I think about Mark Toro on almost a daily basis. No - I have not gone to work for North American Properties and Mark Toro is not coming to me for gardening advice or any advice at all. I've never spoken to him in person and I'm not even sure I've seen him, except the back of his head as he spoke to City Council. Nevertheless, every single day as I take a left into Piedmont Park to get to my job at the ABG, I see Ansley Park to the right and I think about Mark Toro.
I think about him because he lives where I work - the Ansley Park area in midtown. It seemed important to Mark Toro to let us know he lives in midtown. And why did Mr. Toro share this personal information? I think it had something to do with trying to convey to us that he's very much in the thick of things, that he enjoys the city with its art, gardens, restaurants; that he's young - well, young thinking anyway - because he lives in town near a lot of 30-something year old's. All these things conveyed to us that he knows and understands desirable locations and therefore understands how to make Avalon an awesome place and Alpharetta a desirable location with young people, art, culture, and restaurants.
That's awesome. If only he could do it. Ansley Park is well over 100 years old. The Woodruff Arts Center and the High Museum and Piedmont Park and the Atlanta Botanical Garden and all the great restaurants - they didn't just spring up overnight. Took awhile. A long while. And the young people, yea, they're in town. I work with them and eat lunch every day with them. I'll bet I hang with them more than Mark Toro does. A different generation from me and Mark Toro, that's for sure. Will they come to my town though? Hmmm.
I wish Mark Toro every success. This blog is not a complaint against Avalon. May it be all North American Properties has implied it will be.
But...
Avalon will not make Alpharetta culturally relevant. Only Alpharetta can make Alpharetta culturally relevant. And young people will not make Alpharetta "cool". Cool people will make Alpharetta cool. And as far as desirability....Alpharetta already is desirable. The quest is to keep it desirable. These things are categorically different from the success of development projects.
The success of future developments like Avalon and the downtown City Center in Alpharetta is first of all dependent upon a good economy where people are spending discretionary income due to having jobs. It is second of all dependent upon a certain je ne sais quoi, a magic sort of thing you can't pin down that just has to do with being in the right place at the right time and having had a sense, both aesthetic and businesslike, that was in a word - right.
I look forward to meeting you and sharing how we intend to bring that certain je ne sai quois to Alpharetta. Maybe we can have a cup of coffee at Highland Bakery, or better yet, at Alpha Soda. Be well, Mark
I had to google je ne sais quoi.
The only difference is Alpharetta is families and midtown is singles or couples without kids living at home (young professionals without kids or very young ones or empty nesters). What Avalon and downtown Alpharetta will bring is some of the in town style and urbanism feel to us and the people that will live there will be these midtown demographic - young professionals and empty nesters. So all those people in windward that have seen their kids go to Lake Windward then Alpharetta High don't have to move to midtown when they want to downsize. Over time downtown and Avalon will grow together as one and that'll be the urban core of Alpharetta. It's a great time for Alpharetta and I'm working on helping out and being a part of it as much as possible
Downtown Crabapple has more options than Alpharetta.
We will want to downsize at some point but we want more land when we do. Actually population studies show that rural retirement migration is a trend. See http://www.springer.com/social+sciences/population+studies/book/978-1-4020-6894-2 "While the majority of older persons are residentially stable, those who migrate are disproportionately likely to move to a rural community."
Agreed - Crabapple is excellent for walking to Erwoods, Sip, Olde Blind Dog, Milton's etc. Would be nice to have same walkability to many such desirable restaurants in downtown Alpharetta.
You nailed that one.
By less dense, I mean pleasantly populated. Yes, townhouses close to town or some in town, but clustered and surrounded with greenery and worked around old trees. A solution to energize downtown........Our identity......our marketing niche. The Alpharetta Inn..... West side of village....Savannah Style architecture, small, about 20 rooms. Located west side, near corner of Milton Ave & Roswell-Canton St's. Bed & Breakfast's...... A few, maybe one behind Mitties in that cute old building that can't quite make it as a restaurant. We have two prominent anchors: the CITY HALL to the East and the ALPHARETTA INN to the west. In-between we fill with shops, galleries and cafe's. We promote pleasantly populated old southern style charm downtown and as people walk to Avalon it becomes younger more modern atmosphere. Last year I sugguested a Boutique Hotel and a terraced plaza filled with restaurants for Avalon. I noticed those design ideas were incorporated into proposed plans for Roswell. Just maybe my design idea of an Alpharetta Inn and Bed & Breakfast's with Southern charm may work for us.
Distinguish City Center from Avalon. Right now it is too much the same. Give people a reason to want to come into our quaint town, not get off 400, stop at Avalon and then go home. Quaint makes people linger.
The picture I posted with this blog: http://alpharetta.patch.com/blog_posts/watch-video-of-council-voting-to-ax-65-trees is actually of the land being clear cut for development of the northwest quadrant of Crabapple. Many, many trees came down.