64: How Gwinnett Grows: Housing, Business, and Redevelopment

On the latest episode of Conversations with Ku, Planning and Development Deputy Director Matt Elder joins Commissioner Ku to discuss the recently amended Economic Development Ordinance and other planning and zoning questions. 

Commissioner Ku would love to hear from you or answer questions about District 2. Feel free to email him at Ben.Ku@GwinnettCounty.com and your question may be read on air. 

Transcript

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Hello, everyone. I'm Gwinnett County district two Commissioner Ben Ku, and you're listening to Conversations with Ku. Welcome to episode 64 for July 2026. On this episode, I'm joined once again by Matt Elder, who is Deputy director for Gwinnett Department of Planning and Development. Matt stopped by last year to talk with me in district one, Commissioner Kirkland Carden, about the Gwinnett Place Mall site, which is currently one of the county's biggest redevelopment projects. This year, he's back to discuss the recently amended Economic Development Ordinance. It includes a significant update that expands how Gwinnett attracts and supports new businesses, industries and even affordable housing. in this episode, we'll break down what changed, what it means for residents, and why it matters for the future of our community. Plus, we'll touch on some of the high profile projects shaping Gwinnett landscape from Rowan to the Stone Mountain Tennis Center, Gateway Gwinnett, and of course, Gwinnett Place Mall. we'll get into the big underlying question residents have when it comes to development. How do we grow without losing what makes our neighborhoods and communities so great? Matt, I'm glad to have you back on the show.- Thanks for having me back. I'm excited to be here.- Always good to see you! So let's start with the big piece of news at our June 16th meetings. The Board of Commissioners approved to amend the Economic Development Ordinance. Can you give listeners a brief overview of the key changes?- Yeah, absolutely. The Economic Development Ordinance was amended to help the county to stay current competitive in an ever evolving economic landscape. The new version, known as the Economic Development and Housing Incentives Ordinance, makes several changes that include adding vertical mixed use development and affordable housing sales or project types. It revised the list of authorized incentives to clarify those, provided updates on our reporting requirements, and created a economic development and housing incentives policy by which possibly go forth to offer those incentives.- Great, and you mentioned the creation of the economic development and housing incentives policy. Can you explain a bit more about what that is and why it's needed here in Gwinnett?- Yeah. That can, I guess, get a little confused when I use them both the same sentence?- Well, I know you where our housings czar for the longest time, so I think this is probably something near and dear to your heart.- Absolutely. The ordinance is a document that authorizes our ability to use the incentives legally. The policy is what actually provides the details behind how we go about potentially offering incentives. So for example, in our policy, we have a five transparent tiers for how a project could qualify for incentives. Those tears are based primarily on the level of capital investment the project has, the amount of jobs that it will create or retain, and the average wage that is being paid for those jobs. So, for example, if we had a project that came to us with a proposed capital investment with $50 million, that was going to create 150 new jobs and pay 1.1 times the current county average for that industry’s wages. That project could qualify for tier three or what we titled large scale development support, Which could include a reduction in Gwinnett County fees, expedited development review in permitting processes, and or up to 12 year ad valorem tax incentive by putting the process by which we offer the incentives into a policy document as opposed to an ordinance, it gives us greater ability to be nimble and responsive to the market as it shifts.- So in terms of economic development, what are some of the county's targeted industries?- Yeah so the policy actually lays out eight targeted for the county that are introducing here. And so the first is advanced manufacturing looking at the expansion of high tech manufacturing and production facilities, information technology and digital services and other industry businesses, and software development and cybersecurity. I think we've all heard the great news about Rowan and the UCB landing there, and we will continue to focus on healthcare and life sciences as a focus moving forward for those healthcare facilities, biomedical research and pharmaceutical development, sustainable and clean energy investments and renewable energies, energy efficiency technologies and environmental services, corporate professional services, something that's been a hallmark of the county for quite a long time, bringing some of those businesses and headquarters here. Logistics and supply chain management, really leveraging our location beyond I-85 and on 95 and highway 316 with access to literally the entire East Coast. Those vertically integrated mixed use development, we're going to see, projects that are going to be able to adapt, reuse areas that are maybe underutilized or in this, or some cases, not even be less at all and turn them into things that have higher density and higher yield in terms of impact for the county overall. And then lastly, affordable housing, which would be either through residential dedicated projects or mixed use developments that will include housing that are dedicated to affordable for a period of a minimum 20 years.