The Greens Corner shopping center once offered a cadre of independent stores anchored by Kmart, the primary tenant. This strip mall, at Rockbridge Road and Jimmy Carter Boulevard, was a major draw for residents of apartment complexes and subdivisions that blanket the area, not to mention employees at the former Western Electric plant at I-85.
Times have changed in an area that could easily be described as the ethnic epicenter of Gwinnett County. An international farmers market made a go of it in the old Kmart building for a while, then closed. And various businesses, from an international cinema to a fast-food Chinese restaurant, have given it a shot. Rainbow, a clothing store, is the only business currently in the strip mall, but that’s about to change.
Recently, Wal-Mart announced plans to build a 151,000-square-foot shopping center on the site. Gwinnett County commissioners approved the company’s request in early October. The action was taken with barely a whimper of the type of protests that can accompany proposals for this retail giant to set up shop in a community.
One example: When another Wal-Mart store was proposed in Gwinnett, 100 or so people turned out at Snellville City Hall to protest. City leaders, by a 4-2 vote, approved that request.
In Norcross, with this Wal-Mart, the welcome mat was laid out. News that the company is establishing a market in this part of town appears to have thrilled county and city leaders, business owners and nearby residents.
Take Davida Baker.
She’s lived in the area nearly 30 years and serves on the Gwinnett Community Alliance Board, the residential arm of a community improvement district that encompasses Jimmy Carter Boulevard and stretches to Beaver Ruin Road. She remembers when Greens Corner was at its best: a thriving, popular plaza that drew the masses. She’s seen the recent years of struggle, too, due to harsh economic times and socioeconomic shifts in adjacent neighborhoods.
So for Baker, a Wal-Mart points to better days for the entire corridor, not just the strip mall.
“Wal-Mart, perhaps for once, is being greeted with open arms,” she told me. “I am thrilled to see a Wal-Mart coming. They have a reputation for having good security around their stores. To say this area has fallen on hard times doesn’t describe how bad it is.”
Without question, Greens Corner is an eyesore off a well-traveled road. The location of two nightclubs — Excalibur and Escape 2008 — turned the complex into a source of complaints regarding noise and possible criminal behavior, authorities and residents have said.
Leaders expect redevelopment to curb crime, and that revitalization starts with Wal-Mart, the first notable economic boost in years. The Kmart building will be torn down early next year to make room for the new Wal-Mart store and parking lot. The clubs will no longer exist, but they already appeared to be shuttered when I visited the area Monday.
“It has not been pretty over there in quite some time,” County Commissioner Lynette Howard said recently.
Perhaps that’s about to change.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
