Community
Best Family City in Georgia
Residents, city officials weren’t surprised that Peachtree Corners received the highest marks for families in the Fortune Magazine analysis.
The City of Peachtree Corners has been awarded many accolades in its 10-year history. One recent honor bestowed upon the 41,840 residents is the distinction by Fortune Magazine as one of “The Best Places to Live for Families.” It was ranked top in the state of Georgia and number 19 in the entire U.S.
To many residents, this title sums up all that they strive for as a community.
“This is not something we work towards as far as an award or recognition. It’s a de facto confirmation of what we believe we have here and what we really work hard to achieve,” said Peachtree Corners City Manager Brian Johnson.
“Our goal is to be the most well-rounded, or call it diverse, city that we can be. And when I say diversity, I mean diversity across all the community metrics that exist, meaning we love to have diversity of cultures, races — those kinds of things that makes a community healthier, more unique, more vibrant,” he added.
Although the area has a reputation for being among the higher income, more affluent in the state, Johnson said there is a concerted effort toward diversity of housing.
“We like to have everything from million-dollar single family detached homes, for those who that’s their thing, down to starter homes and workforce housing, both equity and rental,” said Johnson. “We want to have as many housing options for somebody who wants to live here as we possibly can.”
Of course, that doesn’t happen organically, he added. It often requires the pushing or pulling of certain things, like zoning restrictions, and seeking state and federal funding.
“We also strive for diversity of entertainment or social opportunities within the city,” said Johnson. “Restaurants, recreational amenities, community activities — everything from organized youth sports leagues to summer concert series — things for people to go to, to be involved in.”
Gathering spot
The city is so successful at making sure there are lots of things to do that many of the “free” offerings are well attended by people from surrounding areas as well as Peachtree Corners residents themselves.
One recent afternoon, for example, the playground at Town Center had as many families present from Canton, Smyrna, Johns Creek and Doraville as those who walked or bicycled from their homes in the city.
Gina Hannah brought her two grandsons, Wally and Holden Wright, ages nine and five respectively, to enjoy the state-of-the-art features of the facility that was installed about a year ago.
“We moved here 10 years ago. It was our second go around living in Georgia,” she said. “We lived in Marietta in the 70s, and we were in Richmond, Virginia for a long time.”
Her husband Wayne’s business relocated to the metro area shortly before he retired. “We came back in 2013, when Peachtree Corners had just got incorporated,” said Hannah. “We chose the location because it was convenient to where his office was — just three miles from the highway. …We rented at first but grew to love it. Once we got our bearings, we bought a condo.”
As the kids explored the various pieces of equipment on the playground, Hannah explained why she wasn’t entirely surprised that Peachtree Corners made the top of the list in Georgia.
“We love everything about it. Of course, the Town Center is newer, but even 10 years ago, there was just a lot of potential. The Forum was already there,” she said.
Even though they are empty nesters, the Hannahs see the great qualities the city has to offer families.
Hannah’s grandchildren live in Indiana with their parents, but she has a son and a daughter who live in Avondale Estates and Decatur. She also has family in Chattanooga, so she and her husband aren’t too far away from family.
Living in a condo without a lot of yard space or room for kids to roam, she’s glad there are lovely parks and other family-friendly amenities within walking distance.
“Every time [the grandchildren visit] there are new things to do. We love the concerts and stuff,” she said, noting that nearby towns like Norcross also offer a variety of things to do, adding to the appeal.
If she could change anything, Hannah said she’d like to see even more diversity in Peachtree Corners. She does see that the city is growing its diversity in many ways.
A lot to love here
Treng Lu and his two children were at the park with hoverboards they received for Christmas. The family has lived in Peachtree Corners for seven years. Both he and his wife are in the IT field and came to the U.S. from Vietnam by way of Brussels.
“I’m still working on my English, but we love living here,” he said. “It’s very beautiful and peaceful and there are lots of things to do.”
The children, Kaitlyn, 8, and Daniel, 7, attend Simpson Elementary. “My favorite subject is math,” said Daniel. “Because you can solve almost anything with numbers.”
Similarly, Karen Gallardo brought her sons, Conner, 6, and Grayson, 7, to enjoy the park — especially the splash pad — before the day got too hot. She and her husband purchased their home in Peachtree Corners in 2018.
