More flowers and aesthetic landscaping, like this rendering of the I-85 at Beaver Ruin Road exit shows, will be coming near the Center Way overpass between Jimmy Carter Boulevard and Indian Trail Road in early 2011.

NORCROSS — It’s hard to miss the colorful rainbow of flowers and professional landscaping when travelling along Interstate 85 near the interchanges at Jimmy Carter Boulevard, Indian Trail Road and Beaver Ruin Road. Part of the Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District’s beautification efforts, those $825,000 worth of projects have been ongoing for several years.  

With the announcement made Wednesday, in early 2011 the CID’s goal of beautifying the entire district along the interstate will come to fruition. That’s because the Georgia Department of Transportation awarded the Gwinnett Village CID with a $50,000 GATEway grant to continue the successful revitalization efforts in Norcross. The grant will be used for landscaping improvements on I-85 surrounding the Center Way overpass between Jimmy Carter Boulevard and Indian Trail Road.

“This completes the strategic landscaping at the nodes along I-85 in the CID. Once this is complete, we will focus on maintenance and keeping the areas between the nodes clean as well,” said Gwinnett Village CID Director Chuck Warbington. “These landscaping projects are improving more than just the overall aesthetic of the Gwinnett Village. It helps create an environment that is appealing to residents and businesses and enhances the sense of pride and security in the community.”

The grant will help fund the $126,000 project and the newly landscaped plot at Center Way will mirror those of Jimmy Carter Boulevard and Indian Trail Road to create a sense of continuity along that stretch of I-85. In 2009, Gwinnett Village also received a GATEway grant to revitalize the northeast corner of Jimmy Carter Boulevard and the I-85 northbound ramp. That project was recently completed.

According to Davie Biagi, a landscape architect for GDOT, the Center Way project was selected to receive the grant based on review and recommendation of the group’s Roadside Enhancement and Beautification Council members. “A primary goal of the GATEway Grant program is to fund enduring enhancement of the roadsides for the traveling public,” Biagi said in a statement. “The Georgia DOT appreciates the fine example and enthusiastic participation of Gwinnett Village CID in beautifying Georgia’s public rights of way.”

Related posts:

1. Republican Candidate Liz Carter Speaks to Evermore CID Board

Second from left, Evermore board members Kenny King and Dwight Harrison huddle up in the revamped pro shop at the former Olympic tennis center. The CID is moving its offices into the old pro shop in the coming weeks in hopes of transforming the entire stadium complex into a multi-purpose facility.

SNELLVILLE — With new ceiling tiles, new carpeting and the smell of fresh paint on the walls, as promised the Evermore Community Improvement District Board of Directors held its first meeting at the pro shop of the former Olympic tennis stadium Wednesday.

As soon as the telephone and data lines are installed, the CID office will move its headquarters into the revamped pro shop with the hopes of transforming the entire stadium complex into a multipurpose facility — possibly used as a venue for concerts, large church gatherings and multiple sporting events. Before the CID took over the facility for at least the remainder of 2010, it was set to be demolished and turned into a Gwinnett County park.

“This is pretty amazing to be thinking about having our meetings in an Olympic stadium,” said board member Emory Morsberger. “It’s a great symbol for our progress and for revitalization.”

According to Executive Director Jim Brooks, the value of the facility as recorded in Gwinnett County’s Tax Digest is currently $18 million. An economic impact study conducted by the CID suggested the redone stadium could bring in $100 million over a 10-year period. Along with a $40,000 Atlanta Regional Commission grant that is being matched by the CID, efforts are now underway to conduct a feasibility study to see what possibilities might exist for the former Olympic venue.

“We’re building momentum,” Brooks said of current economic development efforts in the Evermore U.S. Highway 78 corridor, which starts at the tennis venue with historic Stone M0untain as its backdrop. “We had seven people (mall developers) in this corridor within five days looking at facilities. That’s the most we’ve had since I’ve been here. It’s amazing what talking about this stadium is doing to create interest.”

“Economic development is foremost on our mind now. That’s where we focus when we wake up every morning, along with transportation improvements.” said Chairman of the Board Forrest Adair.

