Plan includes housing, greenspace, cultural center

(Lawrenceville, Ga., Feb. 28, 2023) – The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners today adopted a Gwinnett Place Mall Site Revitalization Strategy that focuses on housing, mobility and greenspace.

This decision follows two separate, public-input-intensive studies of the Gwinnett Place Mall area and its potential redevelopment. The first, now known as the Equitable Redevelopment Plan to Reclaim Gwinnett Place Mall and adopted by the Board last August, was created through a series of community-driven feedback sessions to ensure local voices were heard. Residents requested housing, small businesses, cultural activity center, neighborhood services and jobs.

The second study – a partnership between Gwinnett County, the Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District and the Atlanta Regional Commission through their Livable Centers Initiative program to develop a revitalization strategy – included the surveys of more than 6,000 community members and in-depth market analyses. The result is a redevelopment action plan for transforming the area into a concept called the Global Villages, which comprises seven different villages surrounding a central park.

Board Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson said the Global Villages concept ensures an inclusive and equitable redevelopment for current residents and businesses.

“The mall revitalization has never been a top-down approach. At its foundation, we wanted to hear public feedback to shape our decisions,” Hendrickson said. “As our main stakeholders, their opinions, foresight, time and commitment were key elements to confidently move the project forward.”

The Gwinnett Place Mall Site Revitalization Strategy includes an action plan for the redevelopment, which is expected to take place over the next 20 years.

“This is history in the making, and I’m honored to have a front row seat,” said District 1 Commissioner Kirkland Carden. “As the commissioner who represents the mall area, I wanted to make sure it is an economic force for Gwinnett County. Our vote tonight will make that happen.”