City of Stonecrest
Building Tomorrow’s City Today
Expertly weaving strategic planning with community vision to create a model for 21st-century urban development.
Stonecrest, Georgia, a thriving community is located in DeKalb County, approximately 20 miles east of Atlanta. The city, incorporated in 2017, represents a significant portion of eastern DeKalb County, encompassing bustling commercial districts, residential neighborhoods, and natural attractions, including the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area.
Stonecrest’s story exemplifies how rapid growth and community vision can transform an area into a thriving city. Mayor Jazzmin Cobble, the city’s leader, speaks with unmistakable pride about her municipality. “I believe that we are the best city on the planet,” she declares, her enthusiasm evident as she explains the city’s unique characteristics.
Though young, Stonecrest has quickly established itself as a regional powerhouse. At 38 square miles, it holds the distinction of being DeKalb County’s largest city both in area and population. But size alone doesn’t define Stonecrest’s identity.
“It’s the diversity in our community, our culture, our business industry, our constituents that make us have that unique experience of Stonecrest,” Mayor Cobble explains. She points to the varied elements that create the city’s character: a vibrant business corridor, recreational opportunities, and rich cultural life. According to Mayor Cobble, what makes Stonecrest particularly special is how these elements combine to foster a close-knit community feel despite the city’s considerable size.
The contrasts within Stonecrest create its distinctive personality. Here, urban amenities coexist with natural spaces and modern development blends with community traditions. As Mayor Cobble puts it, “There’s a sense of a Stonecrest community that’s unique because of the diverse experiences.” This mix has helped create a place where residents find both opportunity and connection.
Building a City Center
In many established cities, downtown areas evolved organically over decades or centuries. Stonecrest faces the unique opportunity – and challenge – of purposefully creating its central hub from the ground up, with a clear vision for blending commercial success with community connection.
“Being a new city, we are still creating what is going to be our sense of place,” Mayor Cobble explains, describing plans centered around the city’s regional mall, a 20-year-old landmark that anchors a larger business corridor. “We are well on our way into creating what will be our city center. We will probably coin it more of a city center, but just really focusing on how we create that sense of place for our community where they can gather.”
The vision for this area extends far beyond traditional retail. Economic Development Director Christian Green, who helped craft the city’s strategic economic development plan, outlines an ambitious project to transform the area into a cultural nucleus. The development will integrate City Hall with an entertainment district west of the mall, positioning Stonecrest as East Atlanta’s premier destination for experiential retail. “Products like Topgolf and Chicken and Pickle and Ready Motorsports are what are driving the future of that entertainment district,” Green says.
Connectivity plays a crucial role in the master plan. The entertainment zone will link to existing bike paths leading south to Arabia Mountain, creating an integrated network of recreation and retail. Meanwhile, industrial development continues to flourish. The city recently celebrated Pepsi’s new 215,000-square-foot back office and distribution center across from Home Depot’s distribution facility. Adjacent to these operations, the upcoming Swift Industrial Project promises 1.9 million square feet dedicated to data centers and studios.
The Arabia Mountain Heritage District represents another jewel in Stonecrest’s crown, drawing approximately 2 million visitors annually. “There are very few actual heritage districts in the US,” Green notes, highlighting the area’s significance in preserving black history. The district showcases landmarks such as the Brown House Museum and Evergreen Cemetery, telling the story of black entrepreneurialism through carefully preserved historical sites. These elements, Green suggests, make “Stonecrest a diamond in the rough and a growing, thriving community in East Atlanta.”
Paving the Way for Strategic Growth
As Stonecrest positions itself for substantial growth, its strategic location and infrastructure improvements take center stage. These developments aim to support current residents and businesses and anticipate future expansion across residential, commercial, and industrial sectors.
The city’s prime position along Interstate 20 provides a crucial advantage for development, particularly for the planned entertainment district. Green emphasizes this benefit: “The key to the growth of the future experiential entertainment district is the easy ingress and egress off of I-20 and the proximity of those commercial corridors to easy access.”
The Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area exemplifies the city’s natural infrastructure. “It has spanned over 400 million years as it has grown in its most natural habitat,” Mayor Cobble explains, describing the area’s evolution long before Stonecrest’s establishment. Today, it offers more than 30 acres of connected, paved trails that serve residents and visitors.
Infrastructure improvements touch every corner of the city. “We have taken a dive into all infrastructure improvement areas,” Mayor Cobble states, “trying to help alleviate some of the pressure on the load of the infrastructure that’s already here with the 60,000 folks that we already have, but also planning for future growth.” The city hosts two active industrial parks, both ready for immediate development.
Residential growth continues unabated. “Since we’ve been a city, we have never had an issue with rooftop availability,” Mayor Cobble notes. “Everywhere we turn there is a developer interested in building more communities in Stonecrest.” The mayor describes an evolution from a simple bedroom community to one that integrates experiences, retail, and restaurants with housing.