Board member Kenny King even went as far as making comments about using the CID influence to see about cleaning up the entire U.S. Highway 78 corridor through DeKalb County and into Decatur at Interstate 285. To hear King’s comments on why he believes this is important, click here.

In other CID news, Treasurer Bill Gower reported a general operating fund balance as of Jan. 31 of $655,516.59. He also reported the CID’s various investments in the corridor totaled $2,152,856.19. Finally, Gower requested and the board approved an additional $21,000 expenditure for landscaping and infrastructure maintenance in the form of “unexpected crib walls.”

Also, elections were set for the Post 1 and Post 4 board spots, currently held by Dwight Harrison and Thomas Carraway. They’ll take place on April 28 at 2:30 p.m. with registration beginning at 2. To hear more about this and the millage rate vote of May 26, click here to hear comments from board member Don Robison.

Finally, in response to the recall election of 2009 which took the board members to Gwinnett County Superior Court, a set of by-laws for the CID were adopted after a lengthy discussion between Harrison (who spearheaded the effort to implement by-laws), Robison and Gary Custar. Robison’s concern mainly dealt with language about where board meetings could be held. In the end, it was determined those meetings could only take place in DeKalb and Gwinnett County as opposed to anywhere in the state of Georgia. Custar was the lone board member to vote against approving the by-laws because he said he didn’t like a clause that stated what would happen in the case of a deadlocked board.     

“I think we have a great set of by-laws,” Harrison said. In speaking with CID attorney Lynn Rainey, who represents 10 CID’s in the metro area including Evermore, Harrison said, “They’re as strong as any set of by-laws in metro Atlanta.”

Harrison said now that the by-laws were implemented, he’d work on implementing an ethics policy next.

The CID board’s next monthly meeting will take place March 24.

The Olympic tennis stadium pro shop is now the Evermore CID's new headquarters.

Related posts:

1. Evermore CID Approves Move To New Headquarters In Effort To Transform Olympic Tennis Venue
2. Evermore CID Wins Grant; Keeps Hope Alive of Redeveloping Olympic Tennis Stadium At Stone Mountain
3. Republican Candidate Liz Carter Speaks to Evermore CID Board

The Evermore CID wants to potentially use the former Olympic tennis stadium as a redevelopment catalyst for the transformation of the commercial area. With Stone Mountain serving as a backdrop, the area off Park Place Boulevard serves as the entrance to the CID.

SNELLVILLE — The effort to eventually transform the former Olympic tennis stadium at Stone Mountain got a pleasant jolt in the right direction Thursday from the Atlanta Regional Commission.

The good news came when the ARC awarded the Evermore Community Improvement District with a $40,000 grant to allow it to further study a possible multi-modal mixed use center in the Park Place area, located on the Gwinnett County side of Stone Mountain, in and around the former Olympic tennis venue.

“A number of developers and retailers have shown renewed interest in the area, just from hearing about the possibilities that are being explored,” said CID Economic Development Director David Stedman. “When businesses and developers hear about the vision we have for the area, people get excited.”

Last month the CID agreed to move its headquarters to the pro shop at the tennis stadium to show how committed it was to exploring redevelopment options for the currently unused facility. The stadium’s current owner, the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, had planned to tear down the stadium this year but later balked at the idea when budgetary problems arose. In May, Gwinnett Countysigned a $1-a-year, 50-year lease to operate 15 outdoor tennis courts surrounding the stadium and its 24.5-acre site on Bermuda Road. The plan was to have a park there. Gwinnett County agreed to let the CID pursue its current plan of action as long as it was clear no money would come from the county to fund such an effort.

With the CID now planning to equally match the ARC grant, that equals $80,000 going toward exploring design options in conjunction with a multi-modal transportation hub that could be potentially used to link downtown Atlanta, the city of Decatur and the U.S. Highway 78 commercial corridor known as the Evermore CID.

“We’re totally overjoyed,” Stedman said. “This is a great first step in the overall comprehensive plan which is hinged on getting good information. We need ideas that makes sense.”

CID Board of Directors Chairman Forest Adair and board member Kenny King have both said they hope the proposed restoration and transformation of the former Olympic tennis stadium into a multi-use facility could be a catalyst for revitalization and development of that entire area.

