Georgia’s Big Bet: Will Rowen Become the Peach State’s “Build It and They Will Come” Story?

You know that saying, “If you build it, they will come”? Well, there’s a massive project brewing in Georgia that’s really putting that idea to the test. It’s called Rowen, and it’s this huge 2,000-acre plan for a mixed-use “knowledge community” right in that sweet spot between Atlanta and Athens, in Gwinnett County. They just wrapped up a pretty significant $32 million infrastructure project, turning what used to be woods into these “complete streets,” as the officials are calling them.

Think of this infrastructure work as the first big step for Rowen. They’ve put in about two miles of roads, some nice green spaces, and several miles of paths for walking and biking across the initial 800 acres. Basically, they’re making it accessible and getting the basic framework in place for all the buildings and activity that are planned. And get this – they’ve already got all the utilities hooked up in this section: power, water, sewer, the whole shebang, even fiber internet and natural gas.

They had a big kickoff for Rowen back in December 2022, and it’s pretty impressive that they got this first phase of infrastructure done in about two years. The folks in charge told Urbanize Atlanta that they’re even thinking ahead with the design, trying to make it hold up against climate change. They’re doing things like using natural ways to filter water instead of just concrete curbs, and making the traffic lanes a bit narrower to cut down on concrete and those hot city spots. It sounds like they’re really trying to prioritize people over just cars in how it’s all laid out.

This Rowen spot is about 35 miles outside of Atlanta, right off Highway 316. When it’s all said and done, they say it could support a whopping 22 million square feet of development! To give you an idea, that’s like almost 17 of Atlanta’s tallest buildings stacked together. The name “Rowen” is kind of interesting too – it’s supposed to suggest a “second harvest.”

So, what’s the next big thing for Rowen?

Right now, the people leading the project are focused on teaming up with different groups to keep an eye on the environment as Rowen grows. They want to track things like air and water quality, how much carbon the area is soaking up, and how the land is being used. One of their reps told Urbanize Atlanta that this information will not only help them make Rowen as sustainable as possible but could also give other developers some ideas on how to build with climate change in mind.

This update feels pretty timely because just recently, there was an economic study that pointed to the 11-county area around Rowen – they’re calling it the “Rowen Region” – as the next big place for growth and advancements in education in Georgia.

This report, called “The Rowen Region: Georgia’s Nexus for Economic Growth,” came from the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government. The region they’re talking about includes Banks, Barrow, Clarke, DeKalb, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson, Oconee, and Walton counties – basically where the Atlanta, Athens, and Gainesville metro areas all meet up.

Apparently, there are already over 50 research and educational institutions in this area, according to the Rowen folks.

Some of the key takeaways from the UGA report are pretty interesting:

• They’re predicting that the Rowen Region’s population will jump by more than a million people by 2050, which would be a huge chunk – about 43 percent – of all of Georgia’s population growth in that time.
• Almost half of all the new people in Georgia who are in their prime working years (25 to 64) between 2023 and 2028 are expected to settle in the Rowen Region.
• The area already has a really well-educated workforce, with almost 70 percent having some education beyond high school.
• The study says that tech, healthcare, and engineering are some of the biggest and fastest-growing job sectors in the region.

Rowen is planned to be more than ten times the size of Atlanta’s Piedmont Park, and the vision is for a mix of labs, offices, and community spaces, along with apartments, cafes, start-up hubs, parks, and trails. The project leaders have said before that this is a long-term game – it could take 40 or 50 years to fully build out, depending on how things go with the market.

The people on Rowen’s board of directors, who run the Rowen Foundation, are big names from places like the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Emory University, and Georgia Gwinnett College. They’re really pushing this because of its potential to boost the economy and create jobs.

The Rowen Foundation is even saying that the whole project could eventually lead to 100,000 jobs across Georgia and pump between $8 and $10 billion into the state’s economy every year.

When it comes to actually building things, the initial idea is to put up denser housing in a kind of village setting first, along with shops, labs, and offices. The goal is to bring together researchers, entrepreneurs, and other innovative people in a setting that still feels green and open. They haven’t given a specific timeline for when the actual construction of buildings will start yet.

So, is Rowen going to be Georgia’s ultimate “if you build it, they will come” success story? It’s a big bet, but with the amount of planning, investment, and the promising projections for the surrounding region, it definitely seems like they’re building something that could attract a lot of attention and growth. Only time will tell if it lives up to the hype, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on in the Peach State.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Rowen Foundation