A new era in Suwanee

When Dave Williams and his wife, Debbie, wandered into Suwanee 12 years ago, the small town in Gwinnett County was a very different place. There was little retail development, just one elementary school and a smattering of new subdivisions that were home to about 5,000 residents.

But the couple, then living in Cobb County, liked what they saw on the northeast side of metro Atlanta.

“Even in 1996, Suwanee was pretty far out there,” said Williams. “We started there early in our search, but we didn’t have a sense of the market. I think we looked at about 500 houses and wound up back here a year later and really liked what we saw, even though we didn’t know we were in the city limits. But we weren’t pioneers; we were on the beginning of a wave of growth.”

That wave crested across the street from the Williamses’ new house, when a zoning sign for an auto repair shop went up a few months after they moved in. Willams and his neighbors organized and successfully fought it.

“It was an eye-opener for me that we could actually have an impact on the local government,” said Williams, who soon became a fixture at City Council meetings. A year later he was voted onto the council. Today he’s mayor of Suwanee’s 17,000 residents. His top priority is carrying out a well-formulated plan for development.

“We realized at the end of the 1990s that if Suwanee was to become a special place, we needed a plan,” said Williams. “Our open-space program was key. In 2001, we voted $17.7 million to acquire green space, including the Town Center park area that started the development as we know it today.”

Trackside to Town Center

In the early 1990s, Suwanee’s hub was in the city’s oldest section along the train tracks. A handful of antique shops, churches and houses there hark back to the 19th century.

“It’s funny now that a lot of people know about Suwanee’s Town Center and don’t know Old Town,” said Williams. “Our goal is to connect the new downtown district —- with the new city hall and the town park —- with the historic area.”

Construction of the more contemporary Town Center off Buford Highway has given residents a focal place to shop, dine, socialize, relax and live. It’s home to real estate agent DeWayne Davis and his wife, Donna, who moved into a condo above the retail component two years ago.

“We were ready to downsize and loved the area with this mixed-use development and proximity to parks,” said Davis. “Then we found this two-bedroom condo with just over 2,000 square feet that didn’t feel like an uncomfortable squeeze and moved in.”

Davis, a former home inspector who now sells Suwanee properties, touts the city’s broad range of options for homeowners.

“The range here goes from below $100,000 to about $7.5 million,” he said. “But the median price of a typical, four-bedroom, single-family home is $301,000.”

Having a voice

Dick and Louise Goodman left Miami two years ago to be near their grandchildren in the area. The couple built a home in the Stonecypher neighborhood.

“We liked that this was a walking community, where there are sidewalks and front porches where you can meet your neighbors,” said Dick Goodman, 66. “We did not want to live in a retirement community but wanted to be where there are young people, singles, children, young marrieds and retirees.”

Though the couple had visited the area several times, their appreciation grew when they became residents.

“We soon became aware of what a unique place this is,” said Dick Goodman. “There are parks, greenways and amenities, but there is more to living in Suwanee than that. I find the people very welcoming and that participation is encouraged. There’s a government that tries to involve the citizens. Coming from an area with 2 million people and a government that was completely inaccessible, I knew I wanted to be somewhere where I had some say.”

A freelance writer, Dick Goodman chairs the city’s public arts commission, is part of a group studying the town’s water system and is on the downtown planning committee.

“Our focus is on closely integrating the vibrant, active part of town with the rest of the area and coming up with ways to make it easier to get around,” said Goodman. “We also want to bring back the historic downtown in some way.”

Keeping it green

For Phil Tickle, the key to Suwanee’s popularity is its green space. A member of the city’s Open Space committee, Tickle was part of Neighbors for Suwanee, which got citizens interested in green space goals.

“We spent a lot of time in 2001 getting a bond referendum passed to protect more than 300 acres from development and to create a park system that would be a very positive thing long-term,” said Tickle. “The result is we now have our Town Center and the new Sims Lake Park that are the envy of a lot of other places.”

The Town Center and the parks are regularly filled with locals attending a variety of community functions, said Tickle. “We go to Suwanee Day, the Taste of Suwanee and summer concerts without having to drive far.”

Amenities such as walking trails, parks, shopping and community events make Suwanee a good bet for buying a home, added Tickle.

“Our home values have probably been a little more stable because people still want to live here,” he said. “We have a tremendous amount to offer.”