Planned Retail Development

The City of Monroe is excited to begin its first steps in partnering with MAB American Management LLC for what is planned to be a multi-phase retail center situated just north of US Hwy 78 and between Charlotte Rowell Boulevard and Hwy 11 (N. Broad St.).  This partnership entails some contributions from the City of Monroe in the form of water and sewer infrastructure development along Charlotte Rowell Boulevard and for some traffic signalization and further planning of a west-bound on-ramp to US Hwy 78 from Charlotte Rowell Boulevard.  This first step was in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), that basically lays out each parties general terms and commitments. The next step will be a development agreement for firming up timelines and specifics of the development.  A fair amount of design and engineering must occur between now and then on the developer’s behalf.   
 
The City of Monroe also recognizes the need to ensure that future traffic congestion be mitigated as much as possible around the development.  There will be a great deal of coordination with Walton County and the Georgia Department of Transportation as the planning and engineering of this development progresses.  We believe this site is currently the best greenfield site in Monroe to develop a major retail center from a land-use standpoint.  The development aligns with the current commercial corridor of Monroe along the Hwy 138 (MLK Jr Blvd) corridor and is still far enough from our beautiful downtown so as to not overshadow or impede on the vibrancy of our unique local shops, restaurants, and homes.  Additionally, there is a lot of planning left to do to make the retail development product “uniquely Monroe.”  We will ensure that our corridor design overlay standards are met, which creates a higher standard of aesthetic and architectural control as well as minimizing the parking lot requirements as much as possible to prevent a “sea of asphalt,” and creating an inviting and well-landscaped lot.   
 
There will be many more steps along the way before we can all enjoy shopping at the retail center but things are certainly moving in the right direction.  We look forward to keeping you updated along the way.