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Gwinnett Grows New shops look to the days of old BYLINE: Milo Ippolito Staff An outdoor shopping mall planned for the Peachtree Corners area borrows some ideas from the Main Streets of the turn of the century. "We want to build a center where people can park and feel very comfortable to stroll," said Ron Pfohl of Forum Development Group. "It's going to be a Main Street feel." Forum at Peachtree Parkway combines elements of shopping malls, strip malls and old Main Streets. It will include a mix of indoor mall chains, including Barnes & Noble, and local businesses, including Atlanta-based Brookwood Grill, Pfohl said. The shops will be arranged in strip malls that face each other across a narrow parking lot. The layout resembles a Main Street shopping district with stores on both sides. "It's not really fair to call it a strip center because you are doing so much more with the aesthetics and the design of it," Pfohl said. Similar centers have been successful in Memphis, Austin, Texas, and Birmingham and other cities, he said. While the project is in line with the new urbanist trend, Pfohl said it will avoid the nostalgic cliches often employed by that movement. Pfohl said the historic look has been overdone. The architectural design is not complete, but he said he is going for a timeless, upscale "country club," look. The 500,000-square-foot project is to include 18 store buildings, three restaurants and a three-story office building. It is in walking distance of homes in the Amberfield subdivision, Pfohl said. A zoning change from office to retail is required for a portion of the 55-acre project. DOC WANTS NEIGHBORHOOD OFFICE: Dr. Razi Ali Syed has plans for a two-story medical office on Lawrenceville Suwanee Road between Riverside Parkway and Meadowfield Court in the Collins Hill area. He is asking the county to rezone the property from residential to office and to reduce a required buffer between his building and neighboring property lines from 40 feet to 10 feet. The property is vacant. His case is set for public hearings in June. WALL TO WALL HOUSES: Bill Landford is seeking townhouse zoning to squeeze 313 homes onto 69 acres on Sugarloaf Parkway. The zoning classification he seeks allows houses to be built flush to the property line. His plans would put five and a half houses on every acre. The property is in a residential area and is zoned for homes with 75-foot-wide lots. It is near the Davis Mill Shopping Center at Sugarloaf Parkway and Lawrenceville Highway. The case will be heard by the Planning Commission on June 1 and county commissioners on June 22. PRINTER NEED MORE TONER? Gwinnett County commissioners have approved up to $5 million in industrial revenue bonds for King Brothers LLC to expand a plant that manufactures copier and printer toner. The company listed its address at 4350 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Norcross. The plant is called Color Image Inc. According to the county agreement, the money will enable the plant to retain 90 to 100 existing employees and add 10 to 15 new employees within two years. OFFICE COMPLEX RECOMMENDED: The Gwinnett Planning Commission endorsed a proposal Tuesday by Primerica Financial Services to build a new headquarters at Gwinnett Progress Center on Ga. 316. A building height permit is required to build three buildings -- three-, four- and five-stories tall. The company, already headquartered in Gwinnett, says it needs more space. The offices, plus a distribution center are to be constructed on a heavily landscaped campus, according to preliminary plans The project would take up a 99-acre corner at Hurricane Shoals and Cedars Road within the Progress Center business park. The targeted completion is sometime in 2000. Gwinnett county commissioners will have the final say Tuesday. Other Planning Commission recommendations are: Approval with some changes of a proposal by Crestview Acres for a subdivision on 20 acres at North Crestview Drive and Ga. 84. Original plans called for 53 homes. Approval with some changes of a proposal by JKS Investments for a subdivision on nine acres at Spalding Drive and Peachtree Corners Circle. Original plans called for 27 homes. Approval with some changes of a proposal by Redd Realty Services for a self-storage office at Pleasantdale Road and Lake Drive. Original plans called for a 727 square foot building. Approval with conditions of a proposal by GSP for a height variance for one of several hotels going up around the Mall of Georgia. Denial of a request by Logan's Roadhouse to reduce the required buffer between a restaurant and neighboring buildings from 75 feet to 45 feet. MALL OF GEORGIA UPDATE: Here's a look at construction progress at the Mall of Georgia at Mill Creek in northern Gwinnett: Zone 1: Common area ceilings are hung and finished and are being painted. Interior floor tile is on schedule. Coastal Court fountain rough- in is nearing completion. Zone 2: Painting is well under way. Interior floor tile installation is in progress. Zone 3: Exterior brickwork at the south entrance is nearing completion. Interior ceiling framing and hanging is nearing completion. Painting is well under way. Floor tile installation at the upper level north entry is nearing completion. Floor tile installation at the lower level should begin next month. Escalators and elevators are being installed. Food court finishes are in progress. Zone 4: Interior wall and ceiling framing is nearing completion and drywall installation is under way. Zone 5: Interior ceiling framing is on schedule. Exterior wall framing and sheathing is progressing on schedule. Interior rough-in work is nearing completion.
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