BY: Ed Szcesniak, SBA Vice President & Owner/Designer – Georgian Landscape Design
Who woulda thunk it? A sleepy little town just 20 years ago, began with a post office in 1838. It took 31 more years to develop into a whistle stop on the Georgia Airline Railroad. Then came the big time – by 1880 the “Town of Suwanee” boasted 39 “Dwelling Units” and a whopping 216 residents! It took another 105 years for the first traffic light to be installed at the corner of Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road and Peachtree Industrial Boulevard. My how things have changed! During the past 25 years Suwanee has grown to more than 16,000 residents and is home to a number and variety of licensed businesses! Something VIBRANT is happening here.
In June, Family Circle Magazine rated Suwanee one of the “Top 10 Towns for Families” – just one more notch on the growing list of awards the city has garnered over the past 10 years!
Perhaps one thing that has driven this city to such unprecedented growth has been its attraction to business. Suwanee has come a long way from the 12 registered “shops” in 1880. New businesses large and small have “discovered” what we’ve come to know and love about our “little town.” New restaurants, medical providers, service centers and shops carrying everything imaginable in the way of goods and services without the hassles of the “big city” have flocked to our little corner of the world!
At the heart of this growth has been the city’s desire to balance this VIBRANT growth while maintaining its charm. While businesses grow, so do the parks, the green space, the clean air, and the burning desire on the part of the city’s management to recognize and invest in our quality of life. One look at Suwanee Town Center with free concerts, the numerous parks, the sports facilities, and the ever improving city-scape tells the world why the community continues to win awards, attract new businesses and residents, and earn recognition as a VIBRANT city. Want proof? The first Suwanee Day in May 1984 was held behind the Fire Station and attended by 75 people! Last year’s Suwanee Day boasted more than 50,000 attendees!
As a not so small part of this growth, the Suwanee Business Alliance has continued to foster the feeling of live here, work here, and play here! For the past 15 years, the ever-growing list of SBA member companies have worked to attract, keep, and grow business in Suwanee. The SBA is comprised of a friendly group of local business people who want to help neighbors, friends, and newcomers discover what opportunities Suwanee has to offer, as well as what we can all do to contribute to not only the health of our own businesses, but to that of our partners as well as the general community. Stop by and visit us this Suwanee Day at our booth right across from city hall.
And while wandering around Town Center on Suwanee Day, look around and know you helped the city grow to where it is today; you will determine what the outside world sees tomorrow and in the future. It’s the people like you who got us here – and people like you who will keep this city VIBRANT for the future!
■ The SBA meets the 2nd Wednesday of every month from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at different business locations in town. For more info visit: http://suwanee.org