“I was working in Buckhead at the time. …And I was able to get to work pretty easily — just hop on 400,” she said, adding, “And it was affordable.”
She’s a teacher, and her husband works in sales, so he needed someplace that was centrally located. “We love that it’s kind of central. And I love that Trader Joe’s is right here. That’s my jam,” she said.
Gallardo has a hard time enjoying some of the family-friendly offerings because the movies and concerts often start a little late for their schedule. “Sometimes things start so late. So, as a parent, …I don’t want to go out at 7:30,” she said.
Number one for families
And although this kind of national recognition is good PR for the city, it’s not a goal the city necessarily strives for. Still, Johnson said he’d vote for Peachtree Corners every time.
“I think it is fair to say that when you look at a community like ours — about 45,000 people and about 45,000 jobs with lots of diversity in all of those sectors — that’s a pretty cool community to consider living in. …We work hard to try to do that every day, and it’s nice,” he said.
The recognition is not something the city applied for, but Johnson said, “we’re very proud of it; …Families are the backbone of this country. When you can say that you are number one in Georgia and number 19 for families in the country, that’s a pretty cool place to be.”
The Peachtree Corners Business Association (PCBA) donated a check for $3,500 to the Georgia Alliance for Breast Cancer at their October Business After Hours event. The organization was selected by the PCBA Community Outreach Committee and board, who are dedicated to identifying and selecting charities whose mission aligns with supporting the community.
Georgia Alliance for Breast Cancer — formerly It’s the Journey — is a registered 501c3 non-profit that supports Georgia’s breast cancer community by raising funds for breast health and breast cancer programs throughout the state.
Since 2002, the organization’s Georgia 2-Day Walk for Breast Cancer has raised over $19 million to fund 554 grants that provide breast cancer education, screening, early detection, support services and continuing care for Georgians. Their mission is to engage with Georgia’s breast cancer community to increase access to care and reduce disparities in cancer outcomes.
“Since [our] donations are made possible through our members and sponsorships, we wanted to award this check at our recent PCBA Business After Hours Speaker’s event, allowing our members the opportunity to celebrate with us and learn how this organization supports our community” said Lisa Proctor, PCBA president. “This check represents the first of three charities we raised money for at our annual charity event, Tailgates and Touchdowns, in August of this year. We will be awarding a check to the Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries in November and Spectrum Autism Support Group in December.”
Supporting the community
“We are so proud of our continued commitment to supporting our community,” Proctor continued. “The PCBA has donated over $162,000 to local deserving charities and awarded 19 scholarships to outstanding graduating high school seniors in our metro Atlanta community since the inception of our community outreach program in 2013.”
Funds for the PCBA Community Outreach program are raised throughout the year from PCBA memberships, sponsorships and an annual charity event. Donations and scholarships are awarded during monthly events so that members have the opportunity to learn more about the selected organizations.
For more information about the Peachtree Corners Business Association, visit peachtreecornersba.com.
Although Debbie Mason, the first First Lady of Peachtree Corners passed away in January 2023 just shy of her 72nd birthday, she left a lasting legacy on the community.
Her obituary summed up her attributes beautifully.
“If Debbie Mason believed in a cause, she could be counted on to work toward it tirelessly. Debbie was known to her family as a full-time mom, part-time Wonder Woman and occasional miracle worker. To her friends and community, she was a professional volunteer, fearless leader and perpetual truthteller.
Before starting her family, she worked as a legal secretary, where she began honing her exceptional organizational skills and trademark charisma, which made her the most formidable fundraiser. PTSA president, Scout den leader, drama club mom, sports team mom, volunteer organizer, teen-driving advocate, recycling and beautification champion — whatever her kids were involved in or called to her heart, she made it a priority.
A consummate ‘mover and shaker,’ there was little in her sphere of influence that didn’t receive a bit of ‘the Debbie Mason touch.’ She and Mike were founders of the Fox Hill Homeowner’s Association, where she worked to build community on the street she called home for 36 years. Hanging holiday decorations, throwing her annual Halloween party and even going door-to-door gathering signatures to have sewers installed in the neighborhood, Debbie spent so much of her time and energy in service of others.”
