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 an estimated population of 42,773 in 2016. The city, bordered to the north and west by 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.
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History
Settlement
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. Nevertheless, 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. 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. The prosperity of Pinckneyville was to be short-lived, however. 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.
Urban development
For the next century, the area remained a rural farming community. In the late 1960s, Paul Duke developed the idea of creating Peachtree Corners, a planned community to be constructed in the area that was once known as Pinckneyville. In 1967, Duke initiated the planning of the office component of Peachtree Corners, Technology Park Atlanta, a campus for high technology industries to employ engineers graduating from the Georgia Institute of Technology. As a member of the Georgia Tech National Advisory Board, he raised $1.7 million to develop the business center. Initial residents of the tech park included GE, Scientific Atlanta (now part of Cisco Systems), and Hayes Microcomputer Products. In 1968, Duke established Peachtree Corners, Inc., a development corporation for the residential parts of the community.
During the 1970s, Jim Cowart began to develop the neighborhoods that Duke had planned. Initial neighborhoods developed by Cowart included Peachtree Station, Chattahoochee Station, Spalding Corners, Revington, Linfield, and Amberfield. During this period, Cowart laid more sewer pipes than Gwinnett County. 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.
Incorporation
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. Despite the efforts of the UPCCA development continued in Peachtree Corners throughout the 1990s; therefore, in 1999, the idea of incorporating Peachtree Corners was first proposed. However, due to the complexity of existing law, an incorporation movement did not then materialize. A city of Peachtree Corners was again proposed by the UPCCA in 2005, but efforts were abandoned after a resident survey revealed the majority of citizens did not support incorporation.
In 2010 the UPCCA again pursued the incorporation of Peachtree Cornersafter a failed attempt by the city of Norcross to annex a portion of Technology Park. 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 40,059, making Peachtree Corners its largest. Municipal operations began on July 1, 2012.
Geography
Peachtree Corners is located in the western corner of Gwinnett County at 33°58?32.1?N 84°13?4?W (33.969893, -84.221455). Seven miles of the Chattahoochee River define the northern and western border of Peachtree Corners, and it is bordered by the cities of Dunwoody, Doraville, and Sandy Springs (DeKalb and Fulton counties) on the west, Buford Highway and Norcross city limits on the south, Roswell and Johns Creek (both in Fulton County) across the Chattahoochee River on the north, and the city limits of Berkeley Lake and Duluth on the east.
Demographics
Since Peachtree Corners was not a city or 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) per person of $70,724. The median home price in 2007 was $368,408. 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. 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 42,773 in 2016.
Economy
The economy of Peachtree Corners is largely driven by the concentration of businesses in planned office parks, particularly engineering firms, logistics organizations and information technology companies.
In October 2014, United Arab Shipping Company relocated its 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. In 2017 it merged with Hapag-Lloyd, keeping the headquarters in Peachtree Corners. The office campus includes a 9 1/2 ton ship anchor, weighing 8775 kilograms and measuring 16 feet long by 10 feet wide.
In May 2016, Comcast Corporation, the American global telecommunications conglomerate that is the largest broadcasting and cable television company in the world by revenue, relocated its Southeast Headquarters to the Wells Building, a 10-story office building in Peachtree Corners.
Some other businesses in Peachtree Corners include, Honeywell, Sprint Corporation, Siemens Industry Automation, Fleetcor, ACI Worldwide, and CMD Group among the over 2,300 businesses currently calling Peachtree Corners home.
Parks and recreation
Peachtree Corners has multiple parks including the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area along the Chattahoochee River at Medlock Bridge, Holcomb Bridge Park, Jones Bridge Park with river access, Pinckneyville Park, and the 227-acre (918,636.41 m²) Simpsonwood Park that has 2,140 linear feet (652.27 m) of river frontage along the Chattahoochee River.
The city holds the Annual Peachtree Corners Festival and, each year, a Holiday Parade called the Holiday Glow in the Corners Parade. Peachtree Corners is headquarters for the Southern Section of the United States Tennis Association (USTA).
Transportation
Roads and expressways
Peachtree Corners is located to access major highways, I-285, I-85, GA 316 and GA 400, and is approximately 30 minutes or 21 miles (33 km) northeast of downtown Atlanta. A number of collector roads distribute traffic around the city, including GA 141 (Peachtree Parkway), GA 140 (Holcomb Bridge Road), Peachtree Corners Circle, Spalding Drive and Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.
