Gwinnett Place clears 'significant milestone' in redevelopment quest

The long quest to transform Gwinnett Place Mall from an outdated retail graveyard into a vibrant, urban-style communal hub marked a “significant milestone” this week, according to project leaders.

As a key step toward breaking ground, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners today OK’d the purchase and sale of 23 acres of the mall property that’s home to Macy’s department and furniture stores. It’s an effort to cobble together more of the site and bring it under county ownership for an eventual overhaul.

The commissioners’ approval will allow the Urban Redevelopment Agency of Gwinnett County to pay $16.5 million for the Macy’s sites, which are home to more than 293,000 square feet of retail buildings at the largely deserted mall property.

Plans call for the county to lease the buildings back to Macy’s, allowing for store operations to continue through early 2025, according to Gwinnett officials. (Macy's announced plans in March to close 150 stores by the end of 2026; we've asked for clarification on whether that includes the anchor Gwinnett Place Mall spaces and will relay any additional information here that comes. UPDATE: 6:44 p.m., Sept. 17: Gwinnett officials confirm that both Macy's stores plan to close next year.) 

The deal will bring Gwinnett URA’s holdings to 76 total acres at Gwinnett Place, following the acquisition of 39 acres in 2021. The purchase of Macy’s properties is scheduled to close in November.

Commissioners also approved the issuance of bonds to fund the latest purchase through the URA.  

Over the past two decades, Gwinnett Place Mall has slipped from a multi-state attraction into a magnet for unfortunate headlines that was empty enough for Netflix’s Stranger Things to transform its interiors into 1980s-style mall sets for two seasons. An economic analysis prepared by KB Advisory Group last year found the mall has hemorrhaged 87.6 percent of its collective appraised tax value over the past two decades—dropping from $167 million in 1999 to just $20.6 million—despite the county’s population swelling around it.

But brighter days could be ahead.

Nicole Love Hendrickson, Gwinnett County Chairwoman, called the acquisition of Macy’s properties “a pivotal step forward” in the mall’s redevelopment process and the county’s goal of creating “a national—and possibly international—model for equitable and impactful transformation,” according to an announcement today.

Earlier this year, Gwinnett officials announced a partnership with international real estate services firm CBRE to refine development plans and help push them forward.

Two public input studies in recent years have helped inform general goals for the mostly vacant mall.

More than 2,000 Gwinnett residents chimed in during an eight-month process that produced what’s called the Equitable Redevelopment Plan, which boiled down five key areas for preservation and growth: housing, jobs, neighborhood services, small businesses, and a cultural activity center.

Another market analysis that included 6,000 community surveys—the Gwinnett Place Mall Site Revitalization Strategy, a joint effort between Gwinnett County, the Gwinnett Place CID, and Atlanta Regional Commission—produced a concept called Global Villages. That calls for housing, office space, an international community cultural center, and retail spaces situated around a central park.

Should current plans come to fruition, county leaders expect to issue a Request for Proposals to formally open the search for a Gwinnett Place Mall development partner in the first quarter of 2025.

All construction timelines will remain TBD until that developer is selected and plans approved, officials said today.

In the gallery above, find more context and a quick recap of Gwinnett Place Mall redevelopment concepts the county selected in 2022.

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