The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night approved a strategy to revitalize the nearly-vacant Gwinnett Place Mall near Duluth.
The board plans to redevelop the 90-acre mall site as a largely residential mixed-use area with green space, accessible through multiple modes of transportation. The concept, called “Global Villages,” centers on seven multi-family residential buildings and a cultural activity center around a park.
The design envisions international restaurants, cultural shops and flexible co-working office space. A greenway trail connected to the countywide trail network would circle the site and a new transit center is being designed nearby. Most of the existing mall would be demolished.
The strategy also incorporates an equity plan the board adopted last year that includes affordable housing, small business incubation and neighborhood services. The plan also calls for incentivizing developers to hire local residents of color.
The area around the mall is among the most diverse in the South, with many immigrant-owned businesses but high levels of economic and housing insecurity, according to the equity study.
The county partnered with the Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District and the Atlanta Regional Commission to create the redevelopment action plan. It was informed by a study that incorporated market analyses and feedback from more than 6,000 community members, according to a county news release.
“The mall revitalization has never been a top-down approach,” County Commission Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson said in the release. “At its foundation, we wanted to hear public feedback to shape our decisions.”
The redevelopment is expected to take place over 20 years.
“This is history in the making, and I’m honored to have a front row seat,” District 1 Commissioner Kirkland Carden said in the release. “As the commissioner who represents the mall area, I wanted to make sure it is an economic force for Gwinnett County.”
Gwinnett Place Mall, built in 1984, led an economic boom in the area, which became the county’s unofficial downtown until the mall began to decline about 15 years later. The county bought 39 acres of the mall property two years ago for $23 million.
“I want to thank the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners for their vision and support,” Gwinnett Place CID Executive Director Joe Allen said in a Wednesday news release. “Last night was the culmination of our shared efforts to create a road map for a vibrant and economically prosperous future for the mall site. But now the real work begins as we continue our partnership to make the plan a reality.”
According to a preliminary estimate, Gwinnett County could invest an additional $158 million in the property, not including demolition or affordable housing costs.
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