Peachtree Corners, Georgia

Peachtree Corners
City
Peachtree Corners
Gateway to Peachtree Corners
Nickname(s): The Corners
Motto: Innovative & Remarkable
Peachtree Corners Location within Metro Atlanta
Coordinates: 33°58′12″N 84°13′17″W / 33.969893°N 84.221455°W / 33.969893; -84.221455Coordinates: 33°58′12″N 84°13′17″W / 33.969893°N 84.221455°W / 33.969893; -84.221455
Country	United States
State	Georgia
County	Gwinnett
Government
• Type	Council/Administrator Council/Administrator
Population (2010)[1]
• Total	40,059[2]
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	30092, 30071,30097, 30096, 30360
Area code(s)	770, 678, 404, 470
Website	http://peachtreecornersga.gov/

Peachtree Corners is a city in western Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. It is a northern suburb of Atlanta, and is the largest city in Gwinnett County with a population of 40,059 in 2013. The city, situated on the banks of the Chattahoochee River, is located east of Dunwoody and south of Johns Creek. Peachtree Corners is the only one of Atlanta's northern suburbs that was developed as a planned community.^[3]

History

Prior to 1818, the western corner of what became Gwinnett County was Creek and Cherokee Indian Territory, and it was illegal for white families to settle there.^[4] However, there were several families of white squatters in the area before settlement was legalized, including Isham Medlock, whose name is lent to Medlock Bridge Road. In the early 1800s a road was built along a Native American trail from what is now Buford to what is now Atlanta.^[4] A small farming community known as Pinckneyville grew up along that road. By 1827, the community was home to the second school in Gwinnett County, The Washington Academy, founded on what is now Spalding Drive. The area was also home to a post office, saloon, blacksmith shop, carpenter shop and inn. However, the prosperity of Pinckneyville was to be short-lived. In 1870 a railroad was built through Norcross, and due to the heavy trading that could be done via the railroad, all of the area's businesses and many residents moved from Pinckneyville to Norcross.^[5]

The now-defunct Jones Bridge (1904) once connected Pinckneyville to Alpharetta.

Entrance to Technology Park Atlanta

For the next century, the area remained a rural farming community. In the late 1960s, a businessman named Paul Duke pitched the idea of creating Peachtree Corners, a planned community to be constructed in the area that was once known as Pinckneyville. Duke envisioned a place where people could live, work, and play in the same quality controlled environment, thus diminishing the need for long commutes. In 1967, Duke initiated the planning of the office component of Peachtree Corners, Technology Park/Atlanta, a campus of low-rise buildings that would house low-pollution, high technology industries to employ engineers graduating from the Georgia Institute of Technology. As a member of the Georgia Tech National Advisory Board, he persuaded 16 others to invest $1.7 million to develop a business center that would raise funds for Tech’s foundation and supply local jobs for graduates in high technology fields. In 1968, Duke established Peachtree Corners, Inc., and coaxed top developers from throughout the country to work within a stringent set of covenants and restrictions established to control the quality and type of residential development in the area.

The man who turned Paul Duke’s vision into executive neighborhoods in Peachtree Corners was Jim Cowart. Having developed and built homes in Dunwoody for years, Cowart came over to Peachtree Corners in the late 1970s, not as a home builder, but as a land developer. He determined from Gwinnett County where the sewer treatment lift station would be and went upstream and bought everything he could afford. The first neighborhood in Peachtree Corners that Jim Cowart developed was Spalding Corners. Chattahoochee Station had gone bankrupt, so Cowart took that property over from a bank and finished developing that neighborhood. He began Peachtree Station in 1979, which developed out at 726 homes. Cowart also developed River Station, Revington, Linfield, and Amberfield. The neighborhoods of Riverfield and Wellington Lake were developed by Jim’s son, Dan Cowart, who was also responsible for locating Wesleyan School in Peachtree Corners. In 1985, Cowart built the Farrell Creek sewer line, from the Wolf Creek pumping station to Farrell Creek, and up Farrell Creek to the east side of Highway 141. The line that allowed for the 1990s development of Amberfield, Linfield, Riverfield, Wesleyan School, and the businesses in Spalding Triangle office park, Fiserv, and The Forum. Neely Farm was one of the last neighborhoods to be built in Peachtree Corners, and it is located on the former farm of Frank Neely that abuts the Chattahoochee River. The United Peachtree Corners Civic Association (UPCCA), an umbrella group of neighborhood homeowners’ associations, was formed in 1993 in response to land use and overdevelopment concerns in the area.^[6] Despite the efforts of the UPCCA, development continued in Peachtree Corners throughout the 1990s, so that in 1999, the idea of incorporating Peachtree Corners was first proposed.^[7] However, due to the complexity of existing law, an incorporation movement never materialized.^[7] A city of Peachtree Corners was again proposed by the UPCCA in 2005 following the successful incorporation of neighboring Sandy Springs. Efforts were abandoned after a resident survey revealed the vast majority of citizens did not support incorporation.^[8]

Five years later, in 2010, it was announced that the UPCCA was pursuing the incorporation of Peachtree Corners.^[9] The decision to pursue incorporation was spurred by a failed attempt of the City of Norcross to annex a portion of Technology Park, which if successful would have prevented a city of Peachtree Corners from ever forming.^[10] In a referendum held on November 8, 2011, residents of Peachtree Corners voted to incorporate as Gwinnett County's 16th city, and, with a population of 34,274, its largest. Municipal operations began on July 1, 2012.^[1][11][12]

Geography

The Chattahoochee River, seen here at Jones Bridge Park, flows through many of Peachtree Corners' neighborhoods

