Gwinnett County to Purchase Gwinnett Mall (McDonough, Pitts: home, neighborhood, to buy)

[markjames68]

They should rebuild the Stranger Things set and make it an 80’s theme park.

[DJDeadParrot]

Originally Posted by aries4118

IKEA

A bit off-topic, but did they ever build that IKEA in Cobb County?

Originally Posted by markjames68

They should rebuild the Stranger Things set and make it an 80’s theme park.

I'd be all for that!

[ShenardL]

If I was a multi-billionaire I would keep Macy's and Mega Mart as-is but change/renovate the rest of the structure. Put an ice skating rink inside and have some fun activities to choose from. Make the food court have the best fast cuisine options that you can't find in the area. Have a destination anchor tenant like IKEA and also have some rare stores like a Uniqlo store (none in Georgia).

If that actually picks up a lot of people visiting then make the area a lot more pedestrian-friendly/walkable and you can build hotels, condos, offices, a TOPGOLF, etc around the area. There's a lot of empty land around it like the fry's building that closed down (I think some used car company bought that building).

Someone with deep pockets would need to envision this and execute it.

[bellhead]

Originally Posted by ShenardL

If I was a multi-billionaire I would keep Macy's and Mega Mart as-is but change/renovate the rest of the structure. Put an ice skating rink inside and have some fun activities to choose from. Make the food court have the best fast cuisine options that you can't find in the area. Have a destination anchor tenant like IKEA and also have some rare stores like a Uniqlo store (none in Georgia).

If that actually picks up a lot of people visiting then make the area a lot more pedestrian-friendly/walkable and you can build hotels, condos, offices, a TOPGOLF, etc around the area. There's a lot of empty land around it like the fry's building that closed down (I think some used car company bought that building).

Someone with deep pockets would need to envision this and execute it.

An asian street market vibe with over a hundred vendors selling food would make it a destination spot.

[Gulch]

The rest of the property needs to be bought out and leveled.

[walker1962]

Originally Posted by ShenardL

After years of urging from frustrated residents and business leaders, Gwinnett County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to buy the struggling Gwinnett Place Mall.

The mall, which had long been an eyesore in the county as businesses left, will be purchased by the county for $23 million. The seller is Moonbeam Capital, which had promised improvements upon buying the mall in 2013, but never delivered them.

Closing will be in 90 days. The county’s Urban Redevelopment Agency made the purchase, which includes 39 acres of mall property. The anchor tenants will continue to own their property.

https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-new...NZRDTOS5VU3LE/

In the north Dallas suburbs, there was a mall similar in size to Gwinnett that the City of Plano sold in 2019 to Centurion American for redevelopment into a mixed-use property. Hopefully, this can happen in Gwinnett.
Collin Creek Redevelopment: One Year into the Project - Plano Magazine

[demonta4]

Everything doesn't need to be high end. Southlake is surviving just fine without many high-end stores at all. Build something that caters to the community that's there, not the one you want to attract. Gwinnett's diversity is a big part of what makes it such a great county.

[Need4Camaro]

Can’t help but wonder what would happen if it were leveled, zoned as office and reconstructed as office buildings or maybe even office high rises much like seen in Perimeter area. That’s a bit pushing it I’m aware, but an office park seems like it could work in that area... and may potentially bring more jobs in that area.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

Can’t help but wonder what would happen if it were leveled, zoned as office and reconstructed as office buildings or maybe even office high rises much like seen in Perimeter area. That’s a bit pushing it I’m aware, but an office park seems like it could work in that area... and may potentially bring more jobs in that area.

Needs a MARTA extension for that to really work.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by markjames68

They should rebuild the Stranger Things set and make it an 80’s theme park.

May be the best idea.

Counties getting into real estate is just an invitation to corruption and a sinkhole for taxpayer dollars. And remember, Gwinnett can be as corrupt as Dekalb and Fulton. 3 county commissioners got in trouble just a few years ago for speculation on a school building site.

Gwinnett buying this to try to improve the site is just a horrible idea. The county is not in the real estate business.

If they had an idea like a college campus or park, that would be one thing. But it sounds like they are buying it just on spec. If it made sense, the owner would have already done something. Now they've dumped their money drain on the county who no longer even gets tax dollars.