ISSUE 14.99: Ballet performance, Coolray apartments

ROOM WITH A VIEW: Here’s an artist’s depiction of what the view from a new luxury complex adjacent to Coolray Field will soon look like. The 206 unit complex is anticipated to be partially open by April 9’s opening day for the Class AAA Gwinnett Braves. The apartments are being developed by Brand Properties. For more detail, see Elliott Brack’s perspective below.

Issue 14.99 | March 20, 2015

IN THIS EDITION

TODAY’S FOCUS: Brain Injury Group and Ballet Theatre Team Up
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Coolray Field Getting a Close-Up Neighbor: Luxury Apartments
ANOTHER VIEW: The Ever-Changing Presentation of Hillary Clinton
UPCOMING: GGC To Hear Pulitzer Winner; Noted Instructor Coming to Kudzu
NOTABLE: Two New Fire Stations in Sight; Snellville Has Garden Plots for Rent
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Atlanta’s Lucinda Bunnen Photography Acclaimed Nationally
TODAY’S QUOTE: One Man’s Definition of a Free Society
MYSTERY PHOTO: Only One Person Recognized Mystery Photo
LAGNIAPPE: Chancellor Recognizes GGC’s Excellent Financial Reporting

TODAY’S FOCUS

Ballet Theatre and Brain Injury Association team for performance

By Holly Calmes

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., March 20, 2015 — The story behind Gwinnett Ballet Theatre’s (GBT) newest production, a contemporary three act story ballet, features the Journey taken by a young man through life as he struggles with tragedy, love, and friendship. People with brain injury go through “journeys” of their own, seeking healing, hope and support. GBT and the Brain Injury Association of Georgia are joining forces to support each other’s efforts, as they share such similar messages.

Dancers are, in front, John Streit, along with Madeline Whitehead, Madison Greene, Hannah Freeman, Taylor Adams and Julianna Brown.

Journey will be presented at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center on Saturday March 28 at 2:30 and 7:30 pm and on Sunday, March 29 at 2:30 pm. The production is a regional premiere. Written and choreographed by GBT Artistic Director Wade Walthall, the ballet features the music of Rachmaninoff, Gorecki and Nyman.

Journey incorporates classical ballet as well as contemporary elements to create a modern story about the spiritual evolution of a young man, the circumstances of his life, and the choices he makes. Mr. Walthall describes the ballet as, “an ‘everyman tale’, universal in essence with truth and content common to all. It is a tale of the special journey we all take in order to find ourselves, love in our lives, and perhaps the stars…”

Paige Havens of the Brain Injury Association of Georgia feels: “Those who have endured brain injury take powerful journeys of their own. There are real tales of strength, perseverance and faith, full of swells of tragedy and triumph. We are thrilled to partner with GBT to bring encouragement and inspiration to brain injury survivors and their families and awareness to their journey.”

GBT Board Chairman Ted Scartz says: “Part of Gwinnett Ballet Theatre’s mission is to reach out to community organizations and other non-profits. The subject of brain injury has been brought into the public’s consciousness recently, largely through the world of sports. However, brain injuries happen every day to ordinary people, not just sports stars. We hope that our collaboration can bring further awareness to the great work being done by the Brain Injury Association of Georgia.”

Anyone with a brain injury or a condition resulting from a brain injury will receive special recognition if they attend a performance of Journey. Special ticket pricing is also available for Brain Injury Association of Georgia members. For more information about membership, visit www.braininjurygeorgia.org.

Tickets for Journey are available through www.gwinnettcenter.com , by calling 888-929-7849, or by visiting the Gwinnett Center Box Office in the Arena Building. Tickets will also be available at the door. Prices are $20 for adults, $15 for students and seniors, and $12 individually for groups of 10 or more. These prices do not reflect the special offer stated above.

• For more information about the Brain Injury Association of Georgia, visit their web site at http://www.braininjurygeorgia.org.

EEB PERSPECTIVE

Luxury apartment complex rising adjacent to Coolray Field

MARCH 20, 2015 — With the opening of the Gwinnett Braves baseball season at Coolray Field on April 9, there will be a different view from home plate. Looking toward the outfield, fans will see a new apartment complex just past the outfield wall, which is anticipated to be ready-for-occupancy by opening day. Some 40 percent of the units will have an unobstructed view of the field.

The Gwinnett Braves take on the Durham Bulls, in Class AAA play on opening day.

The Views at Coolray Field will be a 206 unit luxury apartment complex with the anticipated highest rentals in the county. Rates will be as high as $1,800 a month, and will average $1,500 a month. The five story housing development is being constructed by Brand Properties on a seven acre tract dead up against the baseball field fence. Some 40 percent of the units will have an unobstructed view of the field.

