Peachtree Corners Update: Phil Sadd on Drones, Trails, Traffic Fixes, the Forum and Workforce Housing
Peachtree Corners continues to push forward on what “smart city” can really mean—and in this in-person episode of Peachtree Corners Life, host Rico Figliolini sits down with City Councilman Phil Sadd (Post 1, District 1) to unpack the biggest initiatives shaping the city right now. From public safety innovation to trails, traffic, redevelopment, and housing, Phil walks through what’s happening, why it matters, and what residents can expect next. Leading the conversation is a new Drone as First Responder pilot that can launch automatically from certain 911 priority calls—arriving on scene in seconds to provide real-time awareness, improve safety, and support de-escalation before officers arrive. The episode also covers major quality-of-life and economic development efforts including Crooked Creek Trail, workforce/affordable homeownership in Mechanicsville, updates on The Forum redevelopment, the new public innovation park Curiosity Corner, and upcoming mobility projects like the Peachtree Parkway lane conversion and the Winter’s Chapel corridor multi-use path open house. Key takeaways Drone as First Responder (DFR) is launching as a pilot with Brinc (integrated with Motorola’s dispatch ecosystem), and Peachtree Corners is one of five partner cities—and the only one in Georgia. Crooked Creek Trail is a major long-term project (about 1.3 miles plus spurs) with heavy environmental and safety constraints due to waterway/EPA requirements; construction is still roughly two years out. Mechanicsville workforce homeownership plan uses ARPA funds for land acquisition (about five acres) and a public-private build model with price caps and anti-flip protections to keep homes affordable long-term. The Forum redevelopment is moving toward execution: Barnes & Noble relocation enables a 125-room boutique hotel on the corner; multifamily plans are updated to below 300 units, with parking decks designed to be visually screened by buildings; target start is early 2027 (funding-dependent). Curiosity Corner is a public innovation park in Technology Park with shaded seating + connectivity, plus testing for things like Pipedream underground delivery, drone delivery, and EV programs; projected completion this spring. Traffic improvement on Peachtree Parkway: converting an existing southbound turn lane into a third straight-through lane to reduce bottlenecks; funded via SPLOST with state permission. Winter’s Chapel multi-use path (Phase 2) open house: joint city involvement due to corridor “zigzag” boundaries; open house is Feb 12, 5–7. Public safety discussion focuses on improving the county partnership: Phil emphasizes better communication, better data/metrics, a potential satellite office in Peachtree Corners, and addressing staffing shortages rather than rushing toward a new department vote.