- Nice. I know you mentioned the vertical mixed use, which is near and dear to my heart. I want to make sure that we're maximizing our vertical space as well to density in places that make sense. Not everywhere. So that's a great lead into talking about incentives. And knowing who you want is one thing, but how do you actually get them here? What types of incentives can be offered now to businesses or developers who want to come to Gwinnett?- Yeah so the new ordinance authorizes the following incentives to kind of be offered. The first is the reduction of fees and charges in accordance with our policy. Those that are related to permitting fees, rezoning applications, fees, stuff like that, that expedited development and permitting process. This is a non-financial incentive in terms of direct incentive, but can potentially save developers significant amount of time. And time is money, of course, in this world. And so that's a very important one that we've spoken to the development committee about a good bit.- Is that something that they requested?- Some of them have been very adamant about some that can significantly change some of the pro forma in terms of their budget and make sure they're having significant cost savings in terms of the pre-development or project development costs overall and can lead to the ability to do greater things in terms of versatility, with different types of development for different integrations and even potentially more affordable housing by saving money on the front end. They can give us back impact on the back end.- Great.- Also we worked very closely coordination with our development authority in the housing authority here in Gwinnett County, and the different laws since they are allowed to kind of offer. This is a permit where you see our ad valorem tax base incentive opportunities. And then lastly, most recently added was the construction of public infrastructure for those projects that are going to be transformational, potentially where we may need to drag a sewer line and put some street infrastructure in place. We have the ability to do that under the new ordinance. But is important to kind of note from your first question is that every project review is unique. There's no set stock way where we would go about saying, well, you get this incentive or everybody gets offered this. We try and cater every single approach from a business development to who we're talking to and what they've kind of identified they're looking for. Just because something is in our ordinance or policy is allowed doesn't mean it will be offered. Just because you qualify for it does mean we're going to do it. There's still an entire section of our policy that really speaks to our fiduciary responsibility as a county, in terms of taking the tax dollars from residents and returning the most value and impact. We can back, and we take that very seriously. While we require every project that we reviewed to meet community impact requirements on infrastructure, utilities, budget and also be in line with our unified plan, our unified development ordinance, to make sure we're not just having projects that aren't a fit where we're looking to go long term, where we have zoning to take place, in areas that don't make sense, because when we start with our growth and intentional with it as well.- So it's really just giving us more tools in our toolbox.- It's absolutely giving us more tools on toolbox and sharpening ones we already had.- Great! So how are these incentives structured?- Yeah the structure of the incentive really depends on what is being offered. If it's a wave fee or expedited reviews, those are noted in our permitting system and provided more of an upfront cost savings to the projects overall. If it's an ad valorem tax based incentive, we offer that on what's known as a straight line abatement, whereas the first year of the project is at 100% abatement, and then every subsequent year thereafter, it steps down by an equal percentage. So to use the example from before, if we were to have a ten year ad valorem project that we were going to give an incentive to, the first year would be at 100%, and then year 2 to 90%, and then 80, year two, 70 and year three and so on and so forth until the ten years have expired. And the full cost of the tax basis is on that development project. So all of our ad valorem taxes are based on that kind of an approach, where the other ones are more front loaded in terms of the beginning of the project.- So if someone sees a ten year abatement, they shouldn't freak out that it's ten years of no taxes. It's graduated.- Yeah, starting in year two will be collecting tax revenue on that project just to be a gradual increase of what they pay over the course of the ten years.- Now let's shift to our residents and our neighborhoods. There's always a concern about managing growth and balancing development with community character. How do we grow without losing what makes our neighborhoods and communities so great?- Yeah, it's great question and one that we all should focus on when we're doing this kind of work. I believe that a large part of our work is about augmenting and providing opportunities for residents in these neighborhoods and communities. We've seen through our outreach efforts, clear desire for more accessibility and proximity to the places where our residents work, where they shop, and where they play. This was a critical part of why we moved forward with the idea of creating these daily communities, so that ideally, people could have those options within 15 minutes of them through our Unified Plan efforts and by being proactive in our approach to land use policy specifically, we can get in front of development and direct it to where we want it to go. That will allow us to long term keep our amazing neighborhoods and communities together, while also delivering high quality community assets for them to enjoy long term.