What the new community center will look like. Provided.
By Brian Arrington
Construction is planned to begin May 5 on a new $11.3 million Community Center in T.W. Briscoe Park. A groundbreaking event for the Briscoe Park Community Center is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., May 1.
Snellville Mayor Barbara Bender says: “It’s very exciting to get to this point. We look forward to the Community Center at T.W. Briscoe Park becoming a place where people can exercise, stay fit and healthy, relax, and gather together for decades to come. This is a project that has been in the conceptual discussion phase for over 20 years.”
Rendering of the lobby of the new community center.
The center will be approximately 34,000 square feet and includes two basketball courts striped for multi-sport play, an indoor walking track, an outdoor pavilion, two multi-purpose activity rooms, and one aerobics room. The project will be located near the current Snellville Parks and Recreation office.
The Community Center is designed by Goodwin Mills Cawood, a firm which has offices in Buford and Marietta. It will be built by Place Services, Inc. of Canton, which is slated to complete construction in the Summer of 2026.
Lisa A. Platt, director of Parks and Recreation for Snellville, adds: “Briscoe Park offers our visitors over 95 acres of natural, passive areas and active recreation space for programming, all in one beautiful setting. With the addition of the T.W. Briscoe Community Center, Snellville Parks and Recreation will be able to elevate our service and programming for the community and continue working toward our vision for innovative programming, to provide recreational opportunities that ensure quality of life for all in mind, body and spirit.”
The project is primarily funded by the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), which was approved for recreation projects by local voters in 2023 for recreation projects. Some additional funding is provided from an earlier SPLOST vote in 2017. Notably, the City of Snellville received $900,000 in grant funding from Gwinnett County via the Community Development Block Grant program of federal funds.
Construction of the Community Center will begin in May. During construction, visitors to Briscoe Park should prepare for the following limited impacts:
- East Park Drive will be closed in its entirety from Lenora Church Road to the four-way stop at Sawyer Parkway inside Briscoe Park.
- Outdoor basketball courts will be closed beginning May 5. The courts will be removed where the new Community Center is to be built. Indoor courts will be available for play when the center is completed. New outdoor basketball courts are planned for future implementation of the Park Master Plan.
- Parking for Staley Field will be in front of the Parks and Recreation Office or at the lots near the softball fields.
- The fitness trail behind the park office will remain open initially, but will be re-routed at various times to accommodate multiple phases of the construction process.
Follow Snellville Parks and Recreation and City Facebook pages and visit www.snellville.org for construction updates.
Blair to seek 13th Congressional District seat
Everton Blair, former chairman of the Gwinnett County Board of Education, is announcing his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District. He is a lifelong resident of the redrawn district. The Democratic primary election will be held on May 19, 2026.
Blair
He made this statement with his announcement: “I am running for Congress because it is time for the next generation to step up and correct the direction that this country is headed. Change can’t wait, and Democrats need a new bench of leaders who are committed to solving real problems for working people.”
Before being elected to the board, Blair taught high school math in Atlanta Public Schools, coached superintendents across the country and served as a Policy Fellow in President Obama’s White House Initiative on Educational Excellence. After his board service, he went to complete a doctorate at Harvard University in Education Leadership with a focus on government and civic partnerships. Blair also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Mathematics from Harvard College and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Policy from Stanford University.
Georgia’s 13th Congressional District is a diverse district that includes all or portions of Clayton, Dekalb, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton and Rockdale counties. The district is currently represented by David Scott, a 79-year-old Democrat who has served in elected office for 50 years.
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