“But it must be done in the context of transit oriented purpose design that improves connectivity and promotes green development,” Adair said. “We’re grateful to ARC because this grant will be used to determine the viability of these concepts, as well as identifying the action steps we need to be taking.”

The CID commissioned a preliminary study late last year that showed the stadium could generate as much as $106 million in economic impact over a 10-year period. Now, said CID Executive Director Jim Brooks, the organization will apply the ARC’s grant to study the broader context of transit oriented development. A past traffic circulation analysis showed the area had numerous pockets of congestion. And while the completion of the $60 million dollar widening and median project on U.S. Highway 78 will serve to help the flow of traffic, “the use of a multi-modal transit hub would serve to eliminate key bottle necks, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create a boon for area businesses,” Brooks said.

“Connectivity drives redevelopment and there is federal funding for this,” Stedman said. “It would also give people added flexibility.”

Stedman said one option which will be explored is possibly having a park and ride lot where shuttle buses or some other “urban circulatory system” were used to move people from store to store and area to area up and down the corridor. Additionally, more buses from a “bus rapid transit system” would serve as connectors between downtown Atlanta and the city of Decatur.

“People could park once and then ride the corridor or all the way to downtown Atlanta. It could eliminate total vehicle miles travelled which reduces greenhouse gas emissions,” Stedman said. “And it’s cheaper than building roads. Rubber tires make more sense than concrete.”

He added that the CID doesn’t want to add to the traffic congestion prevalent on US 78, but rather wants to show they’re making “an effort to improve the market dynamics of the area in a fundamental way.”

An aerial shot of Atlanta's 1996 Olympic tennis stadium.

Related posts:

1. Evermore CID Holds First Board Meeting At Former Olympic Tennis Stadium, All Part Of An Effort To Transform The U.S. Highway 78 Business District
2. Evermore CID Approves Move To New Headquarters In Effort To Transform Olympic Tennis Venue

From left, CID Executive Director Joe Allen and CID attorney Lynn Rainey listen to a presentation on diverging diamond interchanges. One is being considered at the Pleasant Hill Road bridge interchange with I-85.

DULUTH — After hearing from its Executive Director Joe Allen that the Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District was financially strong, its board of directors Wednesday received a look at plans to fix and eventually replace the Pleasant Hill Road bridge connecting with I- 85.

Anyone who knows Gwinnett County traffic woes knows the Pleasant Hill Road bridge all too well. The plan moving through at present includes reconstructing the bridge with a diverging diamond interchange first. The long term plan that follows includes bridge replacement.

“It’s not a cure,” Allen told board members. “The long-term plan is still to replace the bridge. But this could be a quick win within the next year.”

He said the project once approved could be completed in one to two years. 

A relatively new concept and one Allen said was one of the “top 10 inventions of the decade,” the traffic improvement system known as a diverging diamond interchange only exists currently in a handful of U.S. cities, the one most mentioned being Springfield, Mo.

Advocates of the system say it improves traffic flow by eliminating problematic left turns. What drivers might find strange at first is that it briefly sends all cars over to the left side of the road. Other potential concerns on Pleasant Hill could involve speed limits (45 mph vs. 35 mph) and the ability for large trucks to handle the new design.

“The current models show this would have a neutral impact on the freeway,” Allen said.

The Georgia Department of Transportation is reviewing the concept.

In a letter to U.S. Representative John Linder, Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister said, “The replacement of the Pleasant Hill Road bridge across the Interstate will be a cornerstone project to revitalize and promote economic development along this highly traveled corridor and enforces the goals of our 2030 Unified Plan and Comprehensive Transportation Plan.”

In other CID news, the district reported a nearly 25 percent reduction in overall crime in the CID’s boundaries from 2007 to 2009. Allen attributed the positive numbers to the continued and increased presence in the area of the Gwinnett County Police Department. Highlights of that 25 percent reduction included an overall 12 percent drop in commercial burglary, a 37 percent decrease in total traffic accidents and a 50 percent reduction in robbery. While total theft did decrease by 18 percent in the two-year period, there was a slight uptick of 14 percent from 2008 when 880 incidents were reported to 2009 when there were 1006 incidents.

Coming later this week, an exclusive interview with CID Executive Director Joe Allen.

