By Josh Bare, city councilman, Norcross | The Norcross City Council is honored to be working closely with Gwinnett County and Commissioner Lynette Howard to plan a new Norcross Branch of the award winning Gwinnett Library System. We see this building as a cornerstone towards re-development on Buford Highway and serving as a pivotal hub for the community to mix and mingle as they enjoy everything a modern library has to offer.
Bare
Beautiful views of Lillian Webb Park and an accompanying plaza to the southwest are planned, as well parking below the library building. The library location is even closer to the new Beauty Baldwin Elementary and Summerour Middle Schools. People of this area are proud of these two new schools.
In 2015, the City of Norcross purchased outright the Plaza Latina located at 5735 Buford Highway. We had already purchased the properties adjacent and currently have assembled about 1,400 feet of frontage on Buford Highway between Holcomb Bridge Road and Britt Avenue, backing up to Lillian Webb Park.
Our Downtown Development Authority is on a mission to find the perfect developer partner to build out the property next to the new library. The goal is to have a multi-use, walkable development that will echo the basic design elements of our downtown area with retail, office and possibly residential capacity. We want to extend our downtown area to Buford Highway to welcome residents and visitors alike to spend more time in Historic Norcross, enjoying our businesses, restaurants, festivals and parks.
At the February council meeting a contract was approved to partner with the Georgia Department of Transportation to start construction on a central median on Buford Highway the length of the city, from Langford Road to Jimmy Carter Boulevard. This should create a much better environment for walking safely along this major transportation corridor. There will be planters built into this median and we hope that at some point we will be able to install trees and shrubs in the middle of Buford Highway. This should be a beautiful complement to the new library and development next door.
These projects, including Lillian Webb Park, are the culmination of over 10 years of planning and over a $10 million investment. It is so exciting to be in the final stages of planning. I know we all can’t wait to start seeing buildings coming out of the ground! This will be the start of a total transformation of Buford Highway into a much safer, cleaner, livable place that celebrates the history and cultural diversity of A Place to Imagine, Norcross, Georgia.
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