Gwinnett Daily Post

LILBURN -- Gwinnett's newest Community Improvement District is tackling its first major project.

The Lilburn business zone's board of directors voted earlier this week to seek a professional consulting firm to begin a corridor study of U.S. Highway 29, the main drag through its territory.

Officials plan to study a four-mile section between Ronald Reagan Parkway and Rockbridge Road to develop short- and long-range goals, objectives and initiatives for the revitalization of the commercial area, a press release said.

CID Executive Director Gerald McDowell said the fledgling group -- which begins with 158 property owners and a property value of $123.6 million -- hoped to use the study to find inter-parcel connections on both sides of U.S. 29, since transportation crews are working on projects to add a median and improve three intersections on the road.

"This is a significant first step," McDowell said. "Forming this kind of initiative in our current economic climate is necessary to provide us the playbook needed for revitalization and development within the CID. Property owners understand that a CID is an investment that makes sense."

While the study will not be funded by the Atlanta Regional Commission's Livable Centers Initiative grants, prospective firms must adhere to the requirements of the program, the release said.