Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 14I
I FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, March 28,1999
Mall of Georgia’s impact likely to be felt here
By Roxane Campbell
Associate Edita
Although located in Gwinnett
County some 15 miles from the
Forsyth County line, on Hwy. 20
between interstates 85 and 985 in
Buford, the Mall of Georgia likely
will have a big impact on this area
when it opens late this summer.
If the weather cooperates, the Mall
of Georgia easily will be completed
in time for its scheduled Aug. 11
opening, just two years after the
1997 ground breaking for the 1.7-
million-square-foot project. “The
weather has been good to us - we’re
right on schedule,” said James G.
“Butch” Birchfield, associate princi
pal with Thompson, Ventulett,
Stainback & Associates, Inc. (TVS),
the planning and architectural firm
designing the mall.
TVS was engaged by the develop
ers and owners: Ben Carter
Properties, Scott Hudgens
Companies, Corporate Property
Investors and Simon Deßartolo
Group Inc.
“We’re anticipating a very nice
grand opening,” Birchfield said. The
grand opening will include give
aways and entertainment.
As grand opening day approaches,
things get more complicated,
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A sketch of the Mall of Georgia as it will appear when completed in August. Hwy. 20 is at the top.
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Birchfield said, explaining that it is a
“major coordination event.” It’s reas
suring that they are not only on
schedule, but even a few weeks ahead.
Tenants will begin building their
spaces out in May. Dillard’s and J.C.
Penney are “well on their way to
being finished out,” said Birchfield,
and may hold a “soft opening”
sometime after July but prior to the
grand opening of the mall.
Nordstrom’s, which will break
ground soon, isn’t scheduled to open
until February 2000. The landscap
ing also is taking shape.
“We’ve been conscious about
establishing landscaping,” Birchfield
said in mid-February. “In the
Village, we are planting larger trees,
and the landscaping work has started
around the perimeter of the mall.
Hardscaping bricks, etc. will
begin in about a month.”
The Mall of Georgia is part of the
Mill Creek Community, which
includes multi-family residences,
offices, hotels and a nature preserve
with trails connecting to the mall.
A walk through the mall, which is
designed to be a shopping, entertain
ing and educational experience all in
one, also will allow shoppers to
experience a “walk through
Georgia” five distinct regional
themes reflect Georgia’s landscape
and heritage.
The coastal region will show
Georgia’s shoreline; the Plains
region pays homage to the agricul
tural part of Georgia; the Piedmont is
indicative of historic Georgia, partic
ularly the Atlanta area; the
Mountains region is indicative of the
northern part of the state in the lower
Appalachian mountains; and the cul
tural diversity of the state will be
shown through architecture, specifi
cally in the Arcade and food court.
The Arcade, which joins the vari-
‘ Power Center"
to offer bargains
The Power Center, owned by
Ben Carter Properties, one of the
Mall of Georgia owners, is being
built adjacent to the Mall of
Georgia at Mill Creek. It will fea
ture discount stores.
Among the stores scheduled to
be tenants at the Power Center are
Best Buy, Target, Staples, Upton’s
and Nordstrom’s Rack, which fea
tures the department store’s last
season items that didn’t sell.
ous “regions” in the mall, is reminis
cent of the Peachtree Arcade, a
famous tum-of-the-century shopping
center, and the food court is
designed to resemble Union Station,
the main post-Civil War train termi
nal for Atlanta.
Tied in with the history of Georgia
theme is the 12-foot statue of Button
Gwinnett, a Georgian signer of the
Declaration of Independence and the
namesake of the county, which will
sit atop the 150-foot tower at the
north, main entrance to the mall. At
night, the statue will be illuminated.
“It is a unique mix of stores that
will provide a day’s experience even
if you don’t actually buy anything,”
said Birchfield.
In addition to a wide variety of
stores, the Mall of Georgia at Mill
Creek will feature a 20-screen Regal
Cinema and I-Max Theater, other
entertainment, a wetlands center and
“The Village at Mill Creek.”
The Village is an imitation of a
Georgia town center as it might have
been during the first half of the cen
tury. It will have shops, a restaurant
and outdoor entertainment. The
Village will be located between the
mall and the wetlands center.
“The developer wanted to give the
community an exciting shopping
experience that is more than a region
al mall,” said Tom Porter, senior prin
cipal with TVS and project director
for the mall. “The goal is to have it
work like a village. Our design of the
project achieves this aim.”
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Photo/Roxane Campbel
Construction at the Mall of Georgia as of mid-February, as seer
from the rear of the mall, like the rendering below. An area fb
pedestrians and special events is coming together as stores
continue to sign on, such as Barnes & Noble, which will be
located adjacent to the mall in the building to the right.
A sample of what’s in store at the mall
Anchor stores A few of the others:
Dillard’s Sunglass Hut
J.C. Penney Williams Sonoma
Lord & Taylor Restoration Hardwares
Nordstrom’s Virgin Megastore (records)
Barnes & Noble
Mini-anchors Old Navy
Galyan’s (sporting goods) Disney Store
Haverty’s (typically not in malls) Eddie Bauer
Bed, Bath & Beyond Footlocker
GAP, Gap Kids
Food/Beverage Limited Natural Wonders
NASCAR Restaurant Swarovksi
Starbuck’s Coffee
Chick-fil-A Theaters
Bourbon Street Case Regal Cinemas
plus a 700-seat food court IMAX 3-D