Business
From the Mayor’s Desk: Looking Back at Business in 2024
As we look back at 2024, there were a number of acquisitions, new businesses opening, major renovations and milestones celebrated. I’ll attempt to highlight some of them, knowing that I can’t possibly cover them all. There were some new events this year too.
This past year was a big one for Guardian Sports, a Peachtree Corners company that designs and manufactures helmet covers. The NFL now requires Guardian Caps be worn during NFL during practice, and players may choose to wear them during games. The caps disperse energy during hits with the goal of reducing head injuries.
Insight Sourcing of Peachtree Corners was acquired by Accenture, a leading global professional services company. Insight Sourcing helps clients optimize costs when sourcing and negotiating contracts for materials, services related to capital expenditures and energy procurement management. Accenture is a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 743,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.
Axon, the global leader in connected public safety technologies, acquired Fusus, a leader in real-time crime center technology located in Peachtree Corners. Fusus excels in aggregating live video, data and sensor feeds from virtually any source, enhancing situational awareness and investigative capabilities for public safety, education and commercial customers.
Milestone celebrations
Authentic Hardwood Flooring on Amwiler Road celebrated 25 years in business in 2024. Michael Keroack has been steadily growing the operation for roughly eight years in Peachtree Corners with the help of Buddy Wofford, general sales manager, and Michael Blocker, director of operations.
Also celebrating a milestone in 2024 was Diversified Resource Group (DRG). For nearly 25 years, Darrell Creedon has been running DRG in Peachtree Corners, outfitting workspaces for companies and governments, and more recently, hotels and convention centers. Mr. Creedon, who resides in Peachtree Corners, started the furniture business with a college friend in 1999 in a home basement.
City events
The City of Peachtree Corners organized the 2nd Annual Curiosity Lab Criterium in April. This year’s event featured a running race, kids races, food trucks, vendors and other activities for the family. There was also a fun run in Technology Park. Werfen, a global diagnostics company, and the City of Peachtree Corners, partnered on a 5K Walk/Run in Technology Park in November. The event benefitted the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. In May, the city organized a food truck event at Curiosity Lab, which drew about 210 people working in and around Technology Park.
The PCBA organized the first Taste of Peachtree Corners in June. It was a great time of networking and community fellowship among business owners and other involved citizens. Approximately 100 people experienced an evening of delicious bites and drinks, sampling foods from local businesses.
New to the city
Blue River Development moved its corporate office from Forsyth County to Peachtree Corners to expand its operations. The company is a leader in real estate development and investment.
A new pediatric dentistry, Agape Pediatric Dentistry, opened at 5185 Peachtree Parkway #325 at The Forum. Two law firms opened on Wetherburn Way: Brooks Injury Law Offices and Tadeo & Silva immigration law firm.
A former steel pipe fabrication site at 6420 Corley Road that was converted to a logistics center is now fully leased. The 27-acre property, which sold for $10.5 million in 2018 was sold for $77.4 million three years later, after it was cleaned up and redeveloped into the Peachtree Corners Logistics Center.
The Central Business District
Also in May, the city adopted a 6-month moratorium on projects in the Central Business District. Due to the increasing number of applications and evolving market trends, the moratorium came into effect on May 3 and ended on November 3. The moratorium gave the city six months to pause rezoning applications, special use permits and variances applications for residential or mixed-use development.
In August, members of the Peachtree Corners City Council took part in a ribbon cutting at The Forum. We celebrated the opening of the new plaza and activity areas. Jamestown is modernizing the 20-year-old Forum shopping center and transforming it into a true mixed-use destination through the addition of a 125-room boutique hotel, approximately 381 multifamily units, new experiential retail and dining offerings, structured parking and an expanded public area.
Construction began in May 2023, and the first of two new greenspace additions were constructed. Phases II and III will see the multifamily and boutique hotel constructed, both slated to start in 2025. Also this year, it was announced that Jamestown, a global real estate investment and management firm, acquired the Cincinnati-based North American Properties, which owned The Forum.
Members of the Peachtree Corners Redevelopment Authority and Downtown Development Authority engaged in a focus group discussion in August at City Hall. The discussion was led by representatives from Kimley-Horn, engineering, planning and design consultants. There was discussion about under-utilized spaces, needed amenities and potential uses for vacant properties. City officials also met with members of the commercial real estate community in September to specifically discuss Technology Park.
International visitors, co-working and new townhome project
An 18-member delegation of Finnish business people visited Curiosity Lab in Peachtree Corners in September. The visit marks the second time a Finnish delegation has visited Peachtree Corners. Seven innovative Finnish companies traveled to the Atlanta area in search of U.S. partners to promote transatlantic trade between Finland and the United States. Japanese delegates involved in sectors such as automotive, technology, energy and corporate development also visited Peachtree Corners in December as part of a regional tour.