Aerial view of apartment under construction.

Literally, residents will be able to watch a game from their living room, balcony, grill area, or the swimming pool, at no charge. Apartments with views away from the ball field can see the game through a Club Room on the fourth floor. Glass doors in the Club Room can roll up to give an open-air view of the game, with some outside seating.

The apartments are being designed by the Alpharetta firm of Swell Design Studios. The general contractor for the work is Fortune Johnson of Atlanta. The apartments will come with “best in class” amenities. Leasing started on March 1, and as of March 19, some nine leases have already been signed, according to Brand Morgan, president of the company.

The overall Village at Coolray Field will have 53,400 square feet of rental space, including 20,000 square feet of commercial space and a 130 room hotel. It’s anticipated that the entire village will be completed within 24 months.

The apartments are expected to be home to individuals working in Gwinnett, and in particular, to those with offices near the Mall of Georgia and Sugarloaf areas.

Inside view of model apartment.

Michael Payne of Brand Properties anticipates that both young professionals and older residents preferring to lease rather than upkeep a home, will be the target audiences. Rental agreements will be for one year. He adds: “These people will have the means to enjoy fine apartments, yet do not want to have to upkeep a yard. We anticipate that 40-50 percent annually will leave, not for another apartment complex, but will be young professionals leaving to purchase their first home.”

Meanwhile, Brand Properties is also developing an apartment complex near Sugarloaf Parkway, which will have slightly lower rental rates. The firm is also doing work in the apartment field in Greenville, S.C., and in Savannah.

What will it take for a baseball play to hit a home run for The Views’ residents to catch? Payne estimates: “Our back-of-the-napkin match puts a home run into the swimming pool at about 400 feet. The right center field gap is 330 feel, and just guessing, The Views property line is 50-70 feet beyond that, and slightly elevated for fans sitting on the outfield lawn. He will have to be a big guy to put a home run into the pool.”

ANOTHER VIEW

Traces timeline as Hillary Clinton continually reinvents herself

By Debra Houston

MARCH 20, 2015 — When Hillary Clinton used a private e-mail account and server for government business while secretary of state, she broke the law and created a scandal. Some analysts think Democrats are fueling “e-mail-gate” to stop her from running for president in ’16, nervous that she can’t defeat a fresh Republican contender like Scott Walker or a brash Chris Christie.

Houston

I seldom underestimate Mrs. Clinton because she continually reinvents herself. Let’s recall her metamorphoses: She starts out as Young Republican Hillary, campaigning for Goldwater in ’64. Then in ’68 she hears Dr. Martin Luther King speak and morphs into Democrat Hillary. Radical Hillary emerges during her Wellesley College commencement speech, when she upstages Black Republican Edward Brooke, whom she suspects supports President Nixon. Then House Judiciary Committee Staffer Hillary investigates Watergate and helps bring down a president.

In ‘75, Ambitious Hillary marries Colorful Bill and they forge a political partnership. Feminist Arkansas First Lady Hillary retains her maiden name, claiming she’s no Tammy Wynette standing beside her man. In ’92, President Bill Clinton gives Pretty-in-Pink First Lady Hillary the unofficial title of co-president. This allows her –without transparency or accountability — to map out a government health care plan.

After departing Washington, she becomes New York Senator Hillary Clinton. Then in ‘08, Frontrunner Presidential Candidate Hillary is the darling of her party until Barack Obama replaces her. After he wins the presidency, he offers Stoic Hillary a consolation prize — office of secretary of state.

This is where e-mail-gate began. Critics say the e-mails may offer evidence of her role in the cover-up of the Benghazi terrorist attack in 2012. They also may show she solicited foreign countries for campaign donations for a presumed ‘16 presidential run. If true, what do these countries expect in exchange? Ironies of ironies, some 30,000 emails have been destroyed. This makes the 18-½ minute gap in the Nixon Watergate tapes appear modest.

Madonna is another woman famous for continually reinventing herself. A few weeks ago, the aging star fell off the stage. After listening to Hillary say she could do as she pleased, I thought I saw an aging politician fall off the world stage.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Gwinnett Center

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring Gwinnett Forum to you at no cost to readers. Today’s underwriter is Gwinnett Center, home to four distinct facilities in Duluth: The Arena at Gwinnett Center, Gwinnett Convention Center, Gwinnett Performing Arts Center, and The Hudgens Center for the Arts.  The Arena at Gwinnett Center has had twelve years of tremendous success hosting countless concerts, family shows and sporting events, and is home to the ECHL’s Gwinnett Gladiators.  Some past concerts include George Strait, Carrie Underwood, Beyoncé, Foo Fighters, Eric Clapton, Katy Perry, Kid Rock, James Taylor and Michael Bublé. The Arena at Gwinnett Center also hosts many family shows including Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey, Cirque du Soleil, Disney On Ice and Harlem Globetrotters.  Gwinnett Convention Center offers patrons the opportunity to host or attend a wide variety of events, from corporate meetings to trade shows to social occasions.  Gwinnett Performing Arts Center has an intimate capacity of 700-seats and is home to many local events, family shows and even some comedians. The Hudgens Center for the Arts showcases a range of artwork throughout the year along with offering a wide range of fine art classes.