A loving memorial
At a memorial service in her honor, several members of the community stood around brainstorming a way to truly respect the impact she had on those around her.
“There were a group of us that just kept talking to each other and saying, what else can we do?” said Lynette Howard. “Debbie inspired us. She did so many things for us, and she gave up great things to the city. And the city was something that she just … it was her pride and joy, and she wanted to make sure that everybody was embraced and hugged in this city.”
A public garden in Debbie Mason’s name was born from that discussion. And a little less than two years later, a dedication was held on Saturday, October 24 to commemorate the Debbie Mason Memorial Garden.
Her obituary went on to include her love of gardening and the outdoors.
“To nurture was her nature; she loved to look after her home and garden. Visitors often commented on how warm and welcoming the house made them feel and how beautifully decorated it was. She was an artist, viewing the backyard garden as her canvas and the flowers, plants and pots as her paints. Working in the garden restored her soul; it was her special place. She was brilliant, an independent thinker, honest, direct and utterly unique. There will never be another one like her.”
A legacy that will live on
As in life, her kindness, dedication and joy will live on.
“With the opening of this garden today, she will leave an imprint that will be enjoyed by Peachtree Corners citizens for generations to come,” said Dave Huffman during the ceremony.
Debbie inspired those around her to make a positive impact on the city, as seen in the garden project. The Debbie Mason Memorial Garden Committee: Bob Ballagh, Pat Bruschini, Lynette Howard, Dave Huffman, Sarah Roberts, Gay Shook and Robyn Unger worked together to answer questions, prioritize goals and honor Debbie’s legacy.
To ensure the garden design and features aligned with Debbie’s passions and the community’s input, the committee thought about things the garden shouldn’t be: hectic, feeling noisy, unkempt, sad, forgotten, without a purpose, ostentatious, gaudy, overdone, devoid of interactive things.
“Did we accomplish it?” Howard asked the crowd during the ceremony.
The thunderous applause proved that Debbie would have approved.
Not long after the incorporation of Peachtree Corners in 2012, city leaders envisioned an arts council that would ensure local arts and culture were given necessary attention. The Peachtree Corners Arts Council, now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was established in 2016 to bring that vision to life by creating an Arts & Culture Master Plan and Public Art Initiative program for the city.
The council facilitates public art projects, such as a soon-to-be-completed mural on Peachtree Corners Circle by artist Jonathan Bidwell. With another major endeavor, the independently funded Debbie Mason Memorial Garden, also nearing completion, Peachtree Corners Magazine caught up with the organization — now called Peachtree Corners Arts Inc. (PTC Arts) — to learn more about the projects as well as the future of arts and culture in our city.
Debbie Mason Memorial Garden
The Debbie Mason Memorial Garden is an aesthetic and contemplative garden space nestled in an area of the Peachtree Corners Botanical Garden near Town Center. A group of Peachtree Corners residents, with a shared love for the city’s first first lady and an appreciation for all that she has done for the city, formed the Debbie Mason Memorial Committee (DMMC) to raise funds to build the oasis that will delight with flowering color each season.
The goal of the DMMC is to preserve Mason’s memory by transforming a space that will offer Peachtree Corners residents a quiet place to reflect, connect and rejuvenate among vibrant colored seasonal plantings and mosaic tiled artwork, according to the PTC Arts website.
Although the Debbie Mason Memorial Garden falls under the umbrella of PTC Arts Inc., it had its own committee in charge of design and fundraising goals.
“When they started getting going, because they were creating an artistic kind of installation in the city and were going to raise the funds for it, they worked with our council for ideas and input on the plan that they ultimately came up with,” said Marcia Catterall, a member of PTC Arts. “They really ran independently with that. Primarily, they used us as the nonprofit vehicle to raise the funds.”
Independent of PTC Arts, DMMC created all of its own publicity and had a committee tasked with handling all of the fundraising.
Building a master plan
Although the objective of PTC Arts Inc. is simple, the execution can be complicated.
“We had our hands in numerous things,” said Catterall. “We’ve created the city’s arts and culture master plan. We created a public art initiative. Our goal was to think about all of the ways that arts and cultural activities could impact the city and then to help facilitate the creation and the installation of arts and culture in the city.”
