Snellville will hold a Thursday groundbreaking for its new downtown project, The Grove at Towne Center.

The $85 million first phase of the project is a mixed-use town center in the city’s downtown. Scheduled to open next year, it will have more than 50,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, office and entertainment space, and more than 250 apartments.

The area will also have a new library which will include a business development and accelerator space on its second floor.

The project will be built on 18 acres between Oak Road, Wisteria Drive, North Road and Clower Street. It’s being developed by CASTO and MidCity.

“We’re ecstatic to begin visible progress on this long-awaited project,” Snellville Mayor Barbara Bender said in a statement. “This is a momentous occasion.”