Gwinnett Officials Say A Deal Is Close To Develop Land Around Gas South Arena

Gwinnett County officials are close to naming a new development team to revive a planned mixed-use hub that will replace a sea of asphalt surrounding the Gas South District Arena and Convention Center.

The new team, expected to be announced next month, will take up the mantel of building office, retail, restaurants and apartments around the arena after North American Properties abandoned its redevelopment plans in 2019, said Stan Hall, CEO of the Gas South District and Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau, also known as Explore Gwinnett. 

The arena and land, located more than 25 miles north of Downtown Atlanta off Interstate 85 and Sugarloaf Parkway, are owned by the county, but the GCVB operates the Gas South District under an operating agreement and is spearheading negotiations with developers for the mixed-use project, Hall said.

“We’re excited about what’s about to happen out here,” Hall told Bisnow in an interview on Tuesday. “There’s been no hesitation about [the project] in any way. The confidence of it occurring? I have complete confidence.”

Hall didn't reveal details or which firms would be involved in developing the upcoming mixed-use complex, other than it would sprout up where a sprawling parking lot surrounding the convention center and arena now lies. But he said the deal is close to the finish line.

“We’re in very good shape. We have very strong partners, both in-state and out-of-state partners, who are very well funded,” Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce CEO Nick Masino said, adding that the county is already marketing potential office space above planned retail and a standalone Class-A office building to prospective tenants. 

The area around the 13,000-seat arena, formerly known as Infinite Energy Center, has been down this road before.

North American Properties, riding high on the success of its Avalon luxury mixed-use project in Alpharetta and the redevelopment of Colony Square in Midtown, had a deal for a $900M redevelopment of the site with 300K SF of retail, 865K SF of offices and 900 apartment units in a project it dubbed Revel in 2018.

The next year, the developer abruptly pulled out of the development, a move that caught Gwinnett officials by surprise, Hall said. The GCVB and NAP had gotten to the point in the potential agreement of negotiating details like who would pay for property maintenance, Hall said. 

“After that, we absolutely took a pause a little bit to sort of reevaluate,” Hall said.

Officials with NAP didn't respond to messages seeking comment.

To kick-start the process again, Hall said, “We went back and looked at our list of people we were talking to prior to the [request for proposals].”

The pandemic caused another delay in efforts to line up a new development team for the property, and the county only restarted conversations in earnest in 2022, he said. 

Hall said the GCVB is in talks for a ground lease with the development team to augment the additions already underway there.

Concord Hospitality is getting ready to open the 11-story, 348-room Westin hotel this month on the 118-acre property, and the county developed two new parking decks that delivered in 2021.

Gwinnett Commission Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson said on a podcast in January that the addition of The Westin allows the county to attract more events to the Gas South District, as well as possible sports teams.

“It allows us to really catalyze efforts in so many ways,” Hendrickson said. “It is going to be a game-changer, and again, this is going to put Gwinnett County on the map.”

In December, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved an up to 99-year ground lease for 4 acres at the Gas South District with Northside Hospital to develop a 60K SF medical office building.

The push to develop the Gas South Arena's parking lots is Gwinnett’s latest effort to add life to underused economic nodes in the county. Last week, the county tapped CBRE to spearhead the redevelopment of more than 500K SF of defunct interior retail space at the Gwinnett Place mall.

Hall said the latest iteration of the mixed-use component for the Gas South District is planned to be less dense than what NAP had intended with Revel. But the vision for the new project frees up a couple of parcels that can house vertical developments, he added.

Masino said the arena and convention center already have a built-in audience that would feed the commercial and residential uses on the property. 

Gas South Arena has been named among Billboard’s top 25 venues with seating for between 10,000 and 15,000 worldwide each year for the past decade. Acts like the Jonas Brothers, Evanescence, Eric Clapton, Blake Shelton and Sam Smith have graced its stage. It also has a 90K SF convention center and a 708-seat performing arts theater.

Masino said the built-in arena and convention center audience lends itself to a mixed-use campus. With more to do, visitors can come early and stick around after an event at the various restaurants and retailers that the project would bring, he said. 

While officials are confident about the success of the project, Hall said developers will have challenges with at least one aspect of the proposed development: the office building.

The county is still seeking developers to add the commercial space, but with hybrid work schedules denting office demand across the country, Hall said that could be a daunting piece of the project to get built.

“As far as this area goes, I do think the Sugarloaf area is one of the most attractive corridors in Atlanta right now. We are seeing growth out there, I think fairly robust growth,” Hall said. “I think office is certainly still the biggest challenge. But that’s a challenge that all of Atlanta is facing right now.”