SUWANEE — Suwanee City Council has given its approval for the master plan of the proposed Town Center West expansion, which will occupy a 25-acre site across Buford Highway from Town Center Park.
"We're pretty stoked about this," said Marty Allen, Suwanee city manager. "We'll be adding new downtown-style spaces: open lawns, forested rooms, a large park-spanning bridge that would cross the entire park. That would give it almost a two-story, elevated park feel."
The bridge will be about 900 feet long and wide enough for pedestrian and bicycle use. It would sit approximately 20 feet off the ground, providing plenty of shade for the lawns below, Allen said; city leaders hope it will provide a unique experience on its own, with users able to get a bird's eye view of the park.
The property, otherwise known as the DeLay Property, sits behind the library on Main Street, and has been owned by the city since 2002.
"An important design element is relocating a portion of Main Street along and through the park. What that will allow us to do is address a safety issue that we currently have at Suwanee Dam (Road) and Main Street," said Allen.
The plans (see picture) call for moving Main Street's intersection with Suwanee Dam Road farther west, away from the Suwanee Dam/Buford Highway intersection.
Plans also call for a connection to the Brushy Creek Greenway, a half-mile multi-use trail which opened earlier this year, allowing for a connection between that path and the Suwanee Creek Greenway via Town Center West and Town Center Park.
The ultimate long-term plan, Allen said, is to connect the greenways into an approximately seven mile loop, which would likely come to fruition when the reconstruction of the Buford Highway corridor is finished.
As for the Town Center West developments, no timetable has been officially set as far as construction and completion goes.
"It's something that could be a short-term or a long-term plan. We're still working on the different funding options for it," said Allen.
As for the central water feature, it could be configured a few different ways.
"It could be a deeper pond, a more traditional pond. But it also could be a more urban-style reflecting pool," said Allen. "It just depends on what we get in the final design, whatever's the most appropriate."
Council approved the master plan unanimously, with nobody speaking in opposition to the plan, according to Allen.
