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08/11/2005
County announces purchase of
Vecoma
68 acre greenspace on Hwy 78
at Ross Road
Gwinnett County’s south side just got a little greener, permanently. The
Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners have agreed to purchase 68 acres along
the Yellow River south of Highway 78. The purchase price for the new passive
park in the southern area of the county is almost $3.2 million.
“This purchase will help maintain water quality in the Yellow River by
protecting floodplain on both sides of the river,” said District 3
Commissioner Mike Beaudreau. “It gives residents in south Gwinnett and the
78 corridor a significant passive recreation area right in the middle of the
Highway 78 corridor.”
Last year, a revitalization plan for the highway corridor between Snellville and
Stone Mountain recommended the creation of a park at this site in its five-year
action plan. Eventually, the County hopes to connect this land by greenway trail
along the river to a 44-acre parcel the County owns north of the highway.
Known as the Vecoma property, the land surrounds an existing special events
facility that is not included in the purchase. Funding will come from the green
space portion of the 2005 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).
The County’s director of community services, Phil Hoskins, noted that this
purchase “will ensure future public access to scenic land for passive recreation
while protecting valuable natural resources from development. Both are stated
objectives of the County.”
The mission of Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation (GCPR) is to provide quality
parks and leisure activities to the citizens of Gwinnett County. GCPR manages 30
park sites, with 16 more scheduled for future development. The park system
totals nearly 7,800 acres.
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The Hwy 78 CID applauds our Gwinnett
County Board of Commissioners on their purchase of the Vecoma property. The CID
had previously sought to advance the preservation of this site and to create the
greenway trail along the Yellow River. CID Chairman Dwight Harrison said, "This
is an outstanding accomplishment of our Commissioners and the CID appreciates
their vision, conviction, and dedication to greenspace preservation and
targeting key revitalization areas such as the Hwy 78 corridor."
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