Close your eyes for a minute and imagine what Alpharetta would look if we were not in the midst of a recession. What do you see? More houses? Probably. More traffic? For sure!
I got to thinking about this recently, specifically in regard to commercial real estate. Sure, there are dozens of half built neighborhoods out there. Many have streets paved and sewer lines sticking out. It will take years for those to be revived again. But there are a bunch of stalled, slowed or just shelved commercial projects. I think Alpharetta would be a very difference place today if these projects were to have come to fruition.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Bob Strader and his blog. He covered this exact topic a few weeks ago, providing an update on some of these projects. It is a very good read (and an excellent blog as well).
Alpharetta City Center
This has been talked about for a long time. It was to be a vast development that would change downtown Alpharetta in a big way. From the little I knew about this, it sounded like a great idea. In my opinion, Alpharetta’s downtown was never a destination in and of itself (unlike Roswell or Marietta for example). This mixed use development would hopefully change that. But due to evaporating credit markets, this ship hasn’t even left port.
Prospect Park
Also known as the mud pit on Old Milton and GA-400. Unlike other projects, this one actually got off the ground before crashing and burning. The developer went bankrupt not even half way into it. What is left is graded land, some framed out concrete structures with rebar sticking out and an unfinished road.
That unfinished road would be the Westside Parkway extension. What a frustration! It is almost complete from Webb Bridge to Old Milton, but a portion is on this property. This nice little cut through road is delayed indefinitely.
Taubman Mall – McFarland and GA-400
This project still has a heartbeat, barely. This is the promised high-end shopping mall to be build near McFarland and GA-400. The economy has delayed this for years, but plans are still moving forward. It is supposed to rival Phipps Plaza in terms of upscale stores. I’ll believe that when I see it.
Last year Forsyth County approved an overlay district for this mall. Within the last month they made good on their promise to extend Ronald Reagan parkway from McFarland to Union Hill. This will provide access to all the multi-use features of this development. So things continue to move here, albeit at a snails pace.
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