Gwinnett to pay twice county’s appraised value for property

Despite opposition from the home district commissioner, Gwinnett County on Tuesday approved purchasing 33 acres near Lawrenceville for $2.3 million, a price twice the county’s appraised value for the property.

Located in a rural area off Givens Road, the land will be used as an adjunct to the still-undeveloped Palm Creek Park. It has been the subject of a lawsuit since last year, when the county denied a zoning request by owner Falcon Investments LLC to allow high-density housing.

District 3 Commissioner Mike Beaudreau, who represents the area, objected to the purchase, saying the county appraisers office puts the value of the property at $33,104 per acre, based on a study prepared for the county last year by Singleton Real Estate. An appraisal commissioned by Falcon in February, however, put the value at just more than $72,000 per acre.

The deal will pay Falcon $69,000 per acre.

Beaudreau also said there hasn’t been a master plan drawn up for the space devoted to Palm Creek Park. Adding more land now at such a cost, he said, makes no sense.

Beaudreau argued the county is not in the practice of relying on a non-county-approved appraiser to set its purchase price.

But Commission Chairman Charles Bannister and Commissioner Kevin Kenerly said fluctuations in appraisals are common.

Then, turning to his left, Bannister asked Beaudreau to provide the status of a proposed park at I-85 and Beaver Ruin Road, a 2007 land purchase of $4.7 million which Beaudreau voted for and Bannister opposed.

In later remarks, Bannister said the deal completed Tuesday “has just been laying around here for months, and commission District 3 wouldn’t act on it.”