Current infrastructure projects span the entire municipal footprint. Four major bridges along I-20 are being upgraded, while road repaving, sidewalk additions, and intersection improvements – including new roundabouts and traffic signals – proceed simultaneously. “We are knee deep in many of those infrastructure improvements,” Mayor Cobble says, emphasizing their importance for both current needs and anticipated growth from economic development and tourism initiatives. “It’s important to us that we can get folks on and off the highway easily, that we can get folks to and from work easily. And then of course, those who live here are able to move around the city with ease.”
Smart City Evolution
While many established cities grapple with retrofitting aging infrastructure for the digital age, Stonecrest’s youth offers a distinct technological edge. The city capitalizes on this advantage by integrating cutting-edge technology into its foundational infrastructure.
Major utility providers are actively upgrading their systems throughout Stonecrest. “We’ve seen our power companies, both Georgia Power and Snapping EMC, doing a lot of work to make sure they too are prepared for the increase in both housing and business,” Mayor Cobble reports. These franchise fee-paying utilities aren’t just installing fiber; they’re ensuring sufficient bandwidth and broadband capacity to support the city’s ambitious growth plans.
The emphasis on technological infrastructure reflects lessons learned during the pandemic about connectivity’s crucial role. “We have to be able to offer a community that has that kind of accessibility and bandwidth,” Mayor Cobble stresses. The city’s vision extends beyond basic connectivity to creating a comprehensive smart city ecosystem. “We want our community in its practices, whether from the constituent side or the business side, to be able to use technology to advance the city in general.”
Stonecrest’s recent establishment provides unique opportunities in technological implementation. As Mayor Cobble points out, “We have an opportunity that maybe some cities who have been around a little longer may not have—being able to get on the front end of that technology transition while we install infrastructure around the city.” This advantage allows for strategic integration of smart city elements from the ground up, rather than retrofitting existing systems.
The city’s tourism initiatives also embrace technological innovation. Green has spearheaded a new tourism brand as part of the economic development strategic plan, working closely with hotels, the Arabia Mountain Heritage District, and the BlackRock Archive. A Tourism Action Group meets regularly to shape the brand narrative and coordinate future developments, including an ambitious amphitheater project in the city center.
Housing: Diversity Drives Growth
While many municipalities struggle to provide adequate housing options across economic spectrums, Stonecrest approaches residential development with an innovative mindset, emphasizing variety and accessibility for all potential residents.
“We are focused now on making sure that we have a diverse housing mix,” Mayor Cobble explains, describing options ranging from estate lots to high-density developments. The city recently broke new ground by implementing ordinances permitting micro-home communities, expanding housing possibilities even further. “Whether you’re an empty nester or a recent college grad, or you are a family looking for lots of land in the picket sense, or you’re a millionaire looking for the greatest mansion you’ve ever seen, we believe that we have something for everyone.”
This comprehensive approach to housing density supports multiple city initiatives, from economic development to transit expansion. The strategy reinforces Stonecrest’s identity as a community offering varied experiences alongside diverse living options. The focus on housing diversity helps build what Mayor Cobble calls “that resilient community that we know we are.”
Workforce housing plays a crucial role in this residential mix, particularly given the presence of Emory Healthcare System’s Hillandale Hospital. “We continue to partner with developers who are interested in building,” Mayor Cobble notes, highlighting the city’s efforts to provide housing that serves healthcare professionals and workers across all industries. The partnership with Emory Hillandale Hospital exemplifies how the city actively works to ensure housing availability for essential workers.
A Blueprint for Growth
With a robust foundation in place, Stonecrest’s leadership team has crafted detailed plans for the next development phase, focusing on implementing their comprehensive economic development strategy while maintaining the city’s strong sense of community.
“Our focus is really about bringing our economic development plan to life,” Mayor Cobble states, describing the extensive effort invested in creating this blueprint. The plan encompasses multiple strategic priorities, including enhanced collaboration with public safety partners and continued diversification of housing options. Business retention and recruitment remain central to the strategy, supported by ongoing infrastructure improvements designed to serve both current needs and future expansion.
Beyond physical development, the plan emphasizes community cohesion. Mayor Cobble envisions a city where every resident finds their place: “Our community has the sentiment that we are working as one community together to realize all the potential that we know we have.” This vision translates into concrete actions – creating events and experiences that serve everyone from students to seniors, ensuring all residents “have something to do, somewhere to go and experience a community that’s loving each other.”
The emphasis on shared experiences and mutual support shapes Stonecrest’s trajectory. As Mayor Cobble puts it, the goal is building “a community they can be proud of,” where infrastructure improvements and economic growth serve the larger purpose of enriching residents’ daily lives.
AT A GLANCE
City of Stonecrest
What: Georgia’s newest city, incorporating cutting-edge urban planning with established community assets to create a dynamic regional destination for business, entertainment, and residential life
Where: DeKalb County, Georgia
Website: www.stonecrestga.gov
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Emory Hillandale Hospital – www.emoryhealthcare.org
The physicians, nurses, leaders, and staff at Emory Healthcare are proud to care for those in the Atlanta community, the state of Georgia, and beyond. As the most comprehensive academic health system in Georgia, our core purpose is to improve lives and provide hope by delivering exceptional care to our patients, their families and the communities we serve.