Twenty years ago, the town of Braselton was visited primarily for its locally owned antique stores. However, the town’s proximity to Chateau Elan and Northeast Georgia Medical Center, as well as easy access to Interstate 85 and state highways, has made it a desirable location for families and developers alike.
Within ten years, the town’s population has swelled from 7,544 in 2010 to 12,961 in 2019, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The explosive growth has brought more development and traffic along with it.
Lexi Upchurch, a resident of Braselton for 20 years, said it was with these concerns in mind that she placed her vote for candidates in the upcoming town council elections.
Upchurch said her greatest concerns are with the recent boom in development on Highway 211 and the traffic that has come with it.
“I grew up in the Hamilton mill area, so I've seen Braselton turn into what it is today and just kind of lose that hometown feel with all the construction and development and everything else that they put out here,” said Upchurch. “I love this town. I love the people and the community and all those things that are here, but I'm concerned about the direction that it's going in as far as what's allowed with development of buildings. What buildings look like [and] the traffic is a huge issue.”
Upchurch is among the thousands of voters who will decide on the three contested town council races, including the mayoral race.
In addition to Highway 211 at exit 126 on Interstate 85, another part of Braselton that has become more popular for developers and residents is the historic downtown on Highway 53.
Dewayne Joy, owner of Joy Company Market in downtown Braselton, said some parts of the town cannot handle any more growth.
“There's nothing new being built at the moment. There's some stuff coming down the road over the next six months to a year that I know some individuals have been working on and planning but there's nothing for more growth in the town,” said Joy. “It's kind of limited right now because there's not any other commercial space, or retail space, so that's a challenge.”
Joy said he doesn’t have a problem with the growth but is concerned with other issues it could cause in the future, especially for infrastructure.
“The town is growing so fast…I won't say we can't keep up but it's gonna be difficult to keep up with it at the current rate,” he said.
Joy’s belief is that a difference in opinion concerning growth and development in the town is a large part of the reason why each town council race is contested.
“You always have people who think they can do a little bit better job than other folks in there…I think that's probably the main reason,” said Joy. “I think there's been positives and good stuff has happened over the last several years...I think there's still challenges coming ahead. But I would say it's probably just the growth and influx of other people in the areas thinking they can do a little bit better job.”
Currently, the town is in the process of constructing a new civic center, which Braselton Town Manager Jennifer Scott said will be complete early next year.
Outside of the civic center, Scott said the town itself is not developing anything new, but the downtown area will soon have two new developments for single-family residences from private developers.
One of the developments is called Townside and is going to be directly behind the Braselton Town Hall. The other unnamed development will be located at the intersection of Davis Street and Henry Braselton Drive off Highway 124.
Scott said that she expects more residential developments will come to the town because of its desirable location.
“It's our geography…we're halfway between Atlanta and South Carolina, there are two exits off I-85, there are four state highways, you can get to downtown Athens for football games, you can get to Lake Lanier,” said Scott. “It's just a great place to live and be able to get anywhere.”
As a current resident, Upchurch said that she would like to see a plan in place for future development, as well as some places that fit in with what is already in Braselton.
“I feel like we just need a plan and someone to execute on that plan…I'm concerned with the apartments. I'm concerned with the restaurants that they allow to come in here, I'm concerned with CVS going on every corner, or Walgreens or just general stores like that, adding more stuff and approving more permits, and not handling the traffic issue,” said Upchurch.
She added that she would like to see more done in the town that is like Chateau Elan.
“We have this great resort, but if you drive past Chateau Elan a quarter mile then it just changes the feel and everything of that resort atmosphere, and why people come up here,” said Upchurch. “You have visitors coming up to Chateau Elan- they have nowhere else to go in the town that is relaxing, has open space, has good restaurants…you don't even have anything that that's worth going to visit outside of the winery. I think it's a huge attraction that we could leverage to make this town better and it's not being used.”
Joy said growth in Braselton is inevitable as families move northward from areas such as Atlanta and Gwinnett County. He said it can be good for businesses such as his that are located downtown, but it must be done in a way that makes the downtown area more walkable and helps control traffic flow.
“I think it's going to be good; the more people can walk to things will also help,” said Joy. “[Otherwise] our traffic issue is just going to continue to get worse.”
Current Braselton Mayor Bill Orr has decided not to run after three terms, leaving the seat up for grabs between current District Four Councilman Hardy Johnson and attorney Kurt Ward.
Johnson’s decision to run for mayor after one term on the council leaves his seat open as well. Longtime Braselton resident Jeff Gardner, whose work experience includes global vice president of sales for a telecommunications firm, and James Murphy, a Gwinnett native who owns Standard Pump, Inc., are on the ballot for the District Four seat.
The District Two seat is the only race with an incumbent on the ballot. Councilwoman Peggy Slappey, owner of Peggy Slappey Properties, Inc., is running for a fourth term. She is opposed by Richard Harper, who is retired from the Georgia State Patrol and works in real estate.
