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Peachtree Corners, Georgia
Gateway to Peachtree Corners
Gateway to Peachtree Corners
Nickname(s): 
The Corners, PTC
Motto(s): 
Innovative & Remarkable
Peachtree Corners, Georgia is located in Metro Atlanta
Peachtree Corners, Georgia
Peachtree Corners, Georgia
Location in Metro Atlanta
Country United States
State Georgia
County Gwinnett
Incorporated 1 July 2012
Government
 • Type Council-Manager
Area
 • Total 16.23 sq mi (42.03 km2)
 • Land 16.11 sq mi (41.71 km2)
 • Water 0.12 sq mi (0.32 km2)
Elevation
1,040 ft (320 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 42,243
 • Density 2,622.97/sq mi (1,012.75/km2)
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
30010, 30071, 30092, 30096, 30097
Area code(s) 770, 678, 404, 470
FIPS code 13-59735

Peachtree Corners is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, and is the largest city in Gwinnett County with a population of 42,243 as of the 2020 US Census.

Peachtree Corners is the only Atlanta northern suburb developed as a planned community. The city is bordered to the north and west by the Chattahoochee River and is located east of Dunwoody.

History

Settlement

Jones Bridge Remaining Structure
The now-defunct Jones Bridge (1904) once connected Pinckneyville to Alpharetta.

Prior to 1818, the western corner of what became Gwinnett County was Creek and Cherokee Indian Territory, and it was illegal for white families to settle there. However, there were several families of white squatters in the area before settlement was legalized, including Isham Medlock, whose name is lent to Medlock Bridge Road. In the early 1800s a road was built along a Native American trail from what is now Buford to what is now Atlanta. A small farming community known as "Pinckneyville" grew up along that road. By 1827, the community was home to the second school in Gwinnett County, the Washington Academy, founded on what is now Spalding Drive. The area was also home to a post office, saloon, blacksmith shop, carpenter shop and inn. However, the prosperity of Pinckneyville was to be short-lived. In 1870 a railroad was built through Norcross, and due to the heavy trading that could be done via the railroad, all of the area's businesses and many residents moved from Pinckneyville to Norcross.

Urban development

Tech Park Atlanta Entrance
Entrance to Technology Park Atlanta

For the next century, the area remained a rural farming community. In the late 1960s, Paul Duke developed the idea of creating Peachtree Corners, a planned community to be constructed in the area that was once known as Pinckneyville. In 1967, Duke initiated the planning of the office component of Peachtree Corners, Technology Park/Atlanta, a campus for high technology industries to employ engineers graduating from the Georgia Institute of Technology. As a member of the Georgia Tech National Advisory Board, he raised $1.7 million to develop the business center. Initial residents of the tech park included GE, Scientific Atlanta, and Hayes Microcomputer Products. In 1968, Duke established Peachtree Corners, Inc., a development corporation for the residential parts of the community.

During the 1970s, Jim Cowart began to develop the neighborhoods that Duke had planned. Initial neighborhoods developed by Cowart included Peachtree Station, Chattahoochee Station, Spalding Corners, Revington, Linfield, and Amberfield. During this period, Cowart laid more sewer pipes than Gwinnett County. Neely Farm was one of the last neighborhoods to be built in Peachtree Corners, and it is located on the former farm of Frank Neely that abuts the Chattahoochee River.

Incorporation

The United Peachtree Corners Civic Association (UPCCA), an umbrella group of neighborhood homeowners' associations, was formed in 1993 in response to land use and overdevelopment concerns in the area. Despite the efforts of the UPCCA, development continued in Peachtree Corners throughout the 1990s, so that in 1999, the idea of incorporating Peachtree Corners was first proposed. However, due to the complexity of existing law, an incorporation movement never materialized. A city of Peachtree Corners was again proposed by the UPCCA in 2005, but efforts were abandoned after a resident survey revealed the majority of citizens did not support incorporation.

In 2010 the UPCCA again pursued the incorporation of Peachtree Corners, after a failed attempt by the city of Norcross to annex a portion of Technology Park. In a referendum held on November 8, 2011, residents of Peachtree Corners voted to incorporate as Gwinnett County's 16th city, and, with a population of 40,059, making Peachtree Corners its largest. Municipal operations began on July 1, 2012.

Geography

Chattahoochee
The Chattahoochee River, seen here at Jones Bridge Park, flows through many of Peachtree Corners' neighborhoods.

Peachtree Corners is located in the western corner of Gwinnett County at 33°58′32.1″N 84°13′4″W / 33.975583°N 84.21778°W / 33.975583; -84.21778 (33.969893, -84.221455). Peachtree Corners is bordered by the cities of Dunwoody and Sandy Springs (DeKalb and Fulton counties) on the west, Buford Highway and Norcross city limits on the south, Roswell and Johns Creek (both in Fulton County) across the Chattahoochee River on the north, and the city limits of Berkeley Lake and Duluth on the east.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
2020 42,243
U.S. Decennial Census

2020 census

Peachtree Corners racial composition
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 18,981 44.93%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 9,557 22.62%
Native American 72 0.17%
Asian 3,928 9.3%
Pacific Islander 15 0.04%
Other/Mixed 2,029 4.8%
Hispanic or Latino 7,661 18.14%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 42,243 people, 16,905 households, and 10,668 families residing in the city. The median household income (in 2019 dollars) was $71,149, and the per capita income was $43,783.

