Suwanee, Georgia

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Suwanee

GEORGIA

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SUWANEE, GEORGIA has leveraged strategic public investment to spur downtown development and create a vibrant destination for locals and tourists alike. Master planning efforts, charrettes and citizen engagement have been used to clearly define a desired physical identity and specific types of development in downtown Suwanee. Inspired by those efforts, Suwanee made a commitment to publicly fund and develop remarkable green space and activated, interesting public spaces and streetscapes. Suwanee’s approach to its downtown has paid off as private developers have seen the city’s investment and are responding with their own. New developments and funding opportunities will further enhance Suwanee.

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOOLKIT

The Big Splash Interactive Fountain is one of the largest in Gwinnett County and uses up to 1,400 gallons of recycled water per minute.

Suwanee Town Center

| OVERVIEW

• The Suwanee Town Center is an award winning mixed use development in downtown Suwanee,which includes a ten acre urban park and contains a vibrant mixture of offices, retail space, and restaurants.It provides commercial, residential and public spaces, in addition to Suwanee’s new city hall.

• Development of the Suwanee Town Center is a product of many planning efforts over the course ofthree plus years with specific goals attached to each effort.

DEVELOPMENT STAGES

• Town Master Plan/Public Hearings

• Recreation and Open Space Needs Assessment/Public Hearings

• Old Town Master Plan (Urban Redevelopment Plan) and Public Hearings

• Design Charrette

• 2000 Comprehensive Plan

• Market Analysis

• Master Planned Adjoining Neighborhood

• Designed Town Center (Suwanee Town Center Master Plan)

FUNDING

• General Obligation Bonds

• Revenue Bonds (Urban Redevelopment Authority)

• Public Investment

• Private Investment

• SPLOST

• LCI Program Grant Funds

outcome + impact

• A public-private partnership provided for a 60+ acre mixed use and master planned development.

• Suwanee Town Center is an award winning development complete with multi-family residential units,130,000 square feet of office, commercial and civic uses, and Suwanee’s new city hall.

• Suwanee gained its desired community identity and was named one of America’s Best Places to Live byMoney Magazine.

• Shadowbrook Community, master planned along with Suwanee Town Center, was developed. It includesover 200 residential units and public green space.

• Suwanee Town Center caught the attention of the private market and spurred further investment inDowntown Suwanee.

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Downtown development has helped foster many community events, such as festivals and a weekly farmer’s market.

Adjacent to the Town Center, Solis Suwanee is a mixed-use development that features apartments, townhomes, and retail space.

Private Development

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOOLKIT

| SOLIS SUWANEE

• Solis Suwanee is a nearly $50 million development which will enhance the structure, feel and connectivity ofdowntown Suwanee.

• Solis Suwanee is a public-private partnership that includes 240 high-end apartment units, 12,000 square feet ofcity-owned retail space, 70 townhomes, 4 stories of structured parking and reconstruction of a detention pondinto a walkable downtown amenity.

• The Suwanee City Council recently rezoned the property for a second development phase. This addition willinclude additional residential and retail space and further enhance downtown Suwanee.

Public Investment

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| BUFORD HIGHWAY

• The project is a $16 million reconstruction ofSuwanee’s section of Buford Highway from McGinnisFerry Road to Lawrenceville Suwanee Road.

• The development creates further pedestrian andvehicle connectivity between Town Center and Old

• Town Suwanee. The project will include a roundabout,streetscaping, wide sidewalks, parklets,dedicated lanes for cyclists, and parallel parking.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOOLKIT

| TOWN CENTER PARK EXPANSION

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• Located in historic Old Town Suwanee, this park extension will provide for further connectivity, walkabilityand vibrancy in downtown Suwanee.

• The city council unanimously approved a masterplan for this 25 acre extension of Suwanee Town Center toinclude a signature bridge, sand pit volleyball courts, a water feature, and a large plaza.

• The land was acquired in 2002 as an early acquisition of the community-driven open space initiative, whichalso provided funds for Town Center Park. Public investment for the grading and improvements to thispreviously purchased land will total about $16 million.