National Redevelopment Role Model: Alpharetta, Georgia

Alpharetta, Georgia has redeveloped multiple live, work, shop, and play districts in less than ten years, according to a paywalled article by Adrianne Murchison for the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The city has become a model for contemporary urban redevelopment widely studied by other municipalities.

According to Murchison, the city of Cary, North Carolina modeled the recently opened a $1-billion, mixed-used shopping development called Fenton based on the model provided Alpharetta. “In addition to Cary, representatives from Huntersville, North Carolina and Franklin, Tennessee said they have visited Alpharetta. Locally, Roswell and Dunwoody have consulted with Alpharetta’s community development department,” adds Murchison.

There’s plenty to see in Alpharetta, which achieved its redevelopment vision for two districts, the Civic Center and Avalon. A third, North Point, is underway Murchison. As for how Alpharetta has achieved so much mixed-use development, Murchison credits the city’s decision to acquire 21 acres of privately owned land, a $29 million voter-approved bond referendum in 2011, large investments in the city’s linear park, and other interventions including requirements for 68% owner-occupied residential units in mixed-use developments.