2017

Since Peachtree Corners was not a city or a census-designated place at the time, no demographic data is available for the city from the 2010 U.S. Census. However, the city contains ZIP code 30092, which in 2017 had an average adjusted gross income (AGI) of $69,905 per household. The median home price in 2017 for Peachtree Corners was $325,000. As of 2017, Peachtree Corners was 60.2% White American, 23.3% African American, 9.6% Asian American, and 2.5% two or more races. Hispanic Americans of any race made up 14% of the population. Those living in the same house more than one year were 86.9% of the population, an average of 2.62 persons lived in each household, of the population 94.1% had a high school diploma or higher, 52.6% had a Bachelor's degree or higher with 19% of the population having a Master's degree or higher, and, not counting library or school supplied computers, 96.5% of the population or above had home computers. ZIP Code 30092 had a population of 38,008 at the 2010 census; however, with parts of ZIP Codes 30071, 30096, 30097, and 30360 being within the city limits of Peachtree Corners, the estimated population of the city was 43,509 in 2017 with a population increase of 14.5% from 2010.

Parks and recreation

Peachtree Corners is home to several parks, including the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area - Medlock Bridge, Holcomb Bridge Park Jones Bridge Park, Pinckneyville Park, and Simpsonwood Park. The city holds the Annual Peachtree Corners Festival.

Economy

5445 Triangle Parkway NW viewed across pond, Peachtree Corners, GA Mar 2017
Building on Triangle Parkway in wintertime

The economy of Peachtree Corners is largely driven by the concentration of businesses in planned office parks, particularly engineering firms, logistics organizations, health technology groups, and information technology companies.

In October 2014, United Arab Shipping Company relocated its North American Headquarters to Peachtree Corners. The company purchased a 50,000 square foot office building on Spalding Drive for logistics, accounting and customer service operations. In 2017 it merged with Hapag-Lloyd, keeping its headquarters in Peachtree Corners, investing an additional $5.5 million, and adding 363 new jobs to expand its offices. With 230 vessels and more than 12,000 employees, Hapag-Lloyd is the fifth-largest shipping company in the world, serving customers in 127 countries.

In May 2016, Comcast Corporation, the American global telecommunications conglomerate and owner of Xfinity and NBCUniversal, relocated its Southeast Headquarters to the Wells Building, a 10-story office building in Peachtree Corners.

In August 2021, the NASDAQ-100 and S&P 500 company, Intuitive Surgical announced its expansion of its Peachtree Corners facility, building an additional $600 million dollar, 750,000 square foot, net zero carbon footprint, medical campus in the city, adding 1,200 new jobs and adding to the cluster of many medical, biomedical, biopharmaceutical, and health information technology companies that are in Peachtree Corners.

Soliant Health, a leading provider of specialized healthcare and education staffing services to hospitals and schools around the nation, expanded its Peachtree Corners headquarters to 83,000 square feet.

Amazon, CarMax and Mass Mutual as well as Honeywell, Sprint Corporation, Siemens Industry Automation, Valmet, Fleetcor, Crawford & Company, ASHRAE, ACI Worldwide, and CMD Group are among the over 2,300 businesses with a presence in Peachtree Corners. ASHRAE's world headquarters moved to Peachtree Corner's Technology Park Atlanta, with the company investing $15.7 million in its Peachtree Corners world location. The Harlem Globetrotters are headquartered in Peachtree Corners as well as the Southern Section of the United States Tennis Association (USTA). Peachtree Corners has 12 hotels to serve business travelers and visitors including Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt.

Jointly working with Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile and Georgia Tech, Peachtree Corners developed a 5G incubator known as Curiosity Lab located in a 500-acre smart city technology park in the city, one of the nation's first smart city environments. The facility features a 25,000 square foot Innovation Center and 3-mile autonomous vehicle test track and provides developers the ability to build and test such things as autonomous vehicles, robotics, industrial drone applications, mixed reality training and entertainment, remote medical care, personal health and fitness wearables, and other technologies. Jacobs Engineering Group, Peachtree Corners, Delta Air Lines, Bosch, Cisco Systems, and Qualcomm are also jointly working to deploy end-to-end smart solutions in the city powered by connected vehicle technology and infrastructure, focusing initially on roadside infrastructure, traffic management, and road safety. Further, Peachtree Corners is host to the Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) conference which involves development of intelligent transport systems including Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), and Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P) communications and includes biometric technology, managing cities autonomously, and developing highway systems to make transportation safer, reduce traffic congestion, and reduce the environmental impact of automobiles and other road vehicles. Curiosity Lab was named winner in IDC Government Insights’ Fourth Annual Smart Cities North America Awards for Transportation.

