Gwinnett County officials will apply for two U.S. Department of Transportation RAISE grants, worth up to $25 million each, for mobility projects in the Gwinnett Place Mall area.
County commissioners voted on Tuesday to apply for the grants, which would be collectively worth $50 million. The RAISE grants are available under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that went into effect last year.
One grant would help cover much of the cost to expand the Gwinnett Place Transit Center. The other grant would cover a significant portion of the cost for a multi-use path that will connect the soon-to-be-redeveloped Gwinnett Place Mall property with McDaniel Farm Park.
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law appropriated $1.5 billion for the U.S. DOT to award as RAISE grants for transportation projects that will have significant local or regional impact and improve transportation infrastructure,” Gwinnett County Transportation Director Lewis Cooksey told commissioners.
The grants are part of ongoing efforts to revitalize the Gwinnett Place area. The county finalized its purchase of most of the area’s namesake mall in 2021 and plans are on the table for a mixed-use redevelopment that would include a cultural center, existing and new retail, green space and residential uses among other amenities.
The county has also been planning to overhaul and expand its transit center at the mall for years, gradually acquiring land for that project.
If Gwinnett’s grant application concerning the center is approved, the U.S. Department of Transportation would provide $25 million for the project while the county would provide a local match of $6.25 million.
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