Again, the view over the Town Center Park continues to change daily as construction continues on the new Suwanee City Hall building. I was fortunate this morning to catch the sunrise streaming through steel frame for the top of the clock tower being assembled by welders on the ground before lifting it into its final position 115 feet above the park. The beauty of the sky and bright orange sun surrounding the early morning construction activity reflects Suwanee’s dedication to preserving its natural beauty and history amidst thirving growth and prosperity.

Enjoy the scenery and look for more in the weeks ahead as the City Hall approaches completion in mid-December.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

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Come out to hear the six strings of Steve Oliver as he returns to Suwanee Town Center Park.  Listen as his guitar creates the sound of a grand piano or a mighty blow on the horns, while he entertains with his versatile vocals.  If you visit his website, then you will want to experience his talent in this live performance.  The show kicks off with the 7p.m. performance of jazz drummer, Bernard Linnette.

Earlier this summer, Oliver released his greatest hits on his first ever DVD/CD two-disk set, One Night Live.

Avoid the hassle of traffic and parking by taking advantage of the free off-site parking and shuttle. Off-site parking at the Shawnee North Business Center, 305 Shawnee North Drive at Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road with free shuttle transportation to Town Center Park will be provided from 6:30-10:30 p.m.

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Just a short drive up Buford Hwy, you will find Bella Vita in the midst of the Buford Village, the mixed-use development at the corner of Hamilton Mill Rd and Buford Highway. The restaurant is one of the first businesses to open in this new development, which hopes to gain the same level success as Madison Park at Suwanee Town Center. Laurie Attaway’s restaurant fits very well with stylish “live, work, play” environment being created by these new community centers. Bella Vita, like Olde Towne Tavern and Ippolito’s in Suwanee, will provide a community gathering place and fine dining for Buford Village residents, employees and customers of the other surrounding shops, and visitors from nearby communities like Hamilton Mill and Suwanee. I hope to see more businesses and residents moving into the Buford Village soon to support this life-style concept.

My wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary at Bella Vita and had such a great time that we went back two nights later with my wife’s parents to share the experience with them. On both nights, every member of the staff serving us was exceptional in their efforts to make everything about the experience memorable. We were especially impressed with Laurin (with an “i”), our waitress for the anniversary dinner, because she was such a pleasant, fun person to meet. We will be back again soon.

Read more about Bella Vita by Lori Johnston (8/1/2008) - AJC AccessAtlanta

Originally posted on Hamilton Mill Dwellings

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As construction continues on the new Suwanee City Hall building, the view over the park changes daily. This morning the sunrise followed the rising hook of the huge crane as it lifted the last huge steel arch being placed on the front of the building.

The building was designed specifically to point back to Suwanee’s days as a railroad stop. The huge arching roof and clock tower are reminiscent of grand historic railway stations. Sunrise at these railway stations always preceded a rush of activity, and the rising arches of the new Suwanee City Hall precedes the new growth and opportunity for the future of Suwanee’s residents and businesses.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

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Once again the City of Suwanee is providing a great opportunity to experience live theater on a fantastic stage and for free. Don’t miss this opportunity.

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The new City Hall is another sign of Suwanee’s continuing progress and growth, which includes numerous other commercial development and construction projects in several areas throughout the city limits. The projects include the large Opus mixed-use development, Suwanee Gateway, near the I-85 and Hwy 317 intersection as well as multiple projects along Peachtree Industrial Blvd.

Though current economic news and forecasts seem to focus on decreasing markets, there are many signs of growth and opportunity as businesses prepare to move into these new developments and as other projects are started. The residential real estate market will ultimately follow the expanding commercial opportunities and growth.

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Suwanee’s big event concert of the summer is coming up on Saturday, August 16th when platinum-selling singer/songwriter, Edwin McCain hits the amphitheater stage with his own blend of folk, soul and rock. If you’re already a fan of Edwin McCain, then you probably have this date marked on your calendar because you know that the opportunity to see him perform live for free is just to good to miss. For those few people who are not familiar with Edwin McCain’s music, he is a singer-songwriter from Greenville, SC who is now best known for his hit song “I’ll Be” which has been played at thousands of weddings in the past few years. He also received Top 10 honors for the song “I Could Not Ask For More.” As a native of South Carolina, most of his songs have a hint of southern story-telling style blended with wonderfully soulful vocals. The Suwanee concert will probably include songs from his newest CD, “Nobody’s Fault But Mine,” which is a collection of cover songs from old soul music.  Edwin is currently working on a new project for Vanguard Records at OMG Studios, which he co-owns in his hometown of Greenville, SC.

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Eric Essix is a jazz guitarist from Birmingham, Alabama whose music has a broad range of influences from gospel to Jimi Hendrix, but always with his own brand of “southerness” blended into the mix. He will be featuring music from his new Essential Recordings CD titled “Brimingham,” which will be available at the concert as well as on his website and iTunes.

Melvin M. Miller (MMM) is an adult contemporary jazz trumpet player with experience not only as a performer but also as a composer, educator and conductor. He was raised in Chicago and influenced by the many diverse musical styles available in one of America’s largest music capitals, but focused heavily on the numerous jazz trumpet greats like Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, and Wynton Marsalis to name a few. His musical training and performance experience includes both jazz and classical. He now lives and works in Atlanta with a long list of local performance credits as well as national and international performances. He will feature music from his new CD titled “Here’s To Life,” which will be available tonight as well as on his website and iTunes.

Both Eric Essix and Melvin Miller are part of the five-man jazz group, “Five Men On A Stool,” which can also be seen at local and regional performances.

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Buford has already built their mixed-use development at the intersection of Buford Hwy and Hamilton Mill Rd. Their concept of providing shops, restaurants and residential condos in a walkable development is very similar to Suwanee’s concept. However without the park, amphitheater and fountain in the recent economic environment, the Buford Village development is not filling as quickly as anticipated, but will be successful in the long run. The concept is definitely being accepted and even sought out by many commercial and residential buyers as the real estate market continues to improve throughout the Atlanta markets.

Both Norcross and Duluth have their own versions of the mixed-use “live, work, play” developments either under construction or consideration as means of revitalizing certain sections of those communities. Alpharetta’s Prospect Park is another example of the expansion of the mixed-use development concept. As described in Beth Warren’s AJC article on 7/30/08, Loganville’s city council will soon be reviewing and voting on a mixed-use development on 28 acres surrounding an existing lake on US 78, which is proposed to include an amphitheater for concerts and community events very similar to Suwanee Town Center Park and Atlantic Station in downtown Atlanta.

Suwanee Gateway (Opus South development) at I-85 and Lawrenceville-Suwanee Rd is under construction and will become another great addition to the “Play Hard, Live Well, Smile More” neighborhoods of Suwanee. As residents of Suwanee, we already know about the lifestyle that the reader’s of Money magazine learned from the 2007 “Best Places to Live” edition and what many of our neighboring communities are beginning to learn.

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Suwanee, GA Community Video - Suwanee, GA 30024

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