Ford Plant Suburb Getting Estimated $1M Retail Plaza

HAPEVILLE, GA-Getting an estimated $1-million, 9,900-sf shopping center may not be a big deal for Downtown Atlanta but it is for this tiny suburb with a permanent population of 9,393 and home to a major Ford Motor Co. manufacturing plant, area retail brokers tell GlobeSt.com.

Southeast Management Co., the retail plaza’s developer, is banking on a potential customer base of 30,000 daily workers at nearby Wachovia Bank, the Delta Air Lines headquarters building and other corporate offices. The Virginia Avenue center will house two restaurants and four retail shops.

The impetus for the project came from a $75,000 grant the town received through the Atlanta Regional Commission to study blighted areas and create a master development plan, city officials confirm to GlobeSt.com. The report studied the Old Second Ward near Virginia Park on Virginia Avenue and South Central Avenue and concluded the area needed and could support more retailers and other businesses.