The French-American Chamber of Commerce moved its operations from the Consulate General of France in Atlanta to office space within the Innovation Center at Curiosity Lab. In relation to the move, La French Tech – a French government-supported ecosystem of startups, investors, decision-makers and community builders – will expand collaboration with Peachtree Corners as it guides companies looking to develop technologies and expand into North America.

Funded by the city, Peachtree Corners has produced a non-profit business incubator affiliated with the Technology Development Center at Georgia Tech as part of the city's Curiosity Lab that provides for software and hardware technology startups, providing these companies with the support they need to launch new products and grow.

Located in Peachtree Corners are both the Peachtree Corners Business Association and the Southwest Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce (made up of citizens of Berkeley Lake, Norcross, and Peachtree Corners), which members range from Fortune 500 companies to small to midsize companies that are located in the greater metro Atlanta area. The Peachtree Corners Business Association has been named "Best of Gwinnett" for 2018, '19, and '20.

Education

Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) serves Peachtree Corners through Duluth High School, Norcross High School (the only GCPS school with a IB Diploma Programme), Paul Duke STEM High School, Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology, McClure Health Science High School, Duluth Middle School, Pinckneyville Middle School, Simpson Elementary School, Peachtree Elementary School, and Berkeley Lake Elementary School.

Wesleyan School (K-12th grade) and Cornerstone Christian Academy (K-8th grade) are private schools located in Peachtree Corners.

A charter school, the International Charter Academy of Georgia (ジョージア・チャーター学院 Jōjia Chātā Gakuin) opened in 2018 for K-5th grade. The new charter school has a bilingual English and Japanese education program. In 2021 it had 165 students, some of whom attend the school in order to learn Japanese and others being Japanese children temporarily living in the United States. Parents are allowed to attend events held by the Japan-America Society of Georgia (ジョージア日米協会 Jōjia Nichibei Kyōkai).

Nearby is another charter school, the New Life Academy of Excellence (K-8th grade) that has a bilingual English and Chinese education program.

Seigakuin Atlanta International School, a private school, was in Peachtree Corners from 2003, until its 2018 closure.

The Gwinnett County Public Library system operates the Peachtree Corners branch in Peachtree Corners.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roads

Georgia State Route 141, Peachtree Corners, Dec 2020
Ga Route 141 - Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree Corners

Peachtree Corners is in proximity to many major highways in Metro Atlanta, such as I-285, I-85, GA 316, and GA 400. The city is approximately 21 miles (33 km) northeast of downtown Atlanta. A number of collector roads distribute traffic around the city, including GA 141 (Peachtree Parkway/Medlock Bridge Road), GA 140 (Holcomb Bridge Road), Peachtree Corners Circle, Spalding Drive and Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.

Electric Vehicle and Infrastructure Support

Peachtree Corners has implemented support for electric vehicles having installed one of the State of Georgia's largest electric vehicle charging facilities that provides charging without cost to users, and installing the country's first roadway surface solar panel system to support it, with plans for further expansion of roadway solar power collection and charging facilities and including solar power for existing infrastructure across the city by installing other types of panels that may include sidewalk, bike lane, and other surface collectors.

Transit

Gwinnett County Transit serves the city. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA)'s Doraville Rapid Rail Station is approximately 5.7 miles (9 km) from Peachtree Corners, while the Chamblee Rapid Rail Station is approximately 9.3 miles (14.9 km) away. MARTA provides rapid heavy rail service and connecting services to Atlanta, Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and other points north, south, east and west. The city also has an operating autonomous shuttle that operates on a stretch of road on Technology Parkway.

Airports

Peachtree–DeKalb Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport approximately 7.9 miles (13 km) from Peachtree Corners. Gwinnett County Airport is a municipal airport located about 18 miles (29 km) from the city. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which is a major passenger hub for domestic and international travelers, is located 29 miles (46 km) south of Peachtree Corners. It is accessible by I-85, I-285, and MARTA.

Pedestrians and cycling

Peachtree Corners pedestrian bridge, Dec 2020
Pedestrian Bridge built by the City over Peachtree Parkway

The Western Gwinnett Bikeway is a multi-use trail along Peachtree Industrial Boulevard. It is a shared use path, cycle track, and bike lane connecting to neighboring Duluth and Norcross. Peachtree Corners has been adding additional sidewalks and safety upgrades for pedestrians, thus far adding many miles of sidewalks, additional pedestrian safety crossings, and adding 175 street lights, all designed to make the city more walkable, safer and more connected. The city also has a 14-foot wide walkway arch truss pedestrian bridge with elevators and stairs over S.R. 141 (Peachtree Parkway) for pedestrians walking between The Forum and the Town Center. The city is also adding to a multi-use trail system (the Corners Connector Trail system) that crisscrosses the city linking office parks, restaurants, retail centers, the new town center and surrounding neighborhoods. In addition, the city has launched the world's first fleet of shared E-scooters with teleoperated repositioning.

Software

Peachtree Corners has its own smartphone app, "CornersConnect", for the use of citizens and visitors to keep up with events, dining, entertainment, public parks, bus routes, city information, and news, and to help users pay their water bill, county property taxes, to register to vote, and to photograph and report areas that need improvement across the city.

Notable people

Images for kids

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