Construction of a co-working space, Roam, is well underway at the Town Center and will open in summer 2025. The 35,000-square-foot building is located at 3847 Medlock Bridge Road and will feature a rooftop event space, coffeeshop and cafe, in addition to workspaces.
An office building at 3585 Engineering Drive was demolished earlier this month to make way for a townhome community. The new 75-unit townhome project is under construction by D.R. Horton, which received rezoning approval from the city last February. The 102,000 SF office building sat vacant for many years.
Collaboration, renovation and more
Curiosity Lab announced a collaboration with Gama Sonic, a global leader in upscale, bright and durable solar lighting for homes, businesses and outdoor spaces. The company’s deployment of solar lighting in the City of Peachtree Corners marks its first deployment implementing customized, intelligent lighting programming timers that enhance safety for residents and visitors.
Brady Anderson Bennett recently opened a State Farm office at 3000 Northwoods Parkway. The 27-year-old has been working with State Farm since he was 18 years old.
Renovation is underway at 7050 Jimmy Carter Blvd. for the creation of a Planet Fitness. The gym is under development by Alder Partners/the Flynn Group. This location marks the 32nd location in metro Atlanta. It is expected to open in January.
There is also a relatively new Southern-inspired eatery you may want to try. Dahlia’s Restaurant & Porch, located inside the Hilton Atlanta Northeast hotel, opened this year. Dahlia’s offers Southern-style plates that leverage regionally sourced, farm-fresh ingredients.
Happy Holidays!
Mayor Mike Mason
Leroy Hite, founder of Cutting Edge Firewood — a luxury brand specializing in wood for fireplaces, grills, pizza ovens and firepits — shared his journey from starting a company to gaining national recognition during the PCBA Business After Hours Speaker Series in December.
Hite highlighted the industry’s disorganization and his innovative approach to firewood, including using ovens to dry the wood and improving on delivery methods. And he emphasized the importance of customer experience, branding and counter-cultural thinking.
Despite initial challenges and financial constraints at the beginning, his company grew significantly (even during the early days of COVID-19), achieving a 400% increase in sales.
Entrepreneurial spirit
The disorganization and lack of focus within the firewood industry is what initially prompted Hite to question its methods.
He thought he’d found the answer when he started a firewood company with friends while in college, winning a Kroger account for the entire Southeast. But the limited experience of Hite and his co-owners became evident quickly.
“We discovered how backwards the industry was for three college students to get that account with a username and password,” he said. “On the day of the bid, whoever put in the lowest number won the account.”
With the contract in hand, the guys were able to get loans and bought hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment that they didn’t know how to use.
“It would break every single day, so I had to teach myself how to fix it,” he said. “We hired 30 to 35 people off of Craigslist; I don’t advise you to do that.”
In the end, the guys realized they were in way over their heads. They couldn’t keep up with Kroger’s demand. But the experience gave Hite insight into a better way to deliver firewood.
“At the time, industry-wide, you would put the firewood in the back of a pickup truck, get a wheelbarrow, put it where they wanted it,” he said. “… to do a second delivery, you have to drive back and get more wood. So maybe you can do two deliveries a day.”
Hite devised a plan to have the wood palletized and use a mini skid steer, which allows you to get it closer to where it should be. What had taken 16 to 18 hours for two deliveries would now allow seven or eight deliveries in the same time frame.
After the first firewood business shut down, Hite worked with Chick-fil-A and then Enterprise Rent-A-Car for several years.
“It was great experience,” he said, though he couldn’t get firewood out of his mind.
Taking another chance
Hite considered getting back into the firewood business as a side gig, but eventually decided to leave his corporate job and pursue the business full time.
“A fire is like a beautiful sunset,” he said. “No one on earth dislikes it. A fire can be the center of a wedding party and can also add great taste to food — whether it’s steak, pizza or barbecue.”
When he started Cutting Edge, Hite wanted to fix the poor quality of wood and lack of branding and customer service.
He had an opportunity to purchase an existing business, but lacked the funding. So, he took a leap of faith.
“I had an outdated website. I had a truck, and I had a customer list. I realized I was going to be a supplier and that I needed to reinvent how to deliver firewood,” he said. “I [tried] to get a second loan on my house, [but] no banks would talk to me at the time.”
Hite convinced his wife, pregnant with their third daughter, to sell the house.
