City center project moving forward again

Atlanta Business Chronicle - by Martin Sinderman Contributing Writer

Following a couple of setbacks, the city of Alpharetta is back on track with a redevelopment project designed to create a new core for this bustling Georgia 400 community.

Alpharetta City Center is a planned transformation of roughly 7.5 acres of the city's downtown into a mixed-use destination and community gathering place incorporating retail, residential condominium, and office uses, along with green space and a new parking deck.

The ambitious project has had a difficult time getting out of the starting blocks. The city's original private-sector partner, Barry Real Estate Companies Inc., withdrew from the project due to the its numerous other commitments, according to Alpharetta Community Development Director Diana Wheeler.

Meanwhile, the project, initially priced in the $140 million range, was slated to include about $8 million in tax allocation district funding -- a source that no longer exists, thanks to a recent ruling by the Georgia Supreme Court that property tax dollars collected by school systems are to be used solely for education purposes.