Snellville food hall underway at new town center
Construction is starting on the brick centerpiece of The Grove at Towne Center, a major redevelopment project aimed at creating a downtown environment in Snellville.
A two-story food and entertainment hall known as The Market is now underway. The 24,000-square-foot building will be one of the final pieces of the town center, which will comprise of a library, shops, restaurants,
apartments, public space and other uses.
In 2019, Snellville tapped CASTO and MidCity Real Estate Partners to develop the town center near U.S. 78. City leaders have spent decades pushing for the creation of a de facto downtown, an effort sweeping through Atlanta’s suburbs. Doraville and Johns Creek are a few of the other communities in the midst of adding similar projects.
“Being in the retail business, you see the decline of malls, where people used to spend a lot of their time,” said Shannon Dixon, executive vice president of asset management, development and leasing at CASTO. “Now,
people want to be able to shop, go to a brewery, be outside, work and live in the same place.”
The Market is expected to reach completion in spring 2024, Dixon said, with a goal of attracting local and regional tenants. It will be built in front of The Grove Commons, a I-acre greenspace for events. The grass is
already laid, while a stage with a tree-shaped canopy is now under construction.
A shared parking deck with 750 spaces opened last year, followed by the completion of a mid-rise apartment building called The Tomlin. The units are nearing 95% occupancy after opening to residents in December. An
additional 26 apartments will be available for move-in later this year.
A collection of six buildings with shops, restaurants and other businesses are expected to be completed by the end of this year. Great American Cookie, Marble Slab Creamery, restaurant Parkside District and nail spa The Solan are among the first tenants to claim retail space.
Gwinnett County Public Library is opening a new branch beside the future home of The Market. THRIVE Coworking is filling the top floor with 26 private offices, three conference rooms and phone booths. The rest of
the library will be filled with meeting and collaboration rooms, learning labs, computer stations and study rooms.
On the opposite side of Wisteria Drive from The Grove, Northside Hospital is close to wrapping up construction on a medical office building with an ambulatory surgery center, urgent care and other outpatient facilities. It
plans to start assisting patients in November.
Snellville is located 30 miles to the east of Atlanta. The Grove serves as an homage to the city’s history, as it bears the same name of a gathering spot for travelers and traders during the early 20th century.
“It checked all the boxes for us as far as everything it could offer a community,” Dixon said. “It’s within 20 minutes of Atlanta, yet it’s close to scenic areas such as Stone Mountain.”
This article first appeared in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Aug 2, 2023 by Tyler Wilkins. To see the original article, click here.