To read a news story about the diverging diamond interchange project in Missouri, click: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120403340

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Atlanta's 1996 Olympic tennis stadium was set for demolition in 2011. Now the Evermore CID is exploring redevelopment options.

SNELLVILLE — The quest to save Atlanta’s 1996 Olympic tennis venue from a 2011 demolition date became official Wednesday with the Evermore CID Board of Director’s official, unanimous decision to move its headquarters into the venue’s abandoned pro shop for the rest of the year.

With historic Stone Mountain serving as a backdrop to the unused stadium and the Super Target store across from the venue set to vacate its space at the end of the month, the move might be considered an act of solidarity to showcase to potential suitors how much the board believes in the future of the U.S. Highway 78 corridor.

“I’m encouraged by what we’ve discovered so far,” said board member Kenny King, who has spearheaded the effort. “I encourage people to not get overly optimistic. We’ve got a long way to go.”

The CID  has already conducted an economic impact study on the stadium that showed that transforming it into a multipurpose facility — possibly used as a venue for concerts, large church gatherings and multiple sporting events — could bring in $100 million over the next 10 years.

King said the CID was now exploring seeking additional funds from the Atlanta Regional Commission in the form of a grant by March 1. If received, those funds would pay for a two-month-long feasibility study to see what else needs to be done to potentially save the venue from demolition.

“We think it could be a catalyst for redevelopment in the Park Place area,” King said. To hear the rest of King’s thought on what it could do for the 78 corridor, click here. Asked why everyone else had given up on trying to make something of the venue, King said, “I think because they didn’t try to use it for anything other than tennis. Someone made a short attempt to use it for concerts, but it’s going to take one entity that will manage that thing and keep it filled as much as possible all the time.”

 Evermore’s Economic Development Director David Stedman believes the tennis stadium can be a “transformational linchpin and catalyst for development.”

“Our Commissioner Mike Beaudreau has said our efforts can’t be directed to saving the stadium, our efforts have to be directed at transforming the stadium and transforming the community in and around it,” Stedman said. To this effect, he offered an idea presented by board member and redevelopment guru Emory Morsberger, the idea being transforming the corridor into a “green” one. One vision, if feasible and viable, was potentially adding a solar roof to the stadium.

“That would make it more likely to qualify for federal funding,” Stedman said. “There are green components to the stadium concept that cannot be ignored.”

The tennis venue’s current owner is the Stone Mountain Memorial Association. In May, Gwinnett County signed a $1-a-year, 50-year lease to operate 15 outdoor tennis courts at the 24.5-acre site on Bermuda Road.

From left, Evermore board member and developer Emory Morsberger suggests to board members hosting a joint candidate's forum for Georgia's 11 individuals seeking the governor's office.

In other board business, Morsberger also suggested reaching out to the other two Gwinnett CID’s (Gwinnett Village and Gwinnett Place) in an effort to possibly host a joint candidates forum for the state’s 11 gubernatorial candidates this spring. Morsberger got the idea by attending the Georgia Municipal Association’s similar event Monday downtown at the Atlanta Hilton hotel.

“Let’s try to get them on board with the kinds of things that we’re trying to accomplish either here on 78 or in Gwinnett County or in the CID effort in metro Atlanta,” Morsberger said. “A lot of them are not tuned in to the things we’re doing. It might be beneficial for the CID’s long-term plans.”

In other business for its first meeting of 2010, a budget was unanimously approved by the board that after year’s end should leave the CID with a cash reserve of approximately $2.7 million. That’s after showing a loss of $457,342 for the year, said Treasurer Bill Gower. Board Member Dwight Harrison also distributed a set of by-laws to all board members and hopes a set can be adopted this year.

According to Executive Director Jim Brooks and his report, the stadium and transportation focus are the largest issues in the corridor. He also reported that the Yellow River bridge should be bid on within the next 30 days.

The Olympic tennis stadium pro shop, or now, the Evermore CID's new headquarters. They'll move after renovations which are now ongoing are completed.

Related posts:

1. Evermore CID Holds First Board Meeting At Former Olympic Tennis Stadium, All Part Of An Effort To Transform The U.S. Highway 78 Business District
2. Evermore CID Wins Grant; Keeps Hope Alive of Redeveloping Olympic Tennis Stadium At Stone Mountain