Gwinnett's growth doesn't slow down long enough to write about — by the time one project opens, two more have broken ground. Here's what actually opened recently, what's still on the way, and why a couple of these announcements matter well beyond the ribbon-cutting.
Just Opened: Costco at Mountain Marketplace
Costco opened its newest Georgia location on August 27, 2026, at 1915 W. Park Place Blvd. in Stone Mountain — just inside the Gwinnett County line off Highway 78. The 164,000-square-foot warehouse is Costco's 18th in the state, and it's stocked with the usual roughly 4,000 products plus a food court, pharmacy, tire center, and gas station. It employs about 300 people.
The site has a story worth knowing: it sits on the former Stone Mountain Tennis Center, an unused 1996 Olympics venue that was demolished in 2018 after sitting empty for years. Gwinnett County sold the land for redevelopment in 2024.
Still Coming: The Rest of Mountain Marketplace
Costco is only the anchor. The surrounding 31-acre Mountain Marketplace development, led by Fuqua Development, is also bringing The Flats at Mountain Marketplace — 248 apartments from developer Greystar, with construction starting in 2026 and leasing expected in late 2027. Additional retail and restaurant tenants are planned for the site but haven't been named publicly yet.
The Big One: A $2 Billion Biopharma Campus on Ga. 316
This is the announcement with the longest runway and the biggest long-term impact. UCB Inc., a Brussels-based biopharmaceutical company, is building a $2 billion, 460,000-square-foot manufacturing facility along the Georgia 316 corridor in Gwinnett, as part of the 2,000-acre Rowen life sciences campus. Design and construction are expected to take six to seven years, but the payoff for the local job market is real: more than 330 positions with average salaries above $72,000, focused on medicines for neurological and autoimmune conditions using AI, robotics, and automation.
UCB already runs its North American headquarters in Smyrna with about 400 employees — this would be a second, much larger Georgia footprint for the company.
For anyone relocating for a life-sciences or advanced-manufacturing career, this is the kind of project worth tracking now, years before the doors open.
New on the Menu Across the County
The restaurant scene has been just as busy. Recent and upcoming openings include Fogo de Chão in Buford, Nando's and Golestan both landing at The Forum in Peachtree Corners, a reworked Alma Mexico on Lawrenceville's historic downtown square, and Frankie's The Steakhouse in Duluth. On the more casual end, Duluth's Bite More is a halal fast-casual spot, and food-truck lots have picked up steam — Suwanee Circle at DeLay Nature Park is already running, with a Food Truck Park at Le Maison in Duluth expected later in 2026 and a multi-vendor Food Hall at Homestead in the works for Dacula.
None of this happens by accident — it's what a fast-growing county looks like while it's growing. We'll keep tracking the announcements that actually matter for anyone deciding where to land in Gwinnett.