The metro Atlanta region will continue to grow and cities continue to be leaders in producing innovative and sustainable development projects—those points were among the news revealed during the Atlanta Regional Commission’s annual State of the Region breakfast on Nov. 20 at the Georgia World Congress Center.

The ARC forecasts that by 2040 another 3 million people will have moved to the region, increasing the region’s population to 8.3 million people.

“Our ability to attract young professionals has kept our economy generally strong and our quality of life high,” ARC Director Chick Krautler said during his State of the Region address. Despite adding more than 1 million residents in the last eight years, Krautler said the Atlanta region has suffered in the last year just as the rest of the nation has, and population growth has slowed.

“Job losses continue to mount, the housing market is suffering and metro Atlanta’s incomes are stagnating,” Krautler said. “There are some positive glimmers on the horizon, but in reality, we are still searching for the “new normal” –the next chapter in the development of the Atlanta Region.”

One may be able to find the “new normal” in cities such as Suwanee and Lawrenceville. Both cities were involved in projects the ARC honored for exemplifying cutting-edge, livable designs.

Representatives from the City of Suwanee and Bowen Family Homes accepted the Development of Excellence Award.

ARC gave its top honor—the Development of Excellence Award—to the Suwanee Town Center, a development by the city, Bowen Family Homes, Madison Retail and Main Street Corners that includes 77,000 square feet of retail, 39,000 square feet of office, a 24,000 square-foot energy-efficient City Hall and 31 condominiums. The project also includes the 7-acre Town Center Park that has a performance stage and interactive fountain.

The Cornerstone on the Square in Lawrenceville, given ARC’s LCI Achievement Award, is a redevelopment project by the city and the Morsberger group that converted an abandoned bank site to a mixed-use project of 33 townhomes and condominiums above 9,000 square feet of retail space within walking distance of government services, entertainment, dining and shopping.

The ARC also honored Renaissance Walk at Sweet Auburn (Exceptional Merit Award for Context-Sensitive Infill) and The Ellis on Peachtree (Exceptional Merit Award for Historic Preservation). Both projects are in the city of Atlanta.