• For further information visit www.gwinnettcenter.com.
• For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: https://www.gwinnettforum.com/about/sponsors.

FEEDBACK

Send us your thoughts

Rant.  Rave.  Send your opinion:  Our policy: We encourage readers to submit feedback (or letters to the editor). Send your thoughts to the editor at elliott@brack.net. We will edit for length and clarity. Make sure to include your name and the city where you live. Submission of a comment grants permission for us to reprint. Please keep your comments to 300 words or less. However, we will consider longer articles (no more than 500 words) for featuring in Today’s Issue as space allows.

UPCOMING

Pulitzer Prize winner coming to speak April 2 at GGC

Georgia Gwinnett College, in partnership with Gwinnett County Public Library, welcomes National Book Critics Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson to the GGC Student Center on April 2 at 2 p.m. The program will be held at Georgia Gwinnett College’s Student Center LVIS Room. Free guest parking is available at Housing 3000 building, off Lonnie Harvel Boulevard.

She will discuss her award-winning book The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration which chronicles the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life. Her book won the National Book Critics Circle Award and was selected a best book of the year by many major publications, from The New York Times, to Salon and many other publications.

Wilkerson won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing for her reporting as Chicago bureau chief of The New York Times. The award made her the first black woman in the history of American journalism to win a Pulitzer Prize and the first African American to win for individual reporting.

Noted workshop instructor coming to Kudzu Art Zone in April

Robert Burridge, a former industrial designer, current national and international workshop instructor and juror, and leader of a mentoring program in France, will be teaching a workshop at Kudzu Art Zone in Norcross in April 20 through April 24 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

He is the honorary president of the International Society of Acrylic Painters.  He has won many awards, including the Franklin Mint and the prestigious Crest Medal Award for achievement in the arts, formerly presented to Pablo Picasso, John Singer Sargent and Georgia O’Keefe.

This workshop will have you doing things you never thought you could do. Come see Mr.  Burridge and his limitless talents and enthusiasm in Norcross. Contact Kudzu Art Zone for more details and to register at www.kudzuartzone.org or call  770-840-9844.

Duluth partners with Dashboard for artistic creative programming

The city of Duluth and Duluth Fine Arts League, have commissioned Dashboard, an art and event agency, to produce an art experience for the city’s citizens and visitors. Formerly the Hardeman Glass Studio, the group will host an exhibition and assortment of creative programming, March 28 until May 10.

Dashboard has been praised for its unique, large-scale group exhibitions and received accolades for their urbanization and creative revitalization work by the likes of Huffington Post, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, NYC Business Insider and Marie Claire.

On March 28, at 7 p.m., Dashboard will present artwork by Kevin Byrd, Elizabeth Riley, Heather Greenway and Fly on a Wall. The exhibition, Shifting Scapes, will offer large-scale abstract painting, immersive fluorescent light installations, digital sculpture, dance and more.

Beth Malone, Executive Director at Dashboard, says: “We’ve selected art pieces that depict shifting, abstract landscapes. Visitors will be invited to explore the art and reimagine what’s possible in a vacant, yet iconic, property. It’s an exciting project and a great place to be!”

Jimmy Carter bridge closing delayed until following weekend

The Gwinnett County Department of Transportation has postponed the Jimmy Carter Boulevard bridge closure at I-85, originally scheduled for March 20 – 23, 2015, due to the forecast for rainy conditions over the weekend. The crossover to the diverging diamond interchange requires dry conditions so that all of the construction can be completed before Monday morning rush hour. The closure has been rescheduled for the weekend of March 27 – 30, 2015, weather permitting

NOTABLE

Two new fire stations coming to areas near Lawrenceville

Commissioners on Tuesday approved a construction contract to build Fire Station 31 and relocate Fire Station 10. According to Gwinnett Fire Chief Casey Snyder, the stations will enhance emergency response capabilities in this fast-growing community.

Fire Station 31 will be located at 1061 Collins Hill Road in Lawrenceville, across from Georgia Gwinnett College. This location provides quick access to the Georgia Highway 316 corridor and places fire and emergency medical personnel close to the college and surrounding homes and businesses.

