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'European village' theme of $60 million Gwinnett project BYLINE: Larry Hartstein; Staff The feel of a European village may become available in Gwinnett County when a $60 million shopping village and office project are completed in Peachtree Corners. The Forum on Peachtree Parkway, to open next November, will have nearly 50 upscale stores, as many as 10 restaurants and a three-story office building. The 55-acre site lies on the northwest corner of Peachtree Parkway and Peachtree Corners Circle. Ron Pfohl, a managing member of Forum Development Group who also worked on the Avenue East Cobb project, said the Gwinnett County center will offer a similar mix of tenants but a different look. In Cobb, developers "tried to do a town-center feel, going back to turn-of-the-century architecture," Pfohl said. "We're creating a village, more of an old European country village with a lot of country French type of architecture." The Forum is another example of the trend to open-air avenue shopping centers. These neo-traditional complexes have grown wildly popular in the past few years, said Dean Schwanke, a vice president of the Urban Land Institute in Washington. "People are a little tired of the standard mall, where you can't tell the difference from one to the next," said Schwanke, whose institute promotes responsible use of land to enhance the environment. "They're looking more for an experience that's unique." "It's mostly a search for a sense of community and a sense of place," said Schwanke, "which is greatly lacking in most of our suburbs." Belk department store will be the lead anchor at The Forum. Other tenants include Linens 'N Things, Ann Taylor Loft, Eddie Bauer, Talbots, Spa Sydell, People's Pottery, Johnny Rockets and Caribou Coffee. Developers said they have gotten leasing commitments for more than 70 percent of the 540,000-square-foot center.
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