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$80M ‘City Center’ could transform Alpharetta (2/20/15)

By Douglas Sams

An Atlanta development team wants to launch the next phase of the Alpharetta City Center project, an attempt to create a more walkable downtown filled with restaurants, boutiques, apartments and single-family homes.

The $80 million development could break ground as early as this fall, depending on the speed of the zoning process. The first restaurants could open in 2016, with the remainder of the project targeted for completion the following year.

The development team, led by Atlanta-based MidCity Real Estate Partners and Morris & Fellows, is finalizing arrangements with capital partners.

The project could include 220 housing units, 75,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, and 33,000 square feet of office. It's an extension of the $30 million first phase of the Alpharetta City Center project that is anchored by city hall.

The development team also includes Atlanta-based South City Partners and Hedgewood Homes.

The entire city center development would cover 25 acres. The master architect of the 10-acre second phase is Atlanta-based Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates Inc., the same firm involved in planning the redevelopment of several blocks in the Buckhead Village. The firm's portfolio includes the $1 billion Buckhead Atlanta mixed-use project, the biggest catalyst for the transformation of that district.

Alpharetta is in the midst of its own transformation.

In the era of the rapid growth of suburban Atlanta, Alpharetta was bisected by Highway 9 and lined on either side by strip malls, fast-food chains and big-box stores.

Now, city center developers want to take a page out of affluent suburban cities with walkable downtown districts, such as Naperville, Ill., a suburb of Chicago; and Walnut Creek, Calif., where investors like the job growth and short commutes to San Francisco.

In Atlanta, MidCity's founder and president, Kirk Demetrops, said Alpharetta is becoming more like Virgina Highland, one of intown's older neighborhoods known for popular bars such as Dark Horse Tavern and traditional Sunday brunch destinations, such as Murphy's.

"People from the Atlanta suburbs have been going to restaurants in Virginia Highland for years, but you just can't get there easily anymore," Demetrops said, referring to the region's traffic woes.

Alpharetta now has 12 restaurants in its downtown, up from just two a few years ago. The city center hopes to continue that trend.

Cheri Morris, whose firm Morris & Fellows focuses on downtown revitalization, said her efforts would target local chef-driven concepts along Main Street. There may also be rooftop dining.

"We notice when a district starts to emerge it starts with restaurants — edgy, innovative, chef-driven restaurants," Morris said.

It's been a winning formula for Avalon, the $600 million mixed-use project at Georgia 400 and Old Milton Parkway, a development that one day may link to downtown Alpharetta's city center.

North American Properties, which developed Avalon, has lured some of intown Atlanta's best-known chefs like Ford Fry, Shaun Doty and Steve Palmer to launch new concepts in the suburbs.

In the past, that almost never happened, Demetrops said.

But Atlanta's suburban cities are adopting more of an intown feel. North American Properties in Alpharetta, and Atlanta developers Carter and Selig Enterprises in Sandy Springs, are examples of developers exploring projects that can create walkable downtowns outside the Perimeter.

The trend is bringing new life to downtowns that experienced an exodus of business in the 1980s and 1990s, when suburban shopping centers and regional malls dominated the landscape. That period came during the rapid expansion or roads and highways, fueling suburban sprawl.

But those forgotten downtowns retained the charm and authenticity of their old brick buildings, many of which are being converted into lofts, restaurants and shops. "It left behind some beautiful bones to work," Morris said.

What might give speed to Alpharetta's transformation is its affluence and strong concentration of jobs, especially technology companies. Avalon, Demetrops said, has also been a catalyst.

The development team recently presented their plans to city officials and residents. The developers will likely take the project before the city planning commission in March.

The second phase of the city center project could come before the council as early as April.

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2015/02/20/80m-city-center-could-transform-alpharetta.html