Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE -- Commissioners moved ahead on allowing a recycled materials processing facility outside Norcross, despite concerns it could hurt a planned $1 billion mixed-use complex.

Despite concerns raised by an OFS attorney last week that the industrial use could harm the revitalization proposal centered on a gaming floor at Jimmy Carter Boulevard and Interstate 85, the small metal recycling facility was approved for 1.7 acres on Ponce de Leon Circle and Best Friend Road.

Commissioner Lynette Howard, who represents the area, said she was more concerned about the impact on nearby property owners than the OFS facility several miles away. She added conditions that the parcel's landscaping and aesthetics be improved before the project passed 3-1, with Chairwoman Charlotte Nash dissenting.

Michael Sullivan, an attorney for property owner BRP Partners, had argued last week that the small project would not hurt the industrial nature of the area, which was established in the 1960s.