ATLANTA (AP) - Atlanta Falcons football star Julio Jones is among investigators in what backers describe as a massive business and entertainment project planned northeast of Atlanta.
Plans call for a mix of shops, offices, apartments, condos and a 25-story hotel building near the Mall of Georgia, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The hotel would be the tallest building in Gwinnett County, and include seven floors of condos and a rooftop bar, the newspaper reported.
Also included: A 50,000-square-foot family entertainment center that will include "luxury bowling," a sports theater, arcade, private event space, restaurant and "multi-faceted entertainment options."
Plans for the $200 million development were unveiled at a news conference this week in Atlanta. The development's name - Ariston - is Greek for "the best."
"We want this to be the best," Jones said at a recent news conference at the Georgia State Capitol. "The very best."
Jones has been described as a "principal investor" in the project. Jon Guven of Guven's Fine Jewelry is also an investor.
"It started off as we wanted to do a family entertainment center up there just to have something to do," said Jones, who lives in Gwinnett County. "Because I know being on the team, guys had to take their kids like 45 minutes to really go Downtown to really hang out, do things. We just need something up there in that area."
The project will be built in phases and construction is likely to take four years, said Jonathan Garza of development firm Ivy Creek Partners.
Officials hope to break ground on the first phase sometime in the next month or so.
The area is about 30 miles northeast of Atlanta.