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, but I have a few suggestions or concerns.

The lack of green space will make this place look like a large parking lot.

However, green space aside I'm worried about ANOTHER movie theater being built within Alpharetta. Currently we have two on North Point with another being discussed for the Mall. I see two scenarios developing. Either United Artist or AMC will want to move to a state-of-the-art facility and leave a vacant building in its wake or Regal or another chain will move in and likely kill one of the existing theaters here, again leaving a vacant building in its wake.

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

After all the effort Mark Toro put into his well publicized, nationwide tour of class projects across the U.S., this is the best NAP could come up with? This sea of parking lots is going to look worse than anything around North Point Mall, or even the Outlet Mall! This is a huge strip mall, disguised as bad mixed-use. While the density may be less than Prospect Park, the key differences are significant...and not positive. I was hoping for something like The Forum, or Avenues...not "Big Box" retail hell! The out parcels alone, (along Old Milton Parkway), will be incredible eyesores, and did NOT exist in the former plan. There is almost no green space, and one of the "Public Spaces" is a detention pond! Good luck with the residential piece...would you want to live in the middle of a strip mall?

I feel that this proposal is wrong for Alpharetta. Let me tell you why.

This is basically Atlantic Station and feels too "urban" of an idea for Alpharetta. There is almost no green space in the entire development. It has everything in it that Alpharetta already has: a theater, hotels, retail, and town homes. Or you can go 15 miles north to the Avenues Forsyth for probably the exact same retail stores. I am not a fan of town homes to begin with...I think Alpharetta is more suited to single family homes because most people who live or want to live in Alpharetta are families. Further more we do NOT need another light on Old Milton Parkway just for this development...completely unnecessary and Old Milton already has traffic issues.

If you ask me the only good idea on the entire plan is opening up Westside Parkway all the way to Webb Bridge Rd.

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

It’s a good start, but it could be so much more.

First of all, this plan adds a new traffic light to Old Milton Parkway. With three lights within about 1200 feet of each other we are making an already traffic plagued road that much worse.

Second, it’s like Atlantic Station Lite – except that all of the great things about Atlantic Station were cut out. There’s no green space, no parking decks, no underground parking. It’s just a new design on huge parking lots like Perimeter Place and the Avenues properties. Alpharetta has plenty of huge parking lots on North Point Parkway south of Haynes Bridge Road and on Windward Parkway west of GA-400.

It would be great if this area really connected with and accentuated the plans for our new downtown area: open, green spaces, with boutiques, higher-end retail and restaurants. I’d like to go to dinner on a nice Spring evening, sit on a patio, and look at a nice park and water feature, instead of a beat up 1996 Honda Civic and drainage gutters carved into hot asphalt.

Finally, the residential areas do not seem targeted to the demographic that would be interested in living in Alpharetta. Living over a retail outlet with a view of a parking lot may appeal to someone living and working in Buckhead or Midtown Atlanta. People live in Alpharetta to get away from that urban atmosphere.

Please consider reassessing your plans and making improvements that better reflect the people and values of our city.

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

I am an engineer and project manager at a design build construction company. Please read my comments below:

The main entrance takes you to a large parking lot which is situated in front of a 4 story residential building. This places all the traffic in front of the homes rather than the commercial areas. The commercial buildings are situated to the west, and there is no parking in front of them. There needs to be some street parking in front of the commercial space or under the space in a parking deck.

If it is the desire to place residential space in the front of the development then mixed use buildings should be utilized. Place lofts and condos on top of commercial spaces. Create spaces for people to walk.

I do not see any green space and the retention pond is being hidden. The retention pond should be used as an opportunity to create a water attraction with green space around it.

This space currently looks like a neighborhood next to a mall. I is my hope that the design is changed to look more like Atlantic Station and less like urban sprawl.