Images: Suwanee's sweeping new central park is nearly finished ( atlanta.urbanize.city )

Images: Suwanee's sweeping new central park is nearly finished
Josh Green
Mon, 06/24/2024 - 17:05
City of Suwanee officials have set a tentative opening date for a unique greenspace project that’s been two decades in the making, as plans for the park’s food-and-beverage component also become clearer.

Located at the corner of Suwanee Dam Road and Main Street, the 25-acre Town Center on Main and DeLay Nature Park includes a sweeping, centerpiece bridge across the street from the growing Gwinnett County city’s master-planned Suwanee Town Center.

The greenspace project broke ground in September 2022 and is on pace to host its official grand opening Aug. 24, according to Chris Hardin, Suwanee’s economic development manager. (A soft opening allowing the public to access the park is expected to come sooner, likely in mid-July, according to Hardin.)

City officials purchased acreage for the new park 22 years ago as an early step in Suwanee’s comprehensive park and open-space plan—back when the city’s 22,000 population was roughly half what it is today.

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A recent nighttime aerial over Suwanee's Town Center on Main and DeLay Nature Park.Courtesy of City of Suwanee

In related news, the city has also partnered with a private entity to operate an outdoor food truck/market concept called Suwanee Circle with a bar section at the park’s pavilion area.

Suwanee Circle is scheduled to open at roughly the same time as the park’s grand opening, operating initially between four and five days a week and scaling up over the next year, according to Hardin.

Programming at Suwanee Circle calls for live music and big-screen TVs for sports, plus trivia nights, silent discos, and school events.

Elsewhere, expect rocking-chair seating, a variety of food trucks, gaming areas, and a range of beverages from nonalcoholic Icees and coffees to craft beers, White Claw margaritas, boozy lemonade pouches, margarita popsicles, and what’s described as Choo Choo Shots.

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How the park's Suwanee Circle component is expected to look and function. Courtesy of City of Suwanee

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Video drone footage from over the centralized greenspace in March. Reeves + Young; courtesy of City of Suwanee

Aspects of Suwanee’s new park project—especially the 1,200-foot-long bridge feature over water and raised social areas—recall Rodney Cook Sr. Park in Vine City. The bridge also serves to connect an existing Suwanee library branch to a hilltop section that overlooks two expansive lawns and Town Center.

Other facets include sandpit volleyball courts, two water features, a communal reading grotto near the library, a veterans’ memorial, and PlayTown Suwanee playground.

The project aims to seamlessly integrate the park with Town Center by way of a pedestrian tunnel beneath active railroad tracks and through another greenspace called Station Park.

Swing up to the gallery for the latest glimpses at what Suwanee’s next downtown greenspace entails.

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