Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE - A high-rise development that would put 450 units at the corner of Satellite Boulevard and Boggs Road would bring much-needed residents to the Gwinnett Place area, an attorney said.

The project, on the NCR site, would demolish part of that company's building and include restaurants, shops and an existing golf course in what attorney Michael Sullivan called an "urban-suburban" project. It passed the county's planning commission Tuesday.

"It would bring new life and new vitality," Sullivan said. "I think it will be a good thing for that area."

The 84.87-acre development is outside the boundaries of the Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District, but Sullivan said young, affluent residents who moved into the units would likely work and shop in the area. He also did not rule out the possibility that the center would join the CID in the future.

At 12 stories, the project is just the second high-rise development to pass the planning commission in the county. The only approved high-rise, La Belle Verde, hit funding snags when a development and architecture firm split. The 25-story project is due to be built on 4.7 acres on Steve Reynolds Boulevard.

The Satellite project is also the third mixed-use redevelopment overlay passed by the planning commission and the first since 2004.

Sullivan said he expected the residential component would draw wealthy residents who wanted an urban experience in a suburban area. The shops and restaurants would likely be boutiques, he said, much like those at The Forum at Peachtree Parkway.

"There's a tremendous commercial base there, but they don't have any residents who live there," he said. "It will bring more affluent young professionals. What's there is mostly apartments. It will bring a totally different demographic to the area."

The plans also call for a bus station, in the event that transit becomes available on the corridor, he said.