Gwinnett Daily Post

A parade of national retailers is on the march to east Gwinnett.

Gap Inc., Barnes & Noble booksellers and Romano's Macaroni Grill are among the headliners in the new Avenue Webb Gin, a 56-acre lifestyle center at Ga. Highway 124 and Webb Gin House Road.

Atlanta-based developer Cousins Properties Inc. released its tenant list earlier this week, about two months ahead of the shopping center's phase I opening in August.

Phase II launches in October.

Some of the stores and restaurants coming to the outdoor mall:

Women's apparel retailer Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft

Men's and women's clothing retailer Banana Republic

Caribou Coffee

Chili's

Doc Green's

Men's clothing retailer Jos A. Bank and

On The Border

Gwinnett's second outdoor mall

This isn't Gwinnett's first lifestyle center.

Forum Development Group launched its own version in 2003 in Peachtree Corners. Typically filled with upscale stores, including many geared to women, lifestyle centers like the Forum and the Avenue Webb Gin are often built among affluence. The Forum serves one of the highest per capita income zip codes in Gwinnett, while average household income within three miles of Avenue Webb Gin was almost $94,000 in 2004, according to Cousins' estimates based on marketing research firm Claritas.

Wal-Mart on the move again

Here comes another Wal-Mart - and another battle between the retail giant and local homeowners.

Dacula's City Council this past week unanimously approved rezoning 48 acres on Harbins Road for construction of a 184,202-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter.

The site is south of Ga. Highway 316 and bordered to the north by West Drowning Creek Road.

Dacula residents reacted differently to Wal-Mart's plans

"We have no place at all to shop," said Betty Hale, a lifelong resident and former Dacula planning commissioner. "When I was growing up, Dacula had it all - doctor, dentist, shops, restaurant, a milliner. Then, cotton production died and Dacula died with it. Wal-Mart is coming here to give us this opportunity again."

Daemon Lauder, a nearby resident, expressed concern for his children.

"Can you promise me one of my kids will not get run over?" Lauder asked the council. "You're selling the city to Wal-Mart."

Banking merger

GBC Bancorp Inc., parent of Lawrenceville-based Gwinnett Banking Co., is merging with Charlotte's First Charter Corp.

The combined company will operate in some of the fastest growing markets in the country, including Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C., and Atlanta..

Staff Writer Bryan Brooks contributed to this column.