A California-based developer is the latest to make a multifamily bet near the planned Rowen megaproject and several growing, suburban cities northeast of Atlanta. 

Officials with Griffin Capital Company, a real estate investment manager, announced this week they’ve broken ground on a 345-apartment community called “University Parkway” off Gwinnett County’s Ga. Highway 316, a popular route to Athens for metro Atlantans. 

Plans call for a garden-style community to meet “a critical housing need” with buildings standing three and four stories, alongside amenities for residents described as high-end, per officials.  

Griffin Capital officials tell Urbanize Atlanta no address has been established for the project, but its major cross streets are Ga. Highway 316 and U.S. Highway 29, just southwest of downtown Dacula. 

Facades planned for the 345-unit University Parkway project in Gwinnett. Courtesy of Griffin Capital Company

Approximate location of University Parkway's construction site in Dacula along Ga. Highway 316. Google Maps

The site is also just east of Gwinnett County Airport and, according to developers, 10 minutes from downtown Lawrenceville, the densifying county seat. 

University Parkway marks the second major residential project to move forward along the Dacula highway in recent weeks. Indiana-based Thompson Thrift is also building a mixed-use, 300-apartment community called Lineage nearby, spread across 15 acres. 

Both projects have cited proximity to the growing Rowen project—a 2,000-acre venture expected to function as an education-focused mini city with up to 100,000 jobs, once finished—as selling points.  

University Parkway’s development kicked off earlier this month and is scheduled to finish in 2028, according to Griffin Capital officials. Access to Interstate 85 was also cited as a selling point for the location. 

University Parkway project's site in relation to ITP Atlanta and Athens. Google Maps

The company’s decision to move forward in Dacula “is rooted in our commitment to identifying submarkets that combine limited new supply, robust population growth, and access to major employment nodes,” said Paul De Martini, Griffin Capital’s chief investment officer, in a project announcement. “Gwinnett County exemplifies these characteristics.” 

Other area landmarks include a new Publix-anchored retail center and downtown Dacula, which has kicked off a multi-phase project intended to make its historic district more walkable and engaging.

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