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Now 10 years old, is Avalon metro Atlanta’s best big development? Josh Green Thu, 10/31/2024 - 01:13 Atlanta newbies won’t recall, but Avalon’s property was a true land-use downer along Ga. Highway 400 not all that long ago: little more than red clay mounds, unfinished streets, and the weedy bones of a 100-acre development that had stalled out and died prior to the Great Recession.

But 10 years ago this week, the first phase of Avalon debuted—with a splash. According to its creators, the region’s real estate industry hasn’t been the same since.

Four days of celebrations to mark the occasion seemed fitting for a North American Properties project that had been billed for years as an OTP trendsetter, the South’s first “urbanburb,” and an instant live-work-play icon like metro Atlanta had never seen, all set amidst a backdrop of what former NAP managing partner Mark Toro once described as demographic gold.

Celebrated intown chefs couldn’t open outposts of popular eateries at Avalon fast enough. For guests willing to pay, the Ritz-Carlton-trained valets were a first. The high-end $5,000/month apartments—some 15 miles beyond the Interstate 285 Perimeter—flabbergasted intowners. But it was just the beginning of a three-phase, $1-billion bet on the ’burbs that’s logged more than 65 million visitors since.

Which begs the question: Could Avalon be the best large-scale, ground-up development in metro Atlanta in a generation—or ever?

Or could its impact be overblown?

The scope of Avalon’s 86 acres today. Courtesy of North American Properties

To mark the birthday milestone, NAP officials have compiled stats that verify, in their view, how the mixed-use colossus that sprang from Alpharetta dirt has become a “renowned model” toured by “countless developers and city leaders from around the globe, each hoping to emulate its success,” according to an impact summary. (Coincidentally, NAP was officially acquired this week by Ponce City Market developer Jamestown.)

From Halcyon in Forsyth County to an under-construction district near Chateau Elan and the growing Battery Atlanta, mixed-use, market-rate ventures of grand scale have cropped up after Avalon. Many have compared themselves to the Alpharetta community as a selling point, both with government officials and the general public.

And why not? According to NAP’s analysis, Avalon has created 4,000 jobs. It’s racked up more than $3 billion in retail sales and won some 30 awards. It’s logged 700,000 hotel room nights booked and north of 15,400 conference center bookings.

Avalon has become synonymous with communal events, including ice-skating. Courtesy of North American Properties

Among its list of firsts, NAP says Avalon introduced the metro’s first chef-driven restaurant roster to anchor a mixed-use, suburban development, and the first high-speed Gigabit internet community in Georgia. The 330-room Hotel at Avalon was Alpharetta’s first boutique—and ditto for Avalon’s ice-skating rink.

In what NAP calls the “Avalon effect,” the project’s leaders say it has sparked significant market growth in Alpharetta (the two-time reigning Suburban Smackdown tourney champion, it should be noted). Since Avalon opened in October 2014, the north Fulton County city has seen a 13 percent increase in households, a 10 percent bump in population overall, and more than 11,500 business permits issued.

The Hotel at Avalon (center) was the north OTP city’s first boutique. Courtesy of North American Properties

Courtesy of North American Properties

NAP started developing Avalon in 2012 and sold the initial phase of the upscale district four years later to PGIM for $500 million; but the Cincinnati-based firm behind the transformations of Atlantic Station and Colony Square was retained to oversee retail leasing efforts and management.

Today, the formerly barren development gravesite that became Avalon includes (deep breath) more than 570,000 square feet of retail, a full-service hotel, a 12-screen theater, a conference center, 750,000 square feet of Class A offices, and more than 630 apartments and standalone homes. Its $1-billion in development covers a whopping 2.4 million square feet total.

NAP says Avalon hosts more than 200 events annually—ranging from a blowout Kentucky Derby party and makers markets to movie nights—attended by seven and ½ million visitors.

Below is a before/after look at how Avalon things started, and where they stand today. Even “drive-to urbanism” haters could concede the scale is impressive. But is Avalon in 2024—recently described by NAP as “the region’s crown jewel”—all it’s cracked up to be?

Now 10 years old, is Avalon metro Atlanta's best big development?

Now 10 years old, is Avalon metro Atlanta's best big development?