2 min read March 2023 — While the outlook for the national economy may remain uncertain, Alyssa Davis, executive director of Sugarloaf CID, is confident that the projects happening in her region, “are just going to spur more interest and investment,” she told Invest:.
What were the key milestones for Sugarloaf CID over the last year?
We had a pretty significant milestone in 2022 with the expansion of our district. We added 22 additional parcels by expanding to the east side of I-85 to the interstate, and that had been a goal of the CID from the beginning. The mall, Sugarloaf Mills, is the largest property in that area, so getting them to join was critical.
A lot of the other property owners around them had agreed to come in along with them. Once they joined, we were able to expand improvements to those areas and that’s a benefit for everybody in the district, not just those properties.
What is the next goal on the agenda for the coming year?
Now that we’ve reached the major milestone of expansion, a lot of our focus is now on implementing improvements in the area where we had not been able to do them before. Some things we did right away was to put out flock safety cameras, which are cloud-connected cameras with license plate readers that the police have access to. It’s a great tool in helping the police solve crimes and, ultimately, we think that will prevent crimes in the future.
We are also looking forward to our various transportation projects. A lot of those take years of planning and you have to get creative with funding. We are working on getting some initial transportation projects funded through the county SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) program.
That’s one of our big initiatives for this year to secure funding for those improvements because it’s a six-year program and we want to get them funding now because there’s not going to be another opportunity for another six years.
We are also working with a local artist to design a mural for the I-85 underpass, which will help bridge together the two sides of our district that have been divided by the interstate.
What are some of the transportation initiatives in progress?
We’ve been working on transit studies for many years. One of those longer-term projects is a high-capacity transit connection to the regional system, and we’ve worked with two other CIDs on a bus rapid transit line. This would have the reliability of train service, but we can build it faster and cheaper than rail. We’ve been working on that project for a while, and we are continuing to partner on studies to advance that project.
What kind of transportation infrastructure is needed most in your district?
A lot of our focus has been on improving traffic flow where we can, but we don’t have the space to build wider roads or build more roads. We’re a dense activity center and entertainment district with the Convention Center and Arena and we are a major business district, so we want people to have more ways to get around besides a single occupancy vehicle. It’s a matter of having more options for the people who live here, who work here and who come here as visitors. We are working on several trail projects to improve options for walking and biking to destinations. One of those is the Loop Trail, which will create a pedestrian and bike connection to the Gas South District and a park just outside our district.
How important are these transportation options for future investment?
It is key for attracting future development and investment in this area. City centers help foster economic growth. People want to have options for how they get around. You look at the Atlanta area and how successful the Beltline has been in connecting activity centers like Ponce City Market, Krog Street Market and Piedmont Park. There are a lot of places in our district for people to go, and we have a lot of places where people either live or stay when they come to visit here. The more we can give people options to get out of the car and get where they want to go by walking or riding a bike, the better because that creates less traffic for everybody else. Also, having a pedestrian and bicycle connection to a park that is slightly outside our district will be a huge benefit as well, because we currently have a lack of park space.
How has security improved as a result of installing the cameras?
We’ve had a huge decrease in crime since we installed them. Tons of stolen vehicles and stolen property have been recovered. In 2022, 61 stolen vehicles were recovered with a value of over $1 million. 82 wanted persons were located. That has been a great benefit for the community.
This added security was the result of teamwork as we did it hand in hand with the local police department. They told us where to put the cameras because they’re the experts. They knew what their officers needed in terms of where to put the cameras to catch criminals as they entered and left the district.
How is Gwinnett County well positioned to attract new businesses?
I think when it comes to our area, we are unique in what we have. We have a lot of great amenities including downtown amenities that you don’t always see in suburban communities because we have an arts center, theater, arena, convention center space, and a new Westin Hotel under construction that connects to the Convention Center. We have some of the nicest, class-A office space. We have a lot to offer. The diversity in Gwinnett County is a huge asset for businesses and an attractor for international businesses because there is a talent pool filled with employees that potentially speak multiple languages.
What is your outlook for the Sugarloaf CID over the next two to three years?
I think everybody has been trying to figure out what’s going to happen with interest rates and the economy, but in our area, we have a lot in the pipeline in terms of new developments coming up. The renovated Convention Center space opened on Feb. 1, and that’s an exciting milestone. The hotel should be open at the beginning of next year. We also have some other exciting development projects in the works. I think as we see more of these improvements and projects getting completed, that is just going to spur more interest and investment. We’re excited to see more of that in the next couple of years.
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