What are your impressions, thoughts, concerns or suggestions regarding the proposed site plan and uses submitted by North American Properties for the Avalon Development at the northwest corner of GA-400 and Old Milton Parkway?

This is okay for a starting point, but there are some big changes that need to be made before I can support it.

The City went from a luxury site to a (perhaps upscale) strip mall with rental residential, not luxury homes! What happened? If this is all that the economy will currently support, just seed the red clay and mow it for a few years until someone with vision comes along.

Too much surface parking
Too little green space
14 story building is too tall-why do they continue to be proposed, only to be shot down by Planning, Design Review and Council?
Rethink the views from:
Driving along GA 400 and using the ramps
Driving along Old Milton Parkway
This is supposed to be a focal point, not another hoo-hum shopping center.

All in all-rethink what is proposed. Aaverage at best.

This is okay for a starting point, but there are some big changes that need to be made before I can support it.

My concerns align with some of the others mentioned. When I heard the people responsible for Atlantic Station had purchased the property, I envisioned something similar to that complex. The pictures posted seemed to go along with that idea. Then we get this. It looks like any other strip mall. There's entirely too much surface parking and it doesn't look pedestrian friendly at all. I want a place that I can park my car and roam from shop to shop to restaurant. As it is, I can't see any reason to linger and shop in the plan. It doesn't look as if it'll be appealing to the eye or enjoyable to frequent. I think the plan needs some serious considerations.

This is okay for a starting point, but there are some big changes that need to be made before I can support it.

THINK GREEN! Alpharetta is known for it's "green space". The first thing that people notice when they visit is how green everything is and how well landscaped the city is in comparison to other cities. I don't see enough green space in the middle of this mass of concrete. I'd love to see more of a Central Park setting in the middle with buildings surrounding the park-like setting. What brings families to an area is nice outdoor space where children can play and families can sit out and relax. When I look at the development in Crabapple I see lots of buildings and nothing that pulls me in to make me want to walk around. I go to a particular shop and then leave--never to really walk around and tour the town.

If I want to eat an ice cream cone in the summer I want to be among the trees on a park bench. You go to DaLonagha or Helen, Georgia and what do you see--people walking around outdoors going in and out of the various shops. I don't want us to be like Crabapple which has lots of buildings and concrete. No real outdoor space for walkers and bicyclists. No place for movies on the green. Let's think green with all we do in Alpharetta. I think there should be a water feature that turns into an outdoor ice rink during the winter months when people tend to stay inside. You must draw people to the area during all the seasons. There should be a place for evening concerts like at National Harbor in Washington, DC. Let's make use of the rooftops with rooftop parks like atop Georgetown University's bookstore. If you first draw people to the outdoor space they will automatically mozie their way indoors to the shops.

This is okay for a starting point, but there are some big changes that need to be made before I can support it.

This is just another outdoor mall with some office and residential similar to that near Perimeter Mall. Very little green space and a horrendous eyesore for nearby neighborhoods. Needs to be redesigned to emphasize green space, put parking underground, several walking green streets and pedestrian/bike pathways and some real creativity.

Also it is only a short walk from the new downtown Alpharetta area and should be made easily accessible by some of the back streets that need redevelopment and tied into a comprehensive plan to make Alpharetta a warm, green inviting area so that people can walk from Wills Park, to downtown to this entire district easily, comfortably and surrounded by a park like setting without being trapped by major roadways.

This is okay for a starting point, but there are some big changes that need to be made before I can support it.

More pervious open greenspace. Place parking underground behind the store fronts. I want to sit outside at a cafe and look out onto grass, trees and native flora. I don't want to look at cars parked on asphalt. Parking lots are clear-cut asphalt heat generating and water-polluting/retaining deserts. Would like to see use of native flora & grasses for storm water runoff, patches of green to include trees. At my corporate offices in Pleasanton, CA – they have one “green” natural space for every 2-3 car parking spaces. The runoff / ditch area is covered with native grasses for natural filtration. Roswell recently did an all natural storm water runoff in a newly-built public parking lot behind Canton Street. Specify MAXIMUM automobile parking spaces instead of minimum. Provide pedestrian walkways to access the building entrances (starting from the sidewalks at the road). Safely walk – or ride a bike – from the road entrance to the front door. Have recycling receptacles in public spaces, in front of retail shops, bus stops, etc. Provide bike lanes and bike trails to access the development.