Cities turn to art, liquor, karaoke to lure business

“We’re going back to a local city way of thinking,” City Manager Bob Hail said. “You can live here, work here and you can play here. That’s the whole idea.”

And it’s an idea that’s not unique to Sugar Hill. Over the past year, nearly a half-dozen small Gwinnett municipalities have raised their game on economic development initiatives.

Lilburn is singing a new tune on entertainment. Suwanee is shelling out big bucks for public art. Norcross is offering tax credits in an area ripe for revitalization. And Snellville is going to the legal mat over Sunday liquor sales.

“Trying to build up the appeal through all manner of things is the way of the world, and all communities do that,” said Georgia State University professor Gregory Streib, an authority in local governments. “Some succeed. Some fail. To do it right, they need to look at demographics.”

Typically, Streib said, a city’s success hinges on initiatives catered to its largest group of residents, from young families to empty nesters.

“All these are efforts to give people a reason to stay or generate revenue,” he said.

Lilburn’s new sound

To counteract decades of an anti-business reputation, Lilburn last year tackled its 1970s-era liquor laws. Among other things, those laws put the kibosh on interactive entertainment, from karaoke to trivia, at restaurants that serve alcohol.

“We heard a lot from our businesses that we were not business-friendly,” Mayor Diana Preston said. In fact, Lilburn got a jolt of that sentiment last January, when a smattering of businesses, all of them pubs, balked at the city’s efforts to annex them.

In the past year, the city has overhauled its alcohol ordinance more than six times. In addition to changing its tune on karaoke, Lilburn now allows liquor sales on patios and at special events.

But beyond booze, Lilburn has made sweeping changes to its sign ordinance, rolled out a new city logo and partnered with business leaders to form the Lilburn Community Improvement District along U.S. 29.

For Preston, the city’s efforts signal a change “in the way things were.” The mayor said the once-homespun community of 11,500 is now embracing the needs of a diverse pool of businesses and residents, particularly young adults.

For restaurateur John Souter, the repeal of Lilburn’s liquor laws has opened the door for trivia and karaoke nights at his Oyster Barn Grill & Bar on Beaver Ruin Road.

“On St. Patrick’s Day, we had a fellow come out and sing Irish songs. The place was packed. That wouldn’t have happened before,” Souter said. “The city is trying to do whatever they can to get business owners to survive.”

Suwanee’s niche: Art

In Suwanee, city leaders two years ago forged ahead with a bold plan to fund public art. They set aside $78,000 in their budget to commission a large suspended sculpture in the lobby of the new City Hall.

“Shimmering Echoes” represents the first concrete evidence of the city’s “1 percent for public art” policy in action. It also points to Suwanee’s efforts to stand out from the municipal crowd and use public art as a gateway to economic prosperity, city leaders said.

“We would like not to be one of Atlanta’s bedroom communities. We’d like to have our own identity,” city spokeswoman Lynne DeWilde said.

But art isn’t Suwanee’s only draw, Mayor Dave Williams noted. Over the years, the city has invested in public safety, trails and parks. It is a perennial fixture on Money magazine’s list of “Best Places to Live.” Despite the downturn, five new businesses, three of them restaurants, are setting up shop in Town Center, the mayor said.

Atlanta Regional Commission Chairman Tad Leithead, who spoke at the March 25 dedication of “Shimmering Echoes,” said Suwanee’s commitment to public art and parks underscores a sense of community — a driving force in wooing residents and businesses alike.

“Quality of life is really ruling the day as companies are looking for places to set up,” Leithead said. “They want to know that their employees are going to find a place to raise children, a place to re-create. That at the end of the day is economic development.”

Norcross in the zone

Five months ago, Norcross established an economic opportunity zone — the first of its kind in Gwinnett County — along Buford Highway. These zones are designated areas in which businesses gain tax credits as incentives for creating jobs, up to $3,500 per job.

Mayor Bucky Johnson said the city of 10,500 is hoping the move will attract a diverse crop of businesses along Buford Highway. And coupled with the city’s overlay district, it could help pave the way for new mixed-use development — a revitalization promise shared by sister cities Duluth and Suwanee.

“We’re setting the table, as it were,” Johnson said. “It’s really futuristic looking, as in our case, a redevelopment issue and a way to reinvent ourselves.”

In fact, the city recently retooled its marketing campaign to attract what it calls the “creative class,” a well-educated, tech-minded group to its downtown district. There, folks can stroll past retailers and restaurants and through the city’s recently unveiled Lillian Webb Park.

“From my perspective, it’s really about the experience,” said downtown manager Tixie Fowler. “It’s not all about ‘come live here, come do your business here.’ It’s ‘come experience it and come back later.’ ”

Snellville’s linchpin

If you ask some folks in this city of 20,000, economic growth is tied to alcohol sales. In December, the City Council amended its liquor laws so struggling restaurants could pour on Sundays.

By some accounts, business boomed. Texas Roadhouse said sales at its Snellville location increased over the three weeks it served beer and wine, up 39 percent over the first Sunday and 65 percent over the second Sunday.

Then in January, a Gwinnett judge overturned the city’s decision, ruling it should have conducted a referendum first. Since then, Snellville has waged a political and legal battle over Sunday sales, what the mayor calls the “linchpin” to the city’s economic future. The next hearing is Friday.

“The last thing major that opened up was Best Buy three or four years ago,” Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer said. “We’ve lost shops and restaurants that have moved outside town.”

David Stedman, economic development director for the Evermore Community Improvement District, believes Sunday sales has a multiplier effect. It not only ropes in restaurants, but it also attracts retailers and hotels, creates jobs and boosts city coffers, Stedman said.

“Most studies show that communities that limit alcohol sales do worse when it comes to recruiting businesses,” he said.

Marilyn Swinney, a six-year resident, said the ban has kept the city from entering “modern times.”

“This may have been a little, small town at one time, but it’s not that way anymore,” Swinney said. “People want modern conveniences. They want it close to home.”