“We moved into a rental home, and I completely redid the branding. I reinvented how to do deliveries. I invented a rack that could be moved with a hand truck. And I found a hand truck that will go up and down stairs and one that will go across rough terrain,” he said. “So, the delivery went from two hours to about 15 minutes per delivery. And it was also a lot safer.”
Though COVID caused many businesses to go under, his thrived. It seemed that people stuck at home got a taste for food cooked over “fancy wood,” as he put it.
Goals and standards
Cutting Edge Firewood has two goals, Hite said: To provide unparalleled customer service and deliveries. And to provide the best firewood available. Period.
According to company literature, the Cutting Edge team “works with the best suppliers to ensure they consistently meet our high standards. All of our firewood undergoes the most rigorous drying process in the industry: each piece is conditioned for 48 hours in 250-degree heat. And our trained specialists hand-select each piece of firewood … ensuring that you only receive the very best — photoshoot-ready firewood that lights easily and burns brightly.”
Future plans
Although Hite didn’t go into detail, he sold Cutting Edge Firewood in August 2024, having built a strong brand and customer base in Atlanta and throughout the country.
“[Entrepreneurship] definitely isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s both demanding, disheartening and rewarding all at the same time,” he said. “I love it. I went in with a not-too-thin skin, but I definitely exited with very thick skin.”
Now that he’s been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, Hite indicated that he wants to venture out again. He reflected on the challenges and rewards of running the business, including the importance of customer experience and branding.
“The brand is very, very well-known in Atlanta. We were named a couple of times in Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of the fastest growing companies,” he said. “It’s rewarding. I’ve had Coca-Cola executives say that [they] know the branding and the customer service … [and] I’m pretty sure that Cutting Edge Firewood is being used in the White House.”
Hinting of a desire to move on to new ventures, possibly focusing on disrupting existing markets rather than creating new ones, Hite again emphasized the importance of counter-cultural thinking, pushing through discomfort and being driven by a passion for customer experience and innovation.
For more information about Cutting Edge Firewood, visit cuttingedgefirewood.com.
The Peachtree Corners Business Association (PCBA) awarded a check for $500 to the United Way of Greater Atlanta (Gwinnett County) at their Business After Hours networking event in November.
The local organization was chosen by PCBA’s Outreach Committee because of their commitment to providing assistance and bettering the lives of children within the community.
United Way of Greater Atlanta
The mission of United Way of Greater Atlanta is to engage and bring together people and resources to drive sustainable and equitable improvements in the well-being of children, families and individuals in local communities.
“Greater Atlanta is one of the most vibrant regions in the country, but the region has significant barriers to realizing its potential in the future because of its continued ranking at the bottom of the list of metro areas in income mobility,” stated Vanessa Roussell, United Way senior director of corporate relations.
“Children born in low-income households have only a 4% chance of getting out of poverty in their lifetime,” she continued. “We at United Way of Greater Atlanta don’t like those odds. Our work is about changing them so that children — regardless of where they’re born — have the chance to realize their potential and build lives that sustain themselves, their families and their communities.
Assessing needs within the county
The organization’s goal is to help every child unlock their full potential, by improving education, healthcare, resources and economic mobility in the communities where they live. Their “every child program” includes every child in Gwinnett.
Based on the 2023 census track for Gwinnett County, 94,308 people living in Gwinnett County are at risk, particularly in and around Sugar Hill/Buford, Duluth, Norcross, Lawrenceville, Lilburn and Snellville. The highest-need residents are located in the I-85 corridor, mainly around Duluth, Norcross and Lilburn.
Giving back to support the community
“The PCBA is proud to donate a check for $500 to United Way of Greater Atlanta (Gwinnett County),” said PCBA President, Lisa Proctor. “Our outreach committee and board are committed to supporting our community, and investing in the well-being of the children in our community aligns with our core principles. We know that our dollars will be targeted to help those at highest risk … We are glad to have the local Gwinnett chapter located right in our community.”
Funds for the PCBA Community Outreach Program are raised throughout the year from PCBA membership, sponsorship and an annual charity event. Donations and scholarships are awarded at their monthly events so that members have the opportunity to learn more about the community organizations and their programs.
Over the past 12 years, the PCBA has awarded 19 scholarships to outstanding graduating high school seniors and donated in excess of $165,500 back into the community.
About Peachtree Corners Business Association
“Where businesses come to grow,” the Peachtree Corners Business Association (PCBA) is a business membership organization that focuses on innovative approaches, programs, shared resources, community outreach and opportunities for member businesses and professionals to connect, develop, grow and prosper.
The PCBA is made up of businesses of all sizes and types who want to expand their reach and grow their business within Peachtree Corners and the greater metro Atlanta area.
For more information visit peachtreecornersba.com.
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