Sugar Hill, Georgia

system and great development going on.” Brandon Hembree, a Sugar Hill council member for the past six years and member of the DDA, shares his insights: “We have lots of great things happening in Sugar Hill. We’re about 85 percent residential, so we don’t have very big economic drivers. Most of the people who live here either work from home or commute to work. Over ten years ago, we did a survey, and the number one thing residents wanted was a downtown, which we didn’t have – a gathering place to eat and shop and get together as a community. So, we’ve been focused on mixed-use development; working hard to create entertainment options, and housing, and workspaces for people who might want to live in or open a business in Sugar Hill.” Keeping citizens engaged and in-the-know every step of the way has been a priority. With the belief that building community is equally as important as placemaking, the city created a number of user groups, everything from an Arts Commission to a Historic Preservation Society, to give people opportunities to get involved. As a result, Sugar Hill has seen community champions step up to advocate for projects, and a large base of volunteers from different groups now meet, regularly, to network about ways they can work together. A healthy, active community is also important. In that regard, Sugar Hill is in the midst of a major construction project: increasing sidewalk capacity throughout the city to make it as walkable as possible. And a multi-phase greenway project is also in the works. Hembree reports, “Phase one of the Sugar Hill Greenway will be about six miles, starting in the downtown and going through several of our parks and connecting some of the greenspace we’ve acquired over the years. In addition to purchasing property in our downtown, we’ve really been targeting greenspace properties around our city, and recently bought a 22-acre tract to turn into a future park.”