A new mixed-use development near the Mall of Georgia could add 500 more apartments, plus a food hall, movie theater and a brewery if Gwinnett County commissioners give the thumbs-up.
The board of commissioners approved plans for the Exchange at Gwinnett in November 2018, giving the go-ahead for the development on 64 acres of land between Coolray Field and the Mall of Georgia. The project, backed by Fuqua Development, already included 500 apartments, a 123-room hotel, restaurants, retail shops and a "golf entertainment complex" with a driving range and full bar.
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New plans submitted to the county April 15 on behalf of Fuqua detail an additional 34.5 acres that would be connected to the Exchange. Fuqua, the firm that developed the Battery at SunTrust Park, wants to add 172,500 square feet of additional retail and restaurant space, a medical building and a variety of additional amenities on this new plot of land at the intersection of Buford and Laurel drives. The plan would also double the initially proposed number of apartments in the development.
The proposed expansion of the Exchange project includes
• Movie theater
• “Central promenade” connecting the new development to the Exchange property
• Food hall
• Town green and courtyard, which would host events including “cooking and kitchen equipment demonstrations, health and wellness seminars, fitness classes, yoga and other similar activities”
• Food truck alley
• Stage for music, plays and “sporting event and concert streaming”
• A “brewpub, mircrobrewery and/or microdistillery” with a rooftop patio
• Regular farmers markets, art fairs, festivals and other events
• Outdoor recreation including bocce ball, pickleball and cornhole
• A “fashion hall catering to boutique and retail shops”
• Three-story medical office building including doctor’s offices, lab and testing facilities
• 500 apartments
Renderings show the new development would share the Exchange at Gwinnett branding, and the food hall would be called Buford Social.
No recommendation for approval or denial has been made by the county’s planning and development department. The plan is scheduled for a public hearing in June.
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