The venture would take 20 years to complete and would require funding from the Atlanta Regional Commission, Roswell city council says on its Web site. The converted two-mile strip would lead to the city's historic district. Four-foot-wide bicycle paths would be part of the new look. Duluth, Decatur and Gwinnett County may follow suit if Roswell gets the redevelopment started, according to area council members.
Opposition from local small businesses is expected. In Roswell especially, the future of the Southern Skillet restaurant, a civic icon in the Value Village strip center on the controversial two-mile stretch, is at stake.
The commercial district of Alpharetta Street, from Norcross Street to Holcomb Bridge Road, is an extension of the Roswell Road business area in Sandy Springs, GA.
Area retail brokers tell GlobeSt.com that regional planners are watching the Roswell concept because it may hold the key to saving older retail neighborhood centers instead of demolishing them for new shopping centers which frequently require zoning changes.
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