Alpharetta approves plan to bring trails and green space to North Point area

Starr Whitehouse created the framework over the past eight months with city staff and stakeholders to show how auto-centric redevelopment can be integrated into a pedestrian and bicycle-friendly corridor, with the goal of increasing foot traffic and spurring economic growth.

“A walkable, human-scaled district at the scale of North Point has the potential to create significant economic growth, but also significant fiscal impacts,” according to the report presented at the Alpharetta City Council meeting on Monday. “For context, North Point is twice as big as the Downtown District.”

Credit: City of Alpharetta

Credit: City of Alpharetta

Jacob Lange, director of Starr Whitehouse Atlanta, said North Point’s proximity to Big Creek was identified as a strategic advantage for future development.

“While the original development turned its back on the creek, the future vision embraces this important natural and recreational resource by identifying new pedestrian and bicycle connections to the (Big Creek) greenway and expanding the ecological character of the creek corridor into the district itself,” he said.

Construction is already underway for the Encore Greenway Park, which will spawn walking trails from North Point Parkway to Big Creek. A redesign of North Point Parkway will also incorporate two 12-feet wide shared-use paths and provide a pedestrian and bicycle spine for the district, according to the report.

The new vision for the district comes as the city struggles to breathe life back into North Point Mall, which opened as a key destination in Alpharetta in 1993.

Several redevelopments have been explored at the mall site over the last decade, including a $550 million redevelopment plan by the Developer Trademark Property Company in 2022 to remodel 83 or 100 acres of mall property. Former NHL player Anson Carter and the Alpharetta Sports and Entertainment Group are in talks with mall owner New York Life to build an arena and base a new hockey team at the site, according to the city’s community development director Kathi Cook.

“[The North Point Development Framework Plan] incentivizes human-scale development and encourages quality private investment,” Cook said.

Marketability of existing retail spaces is “highly variable” across the district, according to the framework report.

The report stated that the mall is no longer negotiating new leases as the city considers transformational redevelopment. In a statement on Friday, however, a North Point Mall spokesperson denied that this was the case, and said the mall is continuing to explore retail partnerships.

Nearby retail spaces across North Point Parkway at North Point Marketcenter where Nordstrom Rack, Target and Food Terminal are located are experiencing “a strong tenant market as retailers look for alternatives to the mall,” the report said.

Editor’s note: The story has been updated to include a statement by Starr Whitehouse as well as North Point Mall. The mall said it was still negotiating leases, contrary to the report presented to the Alpharetta City Council.