UPDATED 4:30 P.M.: North American Properties made it official today, announcing what has been public knowledge since the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported the company had signed a contract to purchase Prospect Park.

The company plans to develop the 106 acres of the stalled mixed-use site into "a more market responsive and community responsive center," according to its release. And it plans to solicit community input through meetings and social media.

Prospect Park was planned as a large-scale, high-end center for Atlanta’s northern suburbs, with retail, hotel and residential components at the intersection of Ga. 400 and Old Milton Parkway. North American Properties plans a smaller retail and residential environment that’s responsive to the retail and real estate market, designed with significant input from the Alpharetta community, the company said.

Alpharetta City Councilman D.C. Aiken said it looks like North American Properties is going to put a similar product to what was zoned there before, but less dense.

"I don't think they are going to do hotels, but I think they are going to do upscale shopping, that kind of thing, and townhomes–but a lot less density than was being requested before. That's a good thing," Aiken said.

The project will be spearheaded by Mark Toro, managing partner of North American Properties., who previously worked with the City of Alpharetta in zoning 1.3 million square feet of retail surrounding North Point Mall, and Ron Pfohl, partner and director of Leasing at North American Properties. Pfohl was previously head of leasing for the original Prospect Park project. Both Toro and Pfohl have experience in creating successful retail centers through partnering with neighborhood groups and local governments in cities such as Atlanta, Orlando, East Point and Carlsbad, Calif., among others.

Al Nash, executive director of Progress Partners Atlanta, said it's great news.

"They are great people. I hear great things they are doing down at Atlantic Station turning that deal around," he said.

North American Properties also had had success at another center at I-285 and Camp Creek Parkway, he said.

"They did a great, and I'm sure they'll do a great job in North Fulton," Nash said. "The good news is that it didn't get bought by a speculator. They are a user and they've got a proven track record, great financial stability and capability to make it a first class property."

To ensure the Alpharetta community is a partner in rebuilding Prospect Park, North American Properties will host community meetings, stage tours and regularly seek comments, suggestions and conversation from the project’s neighbors via social media such as Facebook and Twitter, Pfohl said.

In December 2010, a joint venture of North American Properties and CB Richard Ellis Investors purchased Atlantic Town Center, the 586,000 square-foot retail centerpiece of Atlantic Station in Midtown Atlanta.

The acquisitions signal a strategic turn for North American Properties, which decided in 2008 and 2009 to be more conservative during the challenged real estate market. The company attributes its ability to capitalize on these opportunities to its decision to sell most of its properties in 2006-2007, shelving new projects before the commercial real estate crash and pulling back, while many of its peers plowed ahead.

“With these two major acquisitions, we are signaling our return to the market,” Toro said. “We believe Prospect Park and Atlantic Station have enormous, untapped potential, and we see opportunity for cross pollination of retailers and other elements that eventually will be beneficial to both centers.”

“Atlantic Station is becoming the center for the Midtown community because we reached out and asked our neighbors what they wanted Atlantic Station to be, both face to face and via social media. The response has been tremendous and the stakeholders surrounding Atlantic Station are now fully involved in the project’s success,” Pfohl said. “We plan to be just as open and engaging with our neighbors at Prospect Park. We will ask them to tell us what they’d like the project to be, and we’ll respond to that – and what’s more, we’ll invite them to participate.”

Aiken thought that was a good idea.

"If they want to get public input, that's outstanding. How many develpers do that? None," Aiken said. "That's kind of a cool thing then."

Nash said he thinks they realize the business climate is changing, and social media is a part of it.

"What a better way to listen to the people and educate the people that are going to use the facility," he said. "I think we are seeing more and more business using social media and focus groups and that kind of thing."

Pfohl said Atlantic Station is becoming Midtown's community center because the company asked its neighbors what they wanted it to be.

“We plan to be just as open and engaging with our neighbors at Prospect Park. We will ask them to tell us what they’d like the project to be, and we’ll respond to that–and what’s more, we’ll invite them to participate,” Pfohl said.

Nash said there's another side to consider.

"We are dealing in a whole different times, lending regulations, tenant regulations and that type of thing that they are going to have to deal through. It's important that the public understands what they have to deal with," Nash said.