- So where do you anticipate seeing the most growth over the next 5 to 10 years?- Yeah, I think that's the magic question for you everyone right now isn’t it?- Are you going to do it in my backyard?- I think that this is where our intentionality is really shine through. Our department under director Matt Dickenson’s leadership has been laser focused on identifying areas where we see the ability to add more density and growth without disrupting existing neighborhoods. That is being done through a small area planning process. These areas have been identified as ideal due to factors like their location, their infrastructure, and proximity to major projects. It's also important to understand that that has less than 10% of land left that is undeveloped. That means that much of our future growth will be current as a result of adaptive reuse of redevelopment, where we're going to look to convert underutilized areas and developments that can support multiple projects. What we talk about earlier. This is specifically what you're seeing in areas like the Stone Mountain Tennis Center development. We'll be seeing when it comes to the redevelopment of Gwinnett Place Mall in the former OFS site off of Jimmy Carter Boulevard.- I've gotten a lot of feedback from residents asking about traffic impacts of new development. And that is a complicated question to answer because there's no silver bullet of how to solve these problems. But often what I've learned, which is counterintuitive, is that sometimes new development that's done right can actually capture traffic and help with our traffic issues rather than exacerbate it even as we density.- Yeah, I think that's absolutely true. I think when we talk about the daily community approach in terms of having everything within 15 minutes, it's not just a 15 minute car ride. It could be a 15 minute walk or jog or bike ride. And as we look at these small area plans and these targeted redevelopment areas, we're looking to create that live, work, play atmosphere all there within the single site. So there's walkability, there's connectivity and there's accessibility, most importantly to community that surrounds it. So maybe there is a large scale redevelopment. It's going to add density, but it will hopefully limit the amount of daily traffic the cars are required to get to it, because the people who are going to be using it, half are living there with it, and the other half are just coming in there versus crossing a 78 or an 85 or 316 or satellite boulevard to get to whatever that new amenity is they want to have as their community asset by bringing it closer to them, putting it into their community and making it a part of them on existing commercial corridors where we already have existing density, not neighborhoods or residential areas. You know, we're going to create the ability to take cars off the street by creating these areas that we're going to be focused on from a long term and hopefully long term reduce traffic.- So you mentioned the small area master plans multiple times. I know those were developed with a lot of input from residents over various meetings and engagements and surveys. Can you talk a little bit more about what those smaller area plans are, how they relate to the 2045 plan, and how that fits in with all these planning efforts?- Yeah so the small area plans are really targeted micro strategies for land use and future redevelopment opportunity that are appendices to our unified plan. They're constructed through the existing land use structure we put into the 2045 plan. And really they're focusing on traditionally key commercial corridors where we have, large swaths of asphalt where there's a lot of parking that's been done for traditional older scale retail, where there's potential bring that development closer to the street redevelopment, maybe go vertical with some vertical integration and really add density to an otherwise impervious surface. That's not giving us a heck of a lot of use, because the retail behind it is currently being underutilized, or is just not appropriately spaced for what it was developed or how it's been developed around it. And so the small area plans really go in and kind of focus on not just identifying those corridors, but going into individual sites in some cases and saying this could be a catalyst site to redevelop this area. We want to target a certain amount of housing, a certain amount of office or cultural use within this entire corridor. And then what we're working on next, in terms of that redevelopment plan, is adding the ability to community overlays in place to make surethat some of hese can happen by right because again, as we talked about earlier, time is money. In the case of a lot of this redevelopment from an economic and a housing perspective. And so if we can make those kind of redevelopments happen by right, then we're going to be able save a lot of developers money in the forefront, which can get us a lot of really cool and innovative approaches as to how these redevelopments can be done on the back end, which is where we get that biggest bag for the buck and return to our residents here at Gwinnett.- So I know a lot of our residents start engaging with us when there's a zoning that comes up, and then they get really involved and they are very clear about what they don't want in the community. I think that's one of the reasons why it's so important. When these area master plans come up, that people get engaged at that point so they can tell us what they do want in those areas, and that's what those master plans do is they tell developers, “Hey. These are things that the community has already approved, say that they would want so they know what to bring to new development.