Sugar Hill, Georgia

Sugar

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOOLKIT

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Hill

GEORGIA

THE CITY OF SUGAR HILL has created and nurtured downtown growth by listening to its citizens and following through on their desire for a vibrant downtown with extensive planning and development. Now, local calls for a new downtown destination have been answered through the construction of the E Center. Local developers took note and have invested over $160 million in Sugar Hill’s future. Sugar Hill demonstrates the importance of coalition building and illustrates how private investment can follow public initiative.

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The splash pad behind City Hall is a kid-friendly downtown attraction. It alsoincludes a Family Plaza and several shaded picnic tables for family members.

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The E Center includes a stormwater detention facility for downtown developments and an amphitheater known as “The Bowl” that hosts several concerts and community events each year.

Master Planning

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The City of Sugar Hill invested in a master planning process that was firmly grounded in public input.

• The City of Sugar Hill engages with private consultantsto conduct wide ranging public input processes.

• They utilize social media to communicate effectively.

• The city is tapped into a network of community groupsthat provide critical feedback to the planning process.

The city’s strategic investments were built on the need to create a vibrant, desination space that was identified as early as the original 2005 planning process which led to the city’s first master plan and ever-evolving and living compass for development. Building a coalition created the support needed to make a sizable investment in downtown and allowed people to become invested in the success of the Bowl, community plaza, and the new E Center because it was their idea.

Economic Tools

| INVESTMENT

• Land has been used to attract proper investment thataligns with the city’s overall development goals.

| INCENTIVES

• Adequate planning and existing infrastructure breakdown many barriers to new developments and serveas incentives. The city ensured that downtown hasadequate water and sewer capacity, gas access, andaccess to land that is able to be developed.

| ALCOHOL ORDINANCES

• The city has an open container ordinance intheir entertainment district with Sunday toSunday consumption sales. This is critical tovibrancy and is important to the success ofmany restaurants.

| TADs

• The city is authorized for TADs (Tax Allocation Districts), but does not use them due to lackof school board involvement.

Highlight

Regional stormwater detention facility

The facility drains 18 acres of downtown. Developers do nothave to build storm water detention and can instead pipe to aregional facility, saving them millions of dollars.

Cost: Part of $17 million City Hall, community plaza, and Bowl development.

| STREETSCAPING

Streetscape and Greenspace Improvements

Cost: $5-6 million in splost + general fund cash

• The streetscape improvements and utility upgrades that occurred in 2011 created a walkable,connected, and beautiful area that included the required utility upgrades for future investment.

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| SUGAR HILL GREENWAYCost: $1 MILLION PER MILE

• The Sugar Hill Greenway is a 16 mile loop connecting parks and other amenities, such as picnic shelters and bike repair stations. By 2019, the first five mile segment will connect downtown to nearby parks.

city hall

| COST: $11 million

Public Investments

City hall sits at the heart of downtown beside the E Center and The Bowl at Sugar Hill. It houses the community plaza and city offices and provides an attractive anchor to Sugar HIll.

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CITY HALL UPGRADESLAND ACQUISITION

| COST: $3.5 million in SPLOST and cash funding

| COST:

• Construction included an upgraded and attractive plaza that serves as a public programming

• Land for E Center: $1,025,000 | 1.81 acres

• JW Trucks Facility: $1.5 million | 2.8 acres

space. The stormwater utility system that drainsthe E Center and other downtown propertiesis incorporated as a water feature.

> Critical to access E Center and downtown landscape

• Atlas Auto: $1.1 million> Provides road frontage on Highway 20 with view of the Bowl, E Center, and downtown

> Additional parcels of land that are central to downtown Sugar Hill have also been purchased over time,which allows the City of Sugar Hill to control future development on the land beside and near City Hall.

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City Hall is home to many administrative offices and public meeting spaces. It also includes two-story parking deck.

E CENTER

| COST: $42 million in taxable and exempt revenue bonds

Construction for the E Center is nearing completion and will provide several opportunities for restaurants, retail, offices, and entertainment spaces, including a community theater.

E stands for everything — excitement, engagement, eating, and everything you canimagine! What began as an idea for a gymnasium became an additional 40,000square feet of retail and restaurant space with a performing arts center and otheramenities. Designed to draw in investment, the E Center is focused on attracting retailand restaurants that reflect the community and uniqueness of downtown.

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| DETAILS | IMPACT

• Currently sixty percent leased

• Housing study informed planning

• Required master planning, intensive communityengagement, and coalition building

• Creates vibrant, walkable destination

• Causes a “halo effect” on surrounding areaswhich motivates investment

Private Investments

| BROADSTONE AT SUGAR HILLCost: $75 million private investment

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• Broadstone includes 315 urban apartments and 10 carriage houses. Construction will begin inlate 2018.

• A developer purchased an elementary school and the surrounding parcel of land from thecity, which helps to control overall development. It included a town green; however, they arerequired by the city to build more green space.

| PRESTWICK

Cost: private investment

• Prestwick will bring mixed use development space and 200 residential housing units to thedowntown area. The development will be integrated into the landscape architecturally withsculptures and water features. Construction is expected to begin in 2019.

• The project will include a brewpub, despite its proximity to a neighboring church. For years, thecity has included local churches in the planning process critical to the success of future projects.

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| DOGWOOD FOREST

Cost: $45 MILLION private investment

• Dogwood Forest is a 150,000 square foot assisted living facility with 82 assisted living unitsand approximately 25 specialized memory care units. The development is expected to breakground in 2019.

• The property was sold to a developer for a profit. The Downtown Development Authority (DDA)issued phantom bonds and the city provided an eight-year tax abatement to the developer.

BROADSTONEPRESTWICK

DOGWOOD FOREST

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IMPACT

Multiple community needs met

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> The Broadstone and Prestwick developments will provide luxury urban apartments that enhance the tax base, activate downtown, and address diverse housing needs within the community.

> Dogwood Forest fulfills the need for housing for an aging population.