A Festival of Black History and Culture February 1-28 28 Days • 28 Events #RoswellRoots / roswellroots.com
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Alpharetta-Roswell
REVUE NEWS
January 29, 2015 | revueandnews.com | 75,000 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 33, No. 5
Roswell seeks to grow in 2015 Projects, bond on table By JONATHAN COPSEY jonathan@appenmediagroup.com
5G STUDIO COLLABORATIVE
The proposed Riverwalk Village is a 104-acre mixed-use development on the east side of Ga. 400 in Roswell. As currently envisioned, it will feature more than 1,500 residential units, 1.7 million square feet of office, a hotel and a school.
ROSWELL, Ga. – The city of Roswell is doing better than it has ever done and its future in 2015 looks bright. That is the summation from Roswell Mayor Jere Wood in his Jan. 22 State of the City address at the Kiwanis Club of Historic Roswell. Each year, Wood gives an update on how the city is doing and what major projects can be expected in the coming year.
Roswell boasts the lowest unemployment rate in the state, he said, and rising property values. The property values are up, he said, because the amount of available housing in the city is limited. More people want to come to the city than there are housing options available. At the same time, sales tax revenues are rising. The recession seems to be long behind Roswell. In fact, Wood said the income from sales taxes is higher than it’s ever been. All this revenue for the city means Roswell has more to
See WOOD, Page 45
Roswell gets first glimpse at Riverwalk Village 104-acre mixed use development at Ga. 400, Holcomb Bridge By JONATHAN COPSEY jonathan@appenmediagroup.com ROSWELL, Ga. – The next big project for North Fulton is the coming 104-acre mixed-use development of Riverwalk Village, at the intersection of Ga. 400 and Holcomb Bridge Road. Roswell NEXT, a networking and social group for Roswell, hosted an information meeting Jan. 22 at the Aurora Cineplex, where Riverwalk’s architects were able to present their ideas for the project to a crowd of residents. As presented, Riverwalk Village is an eco-
logically driven development that will include parks and public spaces, pedestrian-oriented areas near retail and entertainment and a system of public running, walking and biking trails that will connect the development and surrounding neighborhoods to the Chattahoochee River. The developer, Duke Land Group, holds more than $2 billion in real estate in the metro area. As Roswell Inc Executive Director Steve Stroud said, “They know what they are doing.” The Riverwalk property is 104 acres that follows the east side of Ga. 400 from just south of Holcomb Bridge Road south to touch the Chattahoochee River, with Old Alabama Road following the property to the east. Currently, some apartment buildings sit on the site. A large pond is in the center and feeds
See RIVERWALK, Page 43
JONATHAN COPSEY/STAFF
Roswell Mayor Jere Wood gave his annual State of the City address Jan. 22 to the Kiwanis Club of Historic Roswell.
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