Is Cityhood Right for Peachtree Corners?

Editor's note: Nancy Minor is a long time resident of Peachtree Corners and a Realtor with decades of experience selling homes in and around the community. She explains her reasons why the community should become a city.

The City of Suwanee was ranked one of the best small towns in America to call home. They came in 10th in Money Magazine's Top 100 places to live. The year was 2007, and here we are four years later still telling prospective buyers that Suwanee was voted one of the 10 best places in America to live.  

A place named Peachtree Corners would have many of the same qualities that put Suwanee in that No. 10 spot if a place named Peachtree Corners really existed outside the minds of the residents of this wonderful community.

As a Realtor selling in Peachtree Corners, I have always been frustrated by our community's lack of identity. Many have tried to promote Peachtree Corners.

In our industry, a campaign to have "Peachtree Corners" put on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) list of cities was successful. However, there really is no Peachtree Corners so most Realtors do the safe thing and list the location as Norcross or Duluth depending on the postal address.

A few actually use Peachtree Corners. I just did a quick check. When I do a city search for "Peachtree Corners" in the MLS I get three active listings and one sold in 2011. Needless to say just naming an area Peachtree Corners without a city to back it up just does not work. 

The Post Office on Spalding Drive, Norcross Post Office (30092), was asked for permission to deliver mail in the 30092 ZIP code if it was addressed to "Peachtree Corners, GA 30092". Many have used this as part of their address without problems but many fear it would cause delays in delivery not to mention most default city databases do not include "Peachtree Corners." You just can't send to a place that does not exist. 

At one of the town meetings to discuss Peachtree Corners becoming a city there was concern that people would have to change their address. The Post Office on Spalding Drive is managed by the Postmaster of Norcross and will continue to be. Mail will still be delivered to "Norcross, GA 30092" but we can be confident that mail addressed to "Peachtree Corners, GA 30092" would be delivered as well.

People in John's Creek can attest to this, especially the ones in North Fulton County with a Gwinnett County city name of Duluth, GA 30097 but not being a part of Duluth, GA or Gwinnett County except as a Post Office mailing address. These people now have their own identity. 

A relocation buyer searching for a place to call home cannot find the information they need to determine if this is the right area for them. If you are looking for a city with great schools, great neighborhoods, parks, shopping and much much more how would someone find this area?

We are not Norcross, Duluth or Berkeley Lake. We have our own personality and great amenities but someone relocating from Chicago or New York would never know about us. People from other parts of metro Atlanta either do not know we exist or could not tell you where we are located.

Even Metro Atlanta Realtors who work outside this general area and who take pride in knowing their way around town would be hard pressed to tell anybody about Peachtree Corners. Many if not most could not tell you where Peachtree Corners is located.

They would get the statistics for all of Norcross or Duluth when searching. There is no question in my mind that home values will increase when we have a recognized name. If increased by just 1 percent, becoming  a city would be huge for the area. Any concern of a tax increase would be offset by this increase in property value. 

 It is for this reason I came to the conclusion we need to define our existence by becoming a city. 

So yes, I love Norcross, I love Berkeley Lake, I love Duluth but I want to live in a City named Peachtree Corners. 

Please note, the opinions expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect those of Peachtree Corners Patch. Judy Putnam, Editor