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Sunday, April 1, 2007
Excited about Gwinnett Village’s future?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There has been a lot of talk about Gwinnett Village this and “The Village” that this past year. Some of you restless natives have even asked me “what is going on with the Village?” and when you can expect to see certain improvements as you relive our community’s glory days of old.
One year ago I said that the Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District was going to have to have something to show for all the talk we’ve heard.
I decided it was time I follow up with Chuck Warbington, Gwinnett Village Executive Director. He told me about the accomplishments of the past year, what projects are underway and what we can look forward to.
The accomplishments:
1.The Gwinnett Village CID was organized in a year’s time. It took the Gwinnett Place CID, nearly three years to accomplish the same feat.
2.More than 500 commercial property owners have signed up for the self taxing district to support the Village. They represent $1 billion of county-appraised property value.
3.The Quality of Life Unit is relocating from Lawrenceville to “The Village” on April 15 and increasing the number of code enforcement officers.
4.About 300 code violations have been corrected and more than 3,000 bags of trash have been collected.
5.Before the CID was formed, the area had approximately 60 to 70 officers. Today about 85 officers are patrolling our community.
6.Graffiti in the county overall is up 25 percent while in our community it has decreased by 20 percent.
7.The Oakbrook Industrial Park is up to 75 percent occupancy, “Furniture Row” is at 99 percent occupancy, signaling that businesses are taking notice and want to move their business here.
8.A one-mile stretch of sidewalks has been constructed along Thompson, Live Oak and Oakbrook Parkways.
This year you’ll be seeing or hearing a lot about a $3.3 million in sidewalk construction for various thoroughfares - Jimmy Carter Boulevard, Steve Reynolds Boulevard, and Beaver Ruin Road - and lots of land use studies. These include a watershed feasibility study and several transportation studies including one that would examine the possibility of separating truck traffic along Jimmy Carter Boulevard. (Hallelujah!)
You want something big? Well, the really big things will take time but will eventually happen. So be patient, grasshoppuhs.
One big thing we can be looking forward to is $800,000 worth of landscaping particularly along the ramps off I-85. This will act as a visual catalyst for change and improve the image of our community.
Are you excited about “The Village’s” future? You should be.
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