GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The Gwinnett Place Mall is getting another proverbial shot in the arm as planners are now kicking off construction on a new park within the area. Beaver Ruin Wetlands Park will sprawl across a whopping 68.5 acres, Gwinnett County officials reported.
The new park is being constructed near Satellite Boulevard and Beaver Ruin Road. In a joint effort by Community Services and Water Resources, the park is set to include trails, boardwalks, small shelters, parking, a playground and a restroom building.
While wetlands restoration is anticipated to be completed in 2022, construction of the park amenities is not scheduled to begin until early 2023. From there, they are expected to take a year to complete.
Having struggled since the mid-2000s, the Gwinnett Place Mall first garnered attention when the shopping center transformed into a metro-Atlanta backdrop for the hit Netflix show Stranger Things. Part of the Duluth mall was utilized as the show's fictitious Starcourt Mall.
The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners later purchased 39 acres of the mall in a $23 million deal approved back in 2020. The purchase was part of an effort "to create new opportunities for catalytic development in the area," according to the county.
The Beaver Ruin Wetlands Park project is funded by the 2017 SPLOST program and the Water Resources capital improvement budget. Gwinnett County officials have not yet revealed an anticipated opening date for the park.