Peachtree Corners is located at 33°58′32.1″N 84°13′4″W / 33.975583°N 84.21778°W / 33.975583; -84.21778 (33.969893, -84.221455).^[13] Peachtree Corners is defined as the area bordered by the cities of Dunwoody and Sandy Springs (DeKalb and Fulton counties) on the west, Buford Highway and Norcross city limits on the south, Johns Creek and Roswell (both also in Fulton) at the Chattahoochee River on the north, and the city limits of Berkeley Lake and Duluth on the east.^[14]

Demographics

Since Peachtree Corners was not a city (nor even a census-designated place) at the time, no demographic data is available for the city from the 2010 U.S. Census. However, the city contains approximately 95% of ZIP code 30092, which in 2004 had an average adjusted gross income (AGI) of $70,724. The median home price in 2007 was $368,408.^[17] As of 2000, 30092 was 70% white, 13% black, 9% Asian, 4% some other race, and 2% two or more races. Hispanics of any race made up 9% of the population.^[18] ZIP Code 30092 had a population of 31,704 at the 2010 census. With parts of ZIP Codes 30071, 30096, 30097, and 30360 being within the city limits of Peachtree Corners, the estimated population is 40,059.^[2]

Economy

The economy of Peachtree Corners is largely driven by the concentration of businesses, particularly engineering firms and information technology companies.^[19][20]

In October 2014 United Arab Shipping Company relocated their North American Headquarters to Peachtree Corners. The company purchased a 50,000 square foot office building on Spalding Drive for logistics, accounting and customer service operations.^[21] The office campus includes a 9 1/2 ton ship anchor, weighing 8775 kilograms and measuring 16 feet long by 10 feet wide.^[22] In February 2015, Governor Nathan Deal confirmed that Comcast will be expanding their Southeast HQ to Peachtree Corners. The mass media company will add 150 jobs at its new Southeast headquarters in Peachtree Corners.^[23]

Parks and recreation

Peachtree Corners is home to several parks including the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area - Medlock Bridge, Holcomb Bridge Park^[24] Jones Bridge Park,^[25] Pinckneyville Park,^[26] and Simpsonwood Park.^[27]

Government

City Hall - City of Peachtree Corners

The City of Peachtree Corners was incorporated on July 1, 2012 and provides three services: land-use planning and zoning including zoning enforcement, promulgation of building and environmental ordinances and enforcement of them, and solid waste collection, leaving other services, such as police, fire department (fire protection), and parks provided by Gwinnett County.^[11]

The city is governed by a mayor and six city council members which are elected to four-year terms. Day to day operations of the city are conducted by a city manager, city clerk, community development director, building official, code enforcement personnel, an accounting manager and court clerk, a communications director, and others.^[28] The city has its own municipal court and employs a city attorney.^[29][30]

The city is authorized to collect property taxes of up to one millage a year,^[31] though the city operated only on business license and other fees and without levying any property taxes in 2013.^[32]

The United States Postal Service operates the Peachtree Corners Post Office, which uses ZIP code 30010 for post office boxes in that location.^[33] As of July 2014, USPS officially recognized Peachtree Corners as a city, which means residents and businesses may use Peachtree Corners in their mailing address and on their websites. The city is made up of five ZIP Codes, 30092, 30071, 30096, 30097 and 30360.^[34]

Education

Gwinnett County Public Library - Peachtree Corners branch

The county operates Gwinnett County Public Schools. Norcross High School and serve students who live in Peachtree Corners. Wesleyan School, Seigakuin Atlanta International School and Cornerstone Christian Academy (K-8th grade) are private schools located in Peachtree Corners.^{[35][36][37][38][39]}

Gwinnett County Public Library operates the Peachtree Corners Library.^[40]

Media

As part of the Metro Atlanta area, the city's primary network-affiliated television stations are WXIA-TV (NBC), WGCL-TV (CBS), WSB-TV (ABC), and WAGA-TV (Fox). WGTV is the flagship station of the statewide Georgia Public Television network and is a PBS member station.

Peachtree Corners is served by the Gwinnett Daily Post, which is the most widely distributed newspaper as well as Gwinnett county's legal organ.^[41] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is also distributed throughout the city.

The former site of BJ’s Wholesale Club was used as the set of the 2012 movie “Neighborhood Watch” starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Jonah Hill.^[42] A home on Fitzpatrick Way in Peachtree Corners was used as a filming location for the 2015 movie “Barely Lethal” starring Sophie Turner (actress), Jessica Alba, and Samuel L. Jackson. The film used Simpsonwood Retreat and Conference Center as the staging area.^[43]

Infrastructure

Transportation

• Georgia State Route 141: Connects Peachtree Corners to Interstate 285
• Georgia State Route 140: Connects Peachtree Corners to Georgia State Route 400 and Interstate 85
• Spalding Drive: Connects Peachtree Corners to Dunwoody and Sandy Springs
• Gwinnett County Transit serve the city.

Notable people

• Chandler Massey, actor, Days of Our Lives – Massey received the 2012, 2013, and 2014 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series. In 2012, Massey became the first actor ever to receive a Daytime Emmy Award for playing a gay character.^[44]

• Travis Ragsdale, journalist - Ragsdale is a reporter at WDRB-TV, the FOX affiliate, in Louisville, Ky. He was previously a reporter at WRDW-TV, the CBS affiliate, in Augusta, GA.

References

External links

Media related to Peachtree Corners, Georgia at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website

Municipalities and communities of Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States County seat: Lawrenceville Cities Auburn‡ Berkeley Lake Buford‡ Dacula Duluth Grayson Lawrenceville Lilburn Loganville‡ Norcross Peachtree Corners Snellville Sugar Hill Suwanee Towns Braselton‡ Rest Haven‡ CDP Mountain Park Unincorporated communities Centerville‡ Five Forks Mechanicsville Hamilton Mill Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

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