The initiative, along with the master plan, took up the first several years of the council’s efforts. The master plan was formalized and officially adopted in 2018.
According to city records, “The resolution requires developers to meet with the Peachtree Corners Arts Council to discuss possibilities for public art on their property. Developers would also be asked to voluntarily set aside one percent of their project costs for public art, either by including public art on their site or contributing money to a public art fund administered by the city.”
“This Public Art Initiative and Vision Map is intended to help city officials, developers and the community at large visualize and implement the city’s public art future. It outlines a vision for public art, offers an inventory of opportunities for public art throughout the city and provides background on the types of projects that should be encouraged and prioritized,” the records continued.
Early efforts of the council included designing activities for the Town Green and facilitating the use of public spaces for a variety of arts and cultural activities.
“One of the things that we helped with initially was designing some of the activities and talking about how to host activities on the Town Green,” said Catterall. “Now that’s all handled separately by the city, but we were sort of the sounding board and created a lot of the ideas and the thoughts about how Town Green was to be used.”
The mural project and what’s ahead
The first big art installation project initiated from beginning to end by the council is a mural on the retaining wall at Peachtree Corners Circle.
“That’s going to be our first big project that we’ve started — soup to nuts — and have run with completely on our own,” said Catterall.
Jonathan Bidwell, a well-known artist out of Asheville, North Carolina is creating the mural, having designed several others in the past.
“He designed, for example, the playful foxes on the Social Fox Brewing Company in downtown Norcross,” she said. “He’ll be covering the big, long retaining wall that will border part of the Botanical Garden Walk around the Town Center area. And it will actually be near the Debbie Mason Memorial Garden.”
Funding for the mural project was covered partly through business donations.
“Part of our arts and culture master plan is to ask businesses, when they either develop or open up a new business, to donate 1% of their project value towards public art on their property or to give that to us,” Catterall said. “So, this is being funded mostly through the donation from QuickTrip’s new development.”
Since the company didn’t have a particular art installation in mind for its property, it allowed the money to go toward an effort elsewhere in the city.
The mural’s background colors were scheduled to be painted by the end of September with the remaining details to be completed by late October, in time for the ribbon cutting for the Debbie Mason Garden. That event is set for 11 a.m. on October 26.
For more information about Peachtree Corners Arts Inc., the mural or the Debbie Mason Memorial Garden, visit ptcarts.org.
You can read this article in the October/November issue of Peachtree Corners Magazine.
PCBA Awards $3,500 to Georgia Alliance for Breast Cancer
Good Samaritan Gwinnett Receives State Authorization to Launch Access Academy
Metro Atlanta Redevelopment Visionaries Honored at 2024 MARS Summit
Three Local Chefs Share Their Favorite Holiday Recipes
Opsys Collaborates with Curiosity Lab and City of Peachtree Corners to Launch Solid-State LiDAR Technology
From Our Table to Yours: Five Cozy Dishes for Winter in Peachtree Corners
City of Peachtree Corners Awarded Health Wellness Grant
AVID Products, Growing World of Esports Audio and DreamHack
Center for Puppetry Arts Shares Global Holiday Traditions Through Puppetry
AVID Products, Growing World of Esports Audio and DreamHack
Peachtree Corners and Curiosity Lab Receive ITS Georgia 2024 Outside the Construction Box Award
From Our Table to Yours: Five Cozy Dishes for Winter in Peachtree Corners
Opsys Collaborates with Curiosity Lab and City of Peachtree Corners to Launch Solid-State LiDAR Technology
Metro Atlanta Redevelopment Visionaries Honored at 2024 MARS Summit
City of Peachtree Corners Awarded Health Wellness Grant
Three Local Chefs Share Their Favorite Holiday Recipes
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
-
Around Atlanta1 week agoMetro Atlanta Redevelopment Visionaries Honored at 2024 MARS Summit
-
Smart City and Innovations6 days ago
Opsys Collaborates with Curiosity Lab and City of Peachtree Corners to Launch Solid-State LiDAR Technology
-
Food & Drink5 days ago
From Our Table to Yours: Five Cozy Dishes for Winter in Peachtree Corners
-
Podcast3 days ago
AVID Products, Growing World of Esports Audio and DreamHack
