County Development Overview
Overall Development
Since 2000 Douglas County has seen a gradual increase of real estate development, especially with the introduction of Arbor Place Mall on Douglas Boulevard which then created a retail shift toward that area. Chapel Hill Road increasing became inundated with various shops and traffic while providing the county more tax money. Shopping centers near Highway 5 and Fairburn Road could not handle the competition forcing some to become vacant as the result of the retail shift. Even today certain shopping centers remain partly vacant.
After the Future Land Use Map was passed by the Board of Commissioners, it was clear that more developments would be on their way. Land owners and contractors had more leverage to change existing zoning to benefit them. A total of 168 developments have been recorded which has revealed 45 commercial developments, 93 residential developments, and 30 other developments throughout the county.
Development by District
Douglas County is divided into four districts which all have undergone some sort of development increase. According to the recorded developments associated with this project, District 2 is the most active district producing a vast amount of industrial distribution centers and office parks. Not far behind is Districts three and four giving their fair share of residential subdivisions. Below is a complete breakdown of all the 168 recorded development locations according by district.
| Commercial | Residential | Other | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 8 |
| District 2 | 30 | 14 | 13 | 57 |
| District 3 | 2 | 31 | 10 | 43 |
| District 4 | 11 | 42 | 7 | 60 |
| Total | 45 | 93 | 30 | 168 |
District 1
The smallest district is located in the north east corner of the county where city of Lithia Springs resides. A large number of commercial and industrial businesses are located along Thornton Road, including many dealerships. Development in this district has been scarce compared to fellow districts with only two recorded subdivisions and a new Home Depot. Thornton Road may suffer more traffic around the Interstate 20 corridor due to the opening of the new Home Depot.
District 2
The second smallest district is located directly south of the first district with the majority of the City of Douglasville. Many new residential and commercial developments surround the downtown area while the city continues to annex land to extend the city limits. One anomaly is that the creation of the New Manchester community, or also known as Tributary, is inside the city limits, yet it is over five miles away from downtown Douglasville and there is over a two mile gap between the actual city limit boundaries.
Besides the Tributary, three other large subdivisions are currently under construction: Brookmont, Chestnut Hills, and Slater Mill. Further east along Thornton Road is where many new distribution centers are being constructed. The sudden rise of distribution centers in this area can be partially linked to the Development Authority of Douglas County. Using tax incentives, exemptions, special financing with local banks, and other unknown incentives, locked-in deals are made with certain industrial companies to make Douglas County their new home. An example of this is Pepsi’s move into the area with a 900,000 sq. ft. facility.
District 3
Covering the southeastern parts of the county, many new residential developments have been spread out through the area clustering near Big A Road, Chapel Hill Road, and Riverside Parkway. The majority of the Tributary development inhabits the north east section of the district. Moving westward to Chapel Hill Road, and Anneewakee Road, comes the onslaught of more subdivisions and the greatly debated zoning changes.
Commercial zoning was to stop at the intersection of Central Church and Chapel Hill Road. However in the past year this declaration has proven to be false with the new introduction of two more grocery stores, Ingles and Publix, to the area that are half a mile from each other and a quarter mile away from a Kroger grocery store. Both locations have been questioned by the community due to the proximity to Chapel Hill Middle school and a church.
Also three new schools will be entering the district with the new Bill Arp Elementary nearing completion. Chapel Hill Elementary is moving to a new location on Coursey Lake Road where the school board enacted their first act of Eminent Domain. The last school will be on Highway 92/166 near the southern entrance of Anneewakee Trails.
District 4
The whole western half of the county is within the fourth district where the primary development is residential. Development is being centralized in three areas: Maroney Mill Road intersects Georgia Highway 92, Liberty Road at Interstate 20, and Georgia Highway 5 near Georgia Highway 166. With the increase of single family homes in these areas, it is only obvious that the school system will have to provide more schools to effectively control overcrowding.
The growth around Highway 78 is partly because of the super subdivision Mirror Lake and its location near the city of Villa Rica. Commercial businesses, like Dollar General and Walgreen's, are moving into the area to prosper from the growth.
There are also indications that the massive Wolf Creek super development will be a go within the next year. Though the majority of the development will be located in Carroll County, Douglas County will play a role by providing land in district four to build a new parkway that will carve into the lower section of County. Water lines are already being laid southward along Georgia Highway 5 in anticipation for Wolf Creek to start construction.
