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PeggyDaculaMom
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2/12/2010
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1:05:06 PM
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I am glad the new Kroger is coming. I like them better than Publix. Sorry Publix. I have heard their will be a big gas island and I am sure it will be a nice store. I hope the do something with the roads so it does not get to congested once they are open.
How does everyone else feel about this?
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littlebit63
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Posted - 2/12/2010 : 5:07:19 PM
Well 6 months ago you could have read all about how we feel about it and all the shady dealings surrounding it. However, the webmaster "archived" (a.k.a. DELETED) the thread. The truth got to be too much for 'em down at city hall.
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eric cartman
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Posted - 2/12/2010 : 5:54:01 PM
As I said repeatedly back then, it's a great thing that this store is going to be built and opened. Many people seem to think the 2 Publix stores in the area is enough, that they don't need another store in the area. It wouldn't break my heart if both of the Publixs' closed down. I haven't heard if it will be a 24 hour Kroger (hope so) but either way I am happy knowing I finally have a choice without having to drive an extra 7 miles.
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coachbill42
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Posted - 2/13/2010 : 4:43:37 AM
I am glad the Kroger is coming to town. I would think it would be 24 hours.
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Dacula Guy
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Posted - 2/13/2010 : 7:34:11 AM
I'm not a fan of Kroger, so there's your disclaimer.
This will bring us closer to the top brass of Ingles thinking that to compete they need to build a new and improved version right next to the existing one, and we'll have a huge vacant storefront. It'll sit that way for 4 years, then an Asian flea market will fill it out. I can't wait.
Ingles' strategy of building next to an existing store boggles my mind. It seems to be their MO - a tribute to their lack of sense of community.
Anyway, back to Kroger - the people of Dacula really got ripped off with this. The community was moderately opposed to it, but unlike the Library issue, as a whole, we were pretty apathetic about the Town Center.
The mayor once said we had one chance to get it right.
We could've had a Suwanee Town Center, a Duluth or Norcross Center. But all we wanted was revenue, not a community landmark.
So the one chance got whittled down to a half a chance, then a five percent chance, and finally to no chance at all. How we went from a Dacula Town Center to just another cheap Kroger strip center, I really don't understand. Personally, I'm pretty disappointed. I know the economy played a part, but it's a pretty glaring lack of foresight by all involved not to consider the possibility.
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HogMountainForever
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Posted - 2/13/2010 : 8:30:58 AM
Your right Guy, I gather we will have a grocery store with many vacant side plaza sites, nothing different than what we already have now. If this Kroger looks and is designed equal to the ugly eyesore that sits on Pleasant Hill Road then it will not be good for the community.
As Atlanta inches closer expect more of the same.
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Blueblaze
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Posted - 2/13/2010 : 2:38:20 PM
You are probably right about the vacant stores. In four years when the 737s are flying over both Publix and Kroger to land at Brisco Field it will not matter. Dacula will be the next College Park in a few years. There will be a lot of empty stores.
Edited by - Blueblaze on 2/13/2010
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dgszweda
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Posted - 2/15/2010 : 5:59:33 AM
I don't think too many people were against a Kroger coming to Dacula, it was just that a large mass of people were against the Kroger at that particular location. There was a total disregard for any kind of strategic planning within the city council on this topic. They even reversed their previous point of view earlier in this discussion. It was all in the name of property rights, although I am still confused whose property rights were are talking about.
The corner has historic significance to Dacula, it is the last area that has some wildlife in the heart of Dacula, there is a lake (albeit it needs to be cleaned up), and it is within walking distance of the heart of Dacula. I personally don't think that tearing down all the trees, destroying endangered wetlands, paving the entire thing over with concrete and building nearly the largest Kroger in the State, with no consideration to traffice or other issues was the best idea for that corner. I think this will go down as a bad decision by the City Council.
I think there were a lot of better places to place a Kroger that would have been convenient, not destroyed the middle of Dacula, and had been more conducive for traffic.
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littlebit63
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Posted - 2/15/2010 : 8:11:42 AM
I was thinking we should engrave the names of everyone who voted for it, including the mayor, and the fact that wetlands were destroyed to build it, in stone....for all to see and remember it for generations to come.
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rushnatl
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Posted - 2/15/2010 : 8:15:26 AM
quote:
dgszweda wrote:
I think there were a lot of better places to place a Kroger that would have been convenient, not destroyed the middle of Dacula, and had been more conducive for traffic.
I agree. I'm all for having a Kroger "IN" Dacula and not having to drive the extra few miles to 324/124 area (due to congestion there at times). The bigger/biggest problem is how Dacula is NOT handling the traffic growth around the area. Gwinnett doesn't care about Dacula for traffic so the city should be stepping up to fight with the county & state to get our roads fixed for the volume and not piece meal it like they are currently.
Perfect example -- the county fixed Old Peachtree and Old Fountain before Dacula (or maybe Gwinnett) figured out they needed to fix Old Peachtree & Hurricane Shoals as well as the wonderful Dacula Rd @ Hurricane Shoals.