Fire Station 10 is being relocated to 1131 Rock Springs Road in Lawrenceville, a more central site within its response territory. The new facility will provide adequate space for today’s crew members and allow for future expansion. It replaces a much older and smaller station that is currently located at Russell Road and Georgia Highway 20.

At approximately 14,300 square feet each in size, both stations will feature a community classroom, drive-through apparatus bay, industrial grade kitchen, workout room, shower and restroom, office space and bunkrooms with private sleeping quarters. The voter-approved SPLOST sales tax program is funding the combined cost of $6,864,000 to build both stations. The major equipment and apparatus for each station will also be funded by SPLOST. Work will get underway by April 2015 with completion expected within approximately one year.

Snellville has community garden beds for rental

The Community Garden at Snellville has raised beds available for rent for the 2015 gardening year which begins April 1. The garden has both 4-by-8-foot and 4-by-12-foot beds available.

The smaller can be rented for $35 by city residents and $50 by those outside the city limits. The larger beds are $50 and $65 respectively. The garden is located in Briscoe Park at the corner of Marigold Road and Sawyer Parkway (across the street from the Recycling Center). For more information and an application go to: www.snellvillecommunitygarden.com.

Lilburn Daze Festival seeks vendor applications for October event

The Lilburn Daze Arts and Crafts Festival is now accepting vendor applications and sponsorships. This year’s event will be held on October 10 at Lilburn City Park.

A Lilburn tradition for more than 40 years, Lilburn Daze features 200 arts and crafts vendors and a variety of food vendors. The kid zone features free art activities, a train ride, pony rides, and lots of other fun. With an estimated 12,000 attendees, this family-friendly festival is one of the most popular in the area. The festival is hosted by the Lilburn Woman’s Club and co-sponsored by the City of Lilburn. Visit www.lilburndaze.org for more information.

RECOMMENDED READ

An invitation:  What books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (100 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next. — eeb

GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA TIDBIT

Bunnen’s photography acclaimed nationally

Lucinda Bunnen is an acclaimed photographer whose work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Based in Atlanta, she was born in Katonah, N.Y., in 1930.

“Lonesome Walk,” by Lucinda Bunnen.

Bunnen’s work can be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, both in New York City; the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.; and the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, Russia. Over the course of her career, she has mounted dozens of shows throughout Georgia and the Southeast.

Active in Atlanta’s arts community, Bunnen curated the exhibition Subjective Vision: The Lucinda W. Bunnen Collection of Photographs in 1983 at the High Museum of Art and mounted the solo exhibition Lucinda Bunnen: From Hatcher’s Pond at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia in 2010. In 2013 the Atlanta Preservation Center hosted the exhibition Lucinda Bunnen: Georgia Portraits, which displayed portraits of twenty-seven prominent Georgians, including Anne Cox Chambers, Philip Trammell Shutze, Hosea Williams, Robert W. Woodruff, and Jane Hurt Yarn.

Representing the city abroad, she participated in the juried shows Atlanta in France (1985) in Toulouse, France, and Atlanta Artists in Buenos Aries (1989) in Argentina. In 1986 she received a Governor’s Award in the Arts, and in 1999 the Atlanta College of Art mounted a thirty-year retrospective of her work, accompanied by an award-winning exhibition catalog. Bunnen has also cowritten three books, including Movers and Shakers in Georgia (1978).

Bunnen’s photographs 4-Way Trees, Bike Rider, Bubble Mirror Reflection, Lonesome Walk, Mirror Image (1975), The Old Man, and Trees are part of Georgia’s State Art Collection.

 MYSTERY PHOTO

Streetcar still in service

CLUE: Street cars have been around in many cities for years. This vintage car is still working alongside this waterfront. Recognize it? If so, send your thought to elliott@brack.net and be sure to include your hometown.

Just one person recognized the recent Mystery Photo, though several thought they had seen the area, but could not place it. The photo was sent in by Beverly Lougher of Lawrenceville.

Harriett Nichols of Trickum came right to the point: “This is the Harbor at Plymouth, Devon, England. The Mayflower sailed from Plymouth, England in 1620 and landed on the coast of Massachusetts Bay, so they named the settlement Plymouth. The British and American flags at Plymouth England signify this event.” Attagirl, Harriett!

LAGNIAPPE

Award winner

Ruth Berger, senior associate vice president for Financial Operations/Controller, accepts the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts Certificate of Achievement for Excellent Financial Reporting for FY 2014 on behalf of Georgia Gwinnett College at the USG Board of Regents March Board Meeting today in Atlanta. Making the presentation is Hank Huckaby, chancellor of the University System of Georgia.

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