- Yeah, 100%. I think that when we look at the comprehensive planning process it is usually done every five years, whereas these are appendices that are being done right now in the moment. We have five that passed last year. We have four more currently that are in the works. And so it's imperative that we get the feedback from the people who are on the ground within these targeted areas in terms of what they want to see. The future of the community look like, both from the residential aspect, but more importantly for where we see redevelopment happen along those corridor areas. And so if you have a chance, whether you're in Sugarloaf or Harbins-Alcovy or Park Place or Jimmy Carter to attend a public meeting, give your feedback, give your thoughts. We certainly would not just value that, but welcome that in terms of being able to help craft what the future of those corridors are gonna look like from a small area development standpoint.- So if people are in those areas that you mentioned and want to give feedback, where should they go?- So if you go to the Gwinnett County website and go to our planning development page and click on Unified Plan, on the left hand side of that menu will be where the current active small area plans are, and you can click on those and find the contact information and details about what's coming on in terms of different community events, or who would reach out to in terms of where those plans are. - Right? And of course, people can always just email the commissioners directly if they like. So of course, economic development isn't just about attracting big and new businesses. It's about supporting small and local too. How do we best support existing businesses here in Gwinnett?- Yeah, Gwinnett County is home to over 140,000 businesses. At last count, they range from fortune 500 companies to small businesses and entrepreneurs. And over 88% of those businesses here in Gwinnett County are small businesses, which mean they have less than 100 employees total. It is imperative that we provide our existing businesses with the Gwinnett standard level of care and attention they deserve. Helping to deliver that support is our business services division. Our team is out constantly in the community, meeting with local businesses to develop relationships, understand what their needs are and identify solutions to help support them. Our existing businesses here in Gwinnett County are a reason why we've been able to grow and be successful in so much of our endeavors of the county and providing that support, whether it's a day to day need or a longer term strategy, need, is something we take very seriously and are critically trying focus on.- And what services or programs are available to help local businesses grow. Yeah, our business services team is really one of the go-tos when it comes to growing out your company and doing business here in Gwinnett County. They offer a plethora of services that include networking, business development, resource connection, and assistance with how to grow your business here in the county. That includes our Gwinnett Entrepreneur Center which is our small business resource hub and incubator program. Services for entrepreneurs and small businesses offered through the center include cohorts, training classes and workshops, business coaching and peer learning, and also, I would be remiss if I did mention that we have so many great partners in our community as well that are available to help augment some of this work and supported in a number of ways too. So anything that you need to help be a business, grow a business, or just do business here in Gwinnett County, our business services team is standing at the ready and beck and call be there for you.- So before we wrap up there was a question from one of our residents who had a zoning question. Kate asks, can the county regulate types of businesses? There are 4 to 5 Chipotles within ten minutes of me, and I would rather see trees, other businesses, etc. I also have concerns that there's a Chipotle monopoly, and it's harder for other businesses to compete. I do like Chipotle, but are 4 to 5 necessary? Thanks. Signed, Kate.- Well, first I also like Chipotle. So I do it with Kate there. the monopoly question is something for different expertise. I’m not a lawyer, and I did stay at a Holiday Express last night. But you know the county regulates land use and what we can do with certain parcels. And so the market's going to really dictate what kind of businesses are going in there. We have or want that kind of control over what happens there. And so really the market dictates that. And apparently according to the market at least around Kate, there's a lot of demand for Chipotle I get it. There's only one out where I live. I wish there was at least two. But you know, the market will really ebb and flow with regard to that. And so if there is an oversaturation of Chipotle or any really kind of restaurant of stature in a certain area, the market will likely take care of that itself. Our focus is on is really what the underlying land use will be, and what kind of business will be going in there, not what the actual business itself will be.- Right. We don't have any agreements with Chipotle.- No we do not have any agreements with Chipotle no.- So Matt, thank you so much for coming back on the show.- Thank you I appreciate.- I'd like to thank our wonderful staff for helping to write, edit, produce and promote this podcast. To our listeners. Thank you for joining us. If there's a topic you'd like me to cover or someone you'd like me to interview, or a burning question you'd like me to answer, I'd love to hear from you. you can email me at Ben.Ku@GwinnettCounty.com That's Ben.Ku@GwinnettCounty.com for all your district needs. Thanks again for listening. And as always, stay vibrantly connected and we'll talk to you soon.