Now the worst intersection will continue to be Old Peachtree @ Dacula Road. The slope of the road and the drop off if coming straight across from Walgreens or McDonald's is horrible and can cause a lot of crashes there if not fixed and the Kroger facility constructed.
Prepare for lots, and lots of small road jobs for the next few years while the city/county figure out they developed backwards!
Oh yeah, and let's put in some more neighborhoods too so they can also sit empty!
Too bad the development doesn't care about the roads in/out of their facility or they would require the city/county to fix the roads prior to land development.
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dgszweda
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Posted - 2/15/2010 : 12:19:04 PM
What really bugs me is why Gwinnett and Dacula do not charge proper impact fees. As homes and business go up they impact local infrastructure. The developers come, build, sell and move on, and the local citizens are responsible for handling the burden and costs of developing the infrastructure, once it becomes too troublesome. So we get things like SPLOST, more penny taxes, higher property taxes..... while the business get tax breaks, accommodations....
I understand that the businesses bring in tax dollars, but often times I don't think those tax dollars get appropriated properly in the long term.
Within a 1 mile radius of this intersection we have 2 high schools, 2 middle schools, 2 elementary schools. We have libraries, parks and churches surrounding this area. I am not sure a super center is really the best item for this location. I know that Kroger had their eye only on this location, but that doesn't mean that it has to be right for Dacula, just because it is right for Kroger.
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PeggyDaculaMom
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Posted - 2/15/2010 : 5:55:23 PM
To me the problem is not the Kroger. It is the poor planning of the City of Dacula. I believe the Kroger will be a very nice development and will blend in with the other commercial property on that side of the street, Taco Bell, Mc Donalds, etc.
The poor planning is that there are no conditions. If someone wants commercial zoning no problem. You got it.
If this was Gwinnett County, it would not be so easy. Ever hear of the Mall of Georgia Overlay, or the Hamilton Mill Overlay. These are specific design requirment that all commercial buildings must follow.
In Dacula. you do what you want. A perfect example of this is what I think of as a cess pool. The development behind Publics on Dacula Road. From the Beef O' Brady's on down on that side of the road. It looks terrible. Different hight buildings, no master plan on parking, no master plan on lighting, or exterior design.
To me quality is much better than quanity.
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SPBsportswear
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Posted - 2/15/2010 : 6:38:28 PM
I agree with Peggy in regards to the most recent planning of development around the the Publix area. You have a hodgepodge of buildings from a the nice animal hospital and bank down to the strip mall behind that no one seems to know about or care to visit, and the plain-jane Sears space. And if the development beyond Sears gets built as planned, you will have yet another completely different looking layout of small medical and office cluster buildings. And is it just me or does the Sonic really need to be down with the rest of the fast food instead of in the center of this area where you can't even turn left travelling Northbound? I thnk the planners should have budgeted for a center turning lane and restructuring of Dacula Rd/Hurricane Shoals before any of the development took place.
I remember when they were building the Hamilton Mill Walmart, they enforced a unique and upscale face to the buildings, and I think the stone and brick looks very good and the surrounding retail spots (while still half-empty) are uniform and coexist well with the main building.
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littlebit63
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Posted - 2/16/2010 : 4:53:01 AM
Here's my take on it--and I'm sure it's flawed, but why would I let that stop me from posting it. ; )
Dacula government seems to have a beef with Gwinnett government, or vice versa. Either way, there's something there. I think Dacula government is trying to prove to Gwinnett government that they WILL get the roads and infrastructure they desire...eventually. I think their goal is to overcrowd the area which would leave Gwinnett county and/or the state no choice but to improve the roads.
Guess who gets to suffer in the process.
Pure speculation on my part.
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GregRodgers
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Posted - 2/16/2010 : 9:57:49 AM
I think putting a Kroger with strip mall stores right across from a school is a bad idea. With all of th nutbags running around nowadays, who is to say someone does not flip their wig in Kroger and then is chased into the school.
It's happened before....(schools get loocked down all of the time for these kinds of issues)
Why invite the problems of mall shopping so close to the kids!
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DaculaGuy
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Posted - 2/16/2010 : 3:36:39 PM
quote:
GregRodgers wrote:
I think putting a Kroger with strip mall stores right across from a school is a bad idea. With all of th nutbags running around nowadays, who is to say someone does not flip their wig in Kroger and then is chased into the school.
It's happened before....(schools get loocked down all of the time for these kinds of issues)
Why invite the problems of mall shopping so close to the kids!
Greg
There are nutbags all over the place. So does this mean that development should just stop. This Kroger will bring jobs for the local people. (The unemployement rate is very high). I welcome any business that will help to decrease the unemployement rate. Greg you are always so negative about everything. Can you ever see the positive side of things. If you think positive then things will be positive.
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New Kroger coming good or bad?
