Mixed-use project gets approval from Hall County
‘Upscale’ development set near Braselton
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
Hall County commissioners gave their blessing last week to a major mixed-use project next to The Village at Deaton Creek, near Braselton.
And next month, Gwinnett County commissioners will have their final say for the 67-acre property spanning the two counties.
Vintage Communities, Lawrenceville, plans to develop 657 condos and townhouses, 424,218 square feet of retail space and 359,249 square feet of office space near Ga. Hwy. 211. A 200-room hotel is also included in the plans.
The project will be located along the realigned Thompson Mill Road (Ga. Hwy. 347), next to The Village at Deaton Creek, Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s planned Braselton medical campus, Chateau Elan and Mulberry Baptist Church.
Eric Masaschi, vice president of Vintage Communities, said the proposed development will be a “mixed-use lifestyle center.”
“It’s a combination of upscale retail, residential units and office,” Masaschi said. “It’s basically designed to be a walkable village that is very pedestrian friendly. It’s basically a place that people want to connect and spend the day.”
While no tenants have been named for the development, Masaschi said potential retailers may include national stores, such as Victoria’s Secret, and local boutiques, such as art galleries.
The unnamed project near Deaton Creek will be similar to The Forum in Norcross, which includes a number of national department stores, home furnishings stores and restaurants.
Dirt could start moving for the project by the end of 2008 or early 2009, Masaschi said on Friday. The project has an eight-year development timeline.
The first phase of development is slated for an area across from the entrance of The Village at Deaton Creek, at 6052 Deaton Creek Parkway.
That phase may include a grocery store, pharmacy and several shops on the ground floor, according to plans.
Other phases include: “Central Park and Park Avenue,” an upscale residential townhouse condominium area that will have 15 buildings; “Town Center,” with retail and office space, along with 62 live/work condominium homes, 330 condominiums and a 200-room hotel; “The Mansions,” with 70 condominiums in four and five-story buildings; and “The Cottages,” with 70 rear-entry townhouses.
Vintage Communities also developed The Village at Deaton Creek, a 1,300-lot “active adult” community.
Rochester and Associates asked Hall County to rezone 28.79 acres for the mixed-use development.
About 67 percent of the project’s retail and office space is planned in Hall County, while 72 percent of the total housing is slated for Gwinnett County, according to plans.
The project calls for 529,212 square feet of retail and office space, 108 residential units, and 200 hotel rooms in Hall County. In Gwinnett County, 254,255 square feet of retail and office space is planned, along with 549 residential units.
