train 2024 Experience
Life in Motion: The Gift of Organ Donation Fuels Active Lives for Recipients
Furkids Wraps Up Successful Year with Open House Event and More
The Dec/Jan Issue of Peachtree Corners Magazine is Out Now
Shaping Peachtree Corners: New Vision for the Central Business District [Podcast]
Light up the Corners [Video]
Capitalist Sage: Business Leadership in Your Community [Podcast]
Cliff Bramble: A Culinary Adventure through Italy
Top 10 Brunch Places in Gwinnett County
A Hunger for Hospitality
THE CORNERS EPISODE 3 – BLAXICAN PART 1
Top 10 Indoor Things To Do This Winter
The ED Hour: What it takes to Remove Barriers from Education
