GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners approved a plan to purchase 39 acres of the Gwinnett Place Mall site during its Tuesday meeting, county officials said.
The Duluth-area property is being purchased for $23 million from Gwinnett Place Mall GA, LLC, which has owned the core parcels of the 90+ acre retail development since 2013. The deal is expected to close in 90 days, officials said.
The purchase, according to the county, is part of an effort by "to create new opportunities for catalytic development in the area."
“This will be a tremendous asset for Gwinnett,” said Gwinnett County Commission Board Chairman Charlotte Nash. “We’ve been working for a number of years to purchase this property that is central to our community’s geography and its recent history. There’s incredible opportunity here, and I believe that with careful planning and involvement from the community we can create a redevelopment that will be a place of pride for every Gwinnett resident.”
According to the county, it will begin a "comprehensive planning process" in the coming months to explore ways to redevelop the site.
“When paired with the parcels we already own and the greenspace we are developing nearby, this has the potential to change the entire trajectory of that area of the county," explained District 1 Commissioner Jace Brooks.
Completed in 1984, the Gwinnett Place Mall site encompasses more than 90 acres, according to the county. The mall fell on difficult times in the mid-2000s, but was making somewhat of a minor "comeback," thanks to Georgia's booming film industry, which used the mall as the backdrop for several films and TV shows - most notably, Netflix's "Stranger Things."
However, the mall's strategic location to Interstate 85 has made it a prime location for development, including in areas of transit - the county has already acquired about 10 acres to develop a new transit center. And 11Alive's news partners at the Atlanta Business Chronicle report the county could also seek opportunities to increase parks and trails around the mall.
After the deal closes, the county said management of the site will be transitioned to the county's Urban Redevelopment Agency, which was created by the Board in 2009 with a focus on “rehabilitation, conservation or redevelopment” of places within the county.