(Lawrenceville, Ga. June 7, 2022) – When it comes to revitalizing Gwinnett Place Mall, Gwinnett residents have spoken: They would like to see affordable housing, neighborhood services, incentives for existing businesses in the area, job support and a central location with regional and accessible transit. 

 “It’s not often that we have the chance to revive a site that holds fond memories for so many,” said Gwinnett County Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson. “The County pursued this work with the goal of centering marginalized communities most at risk of displacement through large-scale redevelopments such as this one.”

In addition to the Community Partner Advisory Board guiding the process, several community-driven events were held over the course of the last year to streamline responses and gain valuable feedback. Last September, an Open House served as an interactive hub for questions centered around equity. From there, the CPAB hosted several small-group conversations coined Meetings-in-a-Box, followed up by one-on-one interviews and a questionnaire. Finally, the advisory board hosted the Reclaim Gwinnett Place Mall Block Party to facilitate and finalize the redevelopment discussion.

“We are doing something we’ve never done before in this region,” said District 1 Commissioner Kirkland Carden. “The plan is a thoughtful market-driven approach that reinvests in the economic engine for our county.”

Here is a breakdown of the five themes that emerged from the community’s responses:

• Housing: Ensure existing residents of the mall can remain in the area and share in the benefits of redevelopment
• Neighborhood Services: Support existing and new Gwinnett residents as the County grows and becomes increasingly diverse
• Small Business: Offer existing businesses in the mall area new opportunities to grow and thrive
• Jobs: Generate jobs for Gwinnett residents that enable them to support themselves and their families
• Cultural Activity Center: Become a vibrant, regional destination, with transit connectivity, that generates prosperity for communities and the County

In the next major milestone for the mall’s future, the Board of Commissioners will evaluate themes from the Reclaim Gwinnett Place Mall Project and outcomes from the Gwinnett Place Livable Centers Initiative study and use the findings from both plans to prepare a Request for Information to solicit proposals for the redevelopment of Gwinnett Place Mall.