For more than two decades, Gwinnett County has been the quintessential bedroom community, home to far-flung cul-de-sac subdivisions full of starter home commuters who made their way downtown to Atlanta every day.

But the times, they are changing. Nowadays, going downtown may mean walking to the square in Lawrenceville or Norcross from a nearby townhome. Rather than boarded-up storefronts, those squares are now home to gourmet restaurants and a range of services homeowners once had to drive to a shopping mall for. As home buyers reconnect with the county's historic town centers, they join a trend happening all over metro Atlanta.

Christopher Oquendo/Special (ENLARGE)

Marilyn Rogers says the downtown Norcross community quickly embraced her and her husband.

Christopher Oquendo/Special (ENLARGE)

Marilyn and Philip Rogers' home, built in about 1909, boasts a large lot and front porch. It's just a block from the historic Norcross downtown.

Christopher Oquendo/Special (ENLARGE)

Shops and restaurants line Main Street in downtown Norcross. More and more people are deciding to move where amenities are within walking distance.

Christopher Oquendo/Special (ENLARGE)

Robert and Grace Cain were married in downtown Lawrenceville and will soon move back with the completion of the Cornerstone on the Square development.

Christopher Oquendo/Special (ENLARGE)

Marie Beiser of the Lawrenceville DDA remembers how busy the square was in the '60s. It has now seen a resurgence.

The "new urbanism" wave is remaking town centers all across the region. Norcross and Lawrenceville are good examples of how town squares now attract home buyers who want to be within walking distance of the restaurants they frequent, the dry cleaners they use, the grocery stores where they shop, even the places where they work. And they want to run into their neighbors in the process, get to know them, and join the fun of reclaiming small-town life.

Lawrenceville is still the seat for Gwinnett County government, with a historic courthouse on the square. "Where there were once residences, commercial uses took over, and by [the] late 1990s probably less than 50 people still lived within walking distance of the square," says Emory Morsberger of the Morsberger Group, one of the major developers revitalizing Lawrenceville.

Now there are almost a dozen buildings that have been remodeled and refurbished as offices, retail centers, restaurants and coffee shops, says Marie Beiser, vice chairwoman of the Lawrenceville Downtown Development Authority. "Aurora Theatre was looking for a home, and they came in and took over the home of the old Methodist church on the square, and that's now the Lawrenceville Cultural Arts Center," she says. "The city built a parking garage to create parking for downtown and for the theater."

And jobs abound in Lawrenceville these days. The Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center is one block off the square; Gwinnett Medical Center and Gwinnett College are nearby.

Morsberger is hoping to attract people back from their far-flung neighborhoods into the city. "Over the next five years, we hope to build 500 homes within walking distance of the square," he says.

Nearby in Norcross, the 1990s found half the downtown storefronts vacant. Every year, another merchant would go out of business. There were no restaurants downtown, and residents were few and aging.

"Now Norcross is becoming more attractive to a creative class of people, and there's a surge of new development," says Skip Nau, chairman of Norcross' DDA. "There are 593 homes currently under construction or on the books to be built within a quarter mile radius of downtown."

Nau, who has lived in the area for 24 years, says the good news is Buford Highway and Peachtree-Industrial siphoned away the big commercial development, and I-85 provides access to jobs, so the blossoming downtown business district still retains its historic charm.

"What's happening here is happening in every little town in America," says Beiser. "People are moving back, town centers are being revitalized. When people see the success [Morsberger] will have with his Cornerstone on the Square development, we think they'll also come along and build townhomes and condos with retail on the bottom so people can live and play in the same area."

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE CITY OF NORCROSS

Population: 9,500

Town center: A narrow swath about a mile long along Main Street

Location: Gwinnett County, between Buford Highway and Peachtree-Industrial Boulevard

Web site: www.norcrossga.net

Incorporated: Oct. 26, 1870

Charlie Riehm, Norcross mayor pro tem, recites a list of successful new projects in downtown Norcross. "Colonel Jones Park, developed about five years ago with large new houses; Lum Howell Park with 24 Craftsman-style houses on compact lots selling in the $500,000s; go on up to the top of the hill to Autry Street and there's Hedgewood Properties' 12-acre development; Seven Norcross. And we've got eight great restaurants to boot."

The big project being spearheaded by the Norcross DDA is a 4-acre mixed-use development under way around an old ball field right behind Main Street. There'll be a community park with walking paths, waterfalls and fountains and mixed-use development all around. If all goes well, the newest residents of Norcross' Webb Field Town Center will be moving in by the end of 2008.

Developer Miller Lowry of Unique Homes lives in the middle of Norcross surrounded by his work. "Norcross is a really tight-knit community with activities going on all year round. After the Fourth of July fireworks show, neighbors just drop in on all the parties around town; there are concerts in the summer, an arts festival, car shows."

Robin Lanese of ReMax of Greater Atlanta agrees that living in Norcross can be like living in Mayberry. "Once any of the longtime residents learn which house you live in, from that moment on you're referred to as the people who live in the old 'such-and-such' house. The residents here enjoy the simple pleasures, too. The town is full of large beautiful pecan trees. We used to gather them by the box full in our backyard. You may still find our mayor, Miss Lillian, gathering up the pecans around City Hall."

Lanese loves the historic homes. "We have big, beautiful Victorians and lots of Craftsman-style homes from the turn of the century. And it's exciting to see all the new development with its similar reproduction homes and the resurgence of the area."

WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE CITY OF LAWRENCEVILLE

Population: 22,397

Total area: 13.05 square miles

Location: Central Gwinnett, west of I-85 and south of Ga. 316

Web site: www.lawrencevillega.gov

Incorporated: Dec. 15, 1821

Marie Beiser and her husband, Bob, moved to Lawrenceville in the 1960s. "When we came, there were no apartments, so we rented part of a beautiful old house near the square," remembers Marie. "People came in to the county seat on Saturdays to do their shopping. You'd see all the people you knew getting their shopping done. And we'd walk up to the square to catch the Greyhound bus into Atlanta for things we just couldn't find here at home."

"All that changed in the late 1960s when shopping centers started coming in. The next generation grew up going to malls, and the stores around the square began to close. Subdivisions were built a mile from the square, and the focus moved away," she says.

Now Emory Morsberger is developing Cornerstone on the Square with 33 residential units. It's a first step in bringing people back downtown to live. "Lawrenceville has disposable income, is educated and has a tremendous appreciation for the arts," he says. "The folks moving in are financially secure, and they are people who like being around other people."

One couple, Grace and Robert Cain, are taking advantage of this new development to return to downtown Lawrenceville after being off the square for 55 years.

Their ties to Lawrenceville: "My family ran the Button Gwinnett Hotel in the building that is now Dominick's restaurant. I remember skating on the courthouse square. We had our wedding reception in the hotel and started off our married life living in the hotel 55 years ago," says Grace.

The change they're making: Bob says, "I was born in 1932 on Pleasant Hill Road and lived on the family farm. We ended up with part of Grace's family land, 34 acres on the Yellow River, and our kids have homes on the property as well. Now we're all selling, and Grace and I are moving to town. We should be able to move into our new home at Cornerstone on the Square around September 2008."

What they bought: A two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath condo on the third floor. They've got a little over 1,600 square feet with a view of the historic courthouse.

How they feel about moving back: "This is the perfect place to live for the rest of our years. We can walk to our church, walk to the theater, walk to restaurants. We go to the concerts on the square in the summer, we go shopping here and sometimes we come just to walk around," says Grace. "I said for a long time I'd like to live on the square, and just never dreamed someone would come along and build something. When we heard about Cornerstone, I said, 'I want the first one,' and we got it."

CORNERSTONE ON THE SQUARE

Address: 186 Crogan St., Lawrenceville

Telephone: 770-338-4980

Web site: cornerstoneonthesquare.com

Price range: Condos starting in low to mid-$300,000s; townhomes starting in mid-$300,000s; courtyard homes starting in mid-$400,000s

Year built: Will be ready for occupancy in 2008

Standard features: 5-inch-wide, site-finished hardwood plank floors, granite countertops in kitchen and baths, stainless steel appliances, 42-inch maple cabinetry, ceramic-tiled baths, jetted garden tub in master, covered porches, 8-foot solid core doors, 10-foot ceilings (condos), 9-foot and 10-foot ceilings (townhomes/courtyard homes), direct vent gas fireplaces (townhomes/courtyard homes), elevators (courtyard homes), 2-car garages (townhomes/courtyard homes), 1 assigned covered parking space and 1 assigned uncovered parking space (condos).

Amenities: Gated community; designated pet walk; balconies; walking distance to downtown Lawrenceville's restaurants, shops, historic courthouse square and Aurora Theatre; off-street parking.

Number of units: 33 homes (12 condos, 17 townhomes, 4 courtyard homes)

Square footage: 1,509-2,762

Association fee: $175 monthly, townhomes; $195, courtyard homes; $274-289, condos. Covers exterior maintenance, exterior insurance, trash collection, grounds maintenance, entrance and pedestrian gate, reserves; for condos, also covers elevator and common area maintenance, basic phone line.

Broker: The Marketing Directors Inc.

Developer/builder: Morsberger Group, partnered with Noro Management

Schools: Lawrenceville Elementary, J.R. Richards Middle, Central Gwinnett High

Getting there: Take I-85 North to Ga. 316 East. Exit at Ga. 120 (Lawrenceville/Duluth) and turn right onto Duluth Highway N.W./Ga. 120. Continue on Ga. 120, which becomes West Crogan Street once you reach downtown Lawrenceville. Sales center on right between Dominick's and Lil' River Grill.

ONE HOME NEAR THE SQUARE

Marilyn and Philip Rogers purchased one of Norcross' turn-of-the-century homes from Lanese.

How they ended up in Norcross: Marilyn says, "We were living in Lawrenceville and had been coming to the Iron Horse pub here in Norcross for years. When we went house shopping, we were looking for a place that was closer to where Philip works, and we're foodies, so we wanted to be near our favorite restaurants, Dominick's and Piazanos. It just made sense to look in Norcross."

What they bought: "We both love old homes, and you don't find many these days. When we found this one, it was perfect. Built in about 1909, it has a lot that's almost an acre, with three bedrooms and two baths and a wonderful porch across the front," Marilyn says. "And we're a block from downtown."

Small-town life: "When people meet us, they say, 'Oh, you're the people who live in the pink house,' " she says with a laugh. "But how many places can you live where you can get dressed up for dinner, walk out the door to a really nice restaurant, walk a few more blocks for an after-dinner drink and then walk back home?"

How quickly they got involved in city life: "We went to our first town meeting, and the next thing we knew, we had volunteered for the Art Fest and the home tour," she says. "People here just embrace you. Philip and I have both lived in lots of different places, and I have to say it's very difficult to find what we have here in Norcross."