Transit systems
Gwinnett County Transit serves the city. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) - Doraville Rapid Rail Station is approximately 10 minutes or 5.7 miles (9 km) from Peachtree Corners. MARTA provides rapid rail service and connecting services to Atlanta, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and other points north, south, east and west.
Airports
Peachtree-DeKalb Airport is a county owned, public use airport approximately 15 minutes or 7.9 miles (13 km) from Peachtree Corners. Gwinnett County Airport is a municipal airport located about half an hour or 18 miles (29 km) from the city. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the international airport known as the world's busiest airport, a passenger hub for the country and internationally, and serving more than 260,000 passengers daily, is located approximately 40 minutes or 29 miles (46 km) south of Peachtree Corners accessible by Interstate Highway and MARTA.
Pedestrians and cycling
The Western Gwinnett Bikeway is a multi-use trail along Peachtree Industrial Boulevard. It is a shared use path, cycle track, and bike lane connecting to neighboring Duluth and Norcross. Peachtree Corners has added, and continues to add, additional sidewalks and safety upgrades for pedestrians. Further, the city is progressing with creation of other multi-use trail systems that will crisscross the city linking office parks, restaurants, retail centers, the new town center and surrounding neighborhoods..
Government
The City of Peachtree Corners was incorporated on July 1, 2012, and provides land-use planning, zoning, infrastructure maintenance and improvements, capital improvements, other public works, zoning enforcement, promulgation of building and environmental ordinances, business licensing and enforcement of them, and solid waste collection. The city is governed by a mayor and six city council members which are elected to four-year terms. The city employees Peachtree Corners has in charge of day-to-day operations include a city manager, city clerk, and the community development director. The city also has code enforcement personnel, building officials, and department directors. Departments in the city include Communications, Community Development, Finance, Downtown Development Authority, and Public Works. The city has its own municipal court and employs a city attorney.
The city is authorized to collect property taxes of up to one millage a year, though the city has thus far operated only on business license, franchise and other fees without levying any property taxes, and Peachtree Corners has lower county taxes than unincorporated Gwinnett County. SPLOST, Georgia Department of Transportation and federal grant dollars contribute to the funding of capital projects.
The United States Postal Service operates the Peachtree Corners Post Office, which uses ZIP code 30010 for post office boxes in that location. As of July 2014, the Postal Service officially recognized Peachtree Corners as a city, which means residents and businesses use Peachtree Corners in their mailing addresses and on their websites. The city is made up of five ZIP Codes, 30092, 30071, 30096, 30097 and 30360.
Peachtree Corners has earned a 'City of Ethics' Designation, has received the Green Communities Certification, has been awarded Green Government of the Year, is a designated Tree City USA, and has received a Redevelopment Award. The city has also prepared a Livable City Initiative study and a 2017-2022 Economic Development Plan.
Education
Gwinnett County Public Schools serve Peachtree Corners through Duluth High School, Norcross High School, Duluth Middle School, Pinckneyville Middle School, Simpson Elementary School, Peachtree Elementary School, and Berkeley Lake Elementary School. Further, Wesleyan School, Seigakuin Atlanta International School and Cornerstone Christian Academy (K-8th grade) are private schools located in Peachtree Corners. Gwinnett County Public Library operates the Peachtree Corners Library.
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). There are seven additional local stations that are accessible over the air without the need of cable, etc. access. The city also is served by WGTV and WPBA, which are PBS member stations, with WGTV being the flagship station of the statewide Georgia Public Television network. Several TV services provide Peachtree Corners with cable, DSL, fiber and satellite TV broadcasts and Internet including AT&T U-verse/DIRECTV, Charter/Spectrum, Comcast/Xfinity and DISH Network.
Additionally, there are approximately 23 business Internet providers for Peachtree Corners.
Peachtree Corners is served by approximately 50 radio stations and by two daily newspapers, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Gwinnett Daily Post, the Daily Post being Gwinnett county's legal organ.
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. A home on Fitzpatrick Way in Peachtree Corners was used as a filming location for the 2015 movie "Barely Lethal" starring Sophie Turner, Jessica Alba, and Samuel L. Jackson. The film used Simpsonwood Park as the staging area.
Notable people
- David Andrews, NFL football player with the New England Patriots
- Chandler Massey, actor (Days of Our Lives); 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.
- James Ramsey, Major League Baseball player with the Los Angeles Dodgers
- Mike Sheffield, attorney
- Trey Thompkins, basketball player with Real Madrid Baloncesto
- Brice Butler, NFL wide receiver with the Dallas Cowboys
- Jodie Meeks, NBA shooting guard with the Washington Wizards
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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