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Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Run-down retail center now easy on the eyes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What a difference a year makes.
And in the case of Lilburn Square, a strip mall on Lawrenceville Highway, it’s distinct.
If you shopped at or drove by the retail center last year, here’s what you saw: A complex that hadn’t had a paint job in, oh say, one or two decades. A weathered parking lot with faded stripping. Dilapidated store signs. Junk vehicles.
In essence, the Square was a mess, and it was right in the heart of Lilburn.
Drive by today. It’s like night and day.
The parking lot’s been resurfaced and restriped. The building has a new paint job. There’s new, illuminated signage. A total make-over.
“It makes me proud,” said Eddie Price, a Lilburn city councilman. “We’re seeing improvements. The property owners and city came to an agreement.”
You may remember Lilburn Square. It was the first strip mall I wrote about in a series of columns devoted to unkempt retail centers in Gwinnett. With your help, we compiled a “List of Shame” in which I cherry-picked centers and described their shortcomings in AJC Gwinnett News.
I pass by Lilburn Square several times a week, and had noticed the cosmetic changes. It was a call from Howard W. Brown Jr., though, that prompted me to write a column that notes the turnaround. He’s the city’s neighborhood improvement manager.
As a follow-up to our conversation, he e-mailed me before and after photographs of the property. They show what it was and what it’s become. Startling makeover. Brown says the building hadn’t been painted in 15 or 20 years.
“The owner tried pressure-washing it, but we told him that wasn’t going to cut it,” he said. “He’s taken down nonconforming signage and put up signs in line with our current code. He restriped the parking lot area and repainted the building.”
The square, according to city records, belongs to a corporation — Podber Limited Partnership of Atlanta. It consists of Abe and Morris Podber. Back in February 2006, I tried to interview Abe Podber, the manager, about the site’s condition, but he ended the telephone conversation abruptly.
Brown suspects that the Podbers thought the city was harassing them for the sake of harassment. While they may not realize it, the partners just may benefit from City Hall’s diligence.
“This helps everybody,” Price, the councilman, told me. “It gives the town better street appeal, and he’ll be able to attract better tenants. That’s what it’s all about. It’s just a shame it took this long.”
Because the Podbers cooperated with the city, the city suspended the fees of several citations issued for noncompliance. They didn’t want to be punitive. They simply wanted the property cleaned up, and maintained.
“I’ve been watching that site for quit some time,” said Brown, noting that the city file on Lilburn Square dates to January 2006.
“It’s one of our older strip centers, and was one of the most challenging because of its age. Now he’s in compliance. He just needs to make sure that he maintains his property.”
— Rick Badie’s column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail rbadie@ajc.com.
Before: A year ago, Lilburn Square — a strip mall on Lawrenceville Highway — was in need of a paint job and new signs.
After: Lilburn Square now has a fresh coat of paint and new signs. In addition, the parking lot has been resurfaced and restriped.
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The Badie Tour: March 7
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Narcissistic. Self-centered. That’s how a recent study describes today’s college students. Rick Badie, your AJC Gwinnett News columnist, heads over to Georgia Gwinnett College to hang out with Generation Y. He’ll be on campus, at 1000 University Center Lane, Lawrenceville, starting at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Read his report, in print and online, in Thursday’s AJC Gwinnett News.
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