For years, Gwinnett Place Mall has been one of the county’s most obvious “what now?” properties—part local landmark, part giant question mark, and famously even a backdrop for Stranger Things. For a long time, it also served as a very large reminder that retail glory is not forever. Now the county is making a much more serious push to turn that long-struggling site into something far bigger. In her March 6, 2026 State of the County address, Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson said Gwinnett now controls 87.5 acres of the mall site, including the former Sears property.

Why this is a bigger deal than it sounds: Gwinnett is working with CBRE to find a master developer, which is a notably hands-on move for local government. In plain English, county leaders appear determined to keep this project from stalling out again. After all these years, that alone is worth noticing. Gwinnett appears to be treating this site less like a headache and more like an opportunity.

Read Full Story Here: Rethinking Gwinnett Place Mall: A $935 million Redevelopment Plan

What to watch next: the March 24 BOC public hearing. Any zoning cases inside the Gwinnett Place CID that line up with the county’s “Global Villages” vision could get a warmer reception than they might have a few years ago. In other words: this sleepy old mall story may not stay sleepy for much longer. The mall may be down, but the land underneath it is suddenly very awake.

Gwinnett County takes its name from Button Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. In Gwinnett Un-Buttoned, we loosen things up a bit and explore the odd, forgotten, and fascinating properties that have stories to tell.

Today’s property is an abandoned house that could be worth a fortune.

Have you ever driven down Old Peachtree Road near Buford Drive and noticed that fenced, overgrown house that seems completely out of place?

The one sitting there while the rest of the corridor keeps getting newer, busier, and more expensive. The one that makes you think, Wait… how is that still there?

For more than two decades, locals have wondered about it. Neighbors in The Cloister neighborhood have watched it sit in arrested decay. Fans heading to Coolray Field have passed it on their way to games. In a part of Gwinnett defined by constant growth, this house has done the opposite: it has stayed frozen in time.

Urban explorers have nicknamed the property "The Bando," and over the years it has quietly become a small local landmark.

In a county obsessed with what’s next, this odd little house feels like a leftover piece of Old Gwinnett still standing in the middle of New Gwinnett.

We did a little digging, and the property appears tied to nearby church-owned land. County rezoning records also show that surrounding parcels connected to North Metro First Baptist Church have been proposed for large multifamily development in the area. Which means this isn’t just a weird old house—it is the kind of property that starts looking very different once Gwinnett’s long-term push for denser growth starts closing in.

So no, it’s probably not haunted. It’s more likely sitting on an $8 million gold mine waiting to be developed.

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