Bocado Burger Bar Latest Restaurant to Sign Lease at Avalon

Waiting list for homes at Avalon reaches 350.

The first-ever Bocado Burger Bar – a spinoff from one of Atlanta's hottest restaurants Bocado — has signed at North American Properties' Avalon project in Alpharetta. The lease is one of many recent developments at the $600 million mixed-use project. North American Properties' officials say when Avalon opens in October 2014, it will be the Southeast's preeminent experiential development — "a place where specialty retail, entertainment, restaurant, residential, office, hotel and public spaces come together to create a truly unique experience." Other updates include: "We have seen tremendous interest from local, national and international retailers," said Mark Toro, managing partner of North American Properties. "The addition of Bocado …

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Travis Allen

12:00 pm on Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Would have been nice to have a Yardhouse...alas, Darden Restaurants apparently thinks North Fulton isn't worth their time...   more ›

Monte Hewett Says Housing Industry is Back

The demand already has increased, and new, high-tech, high paying jobs will increase the need for homes.

Monte Hewett is working on designing homes one room at a time for Avalon's residential section. That's the attention to detail and quality he knows future residents in the $600 million development will demand. Hewett said he spent five hours with Lew Oliver the morning before he and all of the other consultants, partners and contractors stopped working to celebrate the groundbreaking on the site off Old Milton Parkway and GA 400 Monday afternoon. Hewett has been building homes in the area since 1988. Hewett said the housing industry is back, at least in this area. Few new homes had been built for years, and he said the supply had dropped to around 30,000 in the metro Atlanta area. The housing industry can count it as good news to hear job …

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North American Properties Breaks Ground on Avalon

The $600 million mixed-used development in Alpharetta is scheduled to open its first phase on Aug. 22, 2014.

UPDATED 9 P.M.: Video of parking garage, retention wall demolition added. North American Properties broke ground today at Avalon, an 86-acre, resort-inspired, mixed-use development in Alpharetta next to GA 400 and Old Milton Parkway. "It's been a year and a half since we acquired Prospect Park, but we were chasing it a year before that," said Mark Toro, managing partner of North American Properties. "It's been tremendous. I'll call it a thrill to engage in this project." The $600 million project is scheduled to open Aug. 22, 2014. The developer says it will be the Southeast’s preeminent experiential development — "a place where specialty retail, entertainment, restaurant, residential, office, hotel and public spaces come together to create…

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Avalon Plans Ice Skating from Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day

You'll have to wait until 2014 when the mixed-use development in Alpharetta by Old Milton Parkway and GA 400 opens.

Visitors to the Avalon development will get to lace on their skates and hit the ice from Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day, Mark Toro told business and community leaders at this week's Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce Eggs & Enterprise Breakfast. "We will build a skating rink outside. We expect to see 40,000 skaters," said  Toro, a partner in North American Properties, owner of the development. He expects a lot of energy to be generated by the 10,000 college students expected to attend Gwinnett Tech's North Fulton campus, planned on a site just across Old Milton Parkway from Avalon. He said the company has applied for a land disturbance permit, and expects to begin construction in the first quarter of 2013. Avalon's opening is …

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Avalon Developer to Offer Updates at Chamber Breakfast Tuesday

Mark Toro of North American Properties will discuss what shops and restaurants will be in the mixed-used developments, and when they will open.

Want to hear the latest news about Avalon, the mixed-use development being planned at Old Milton Parkway and GA 400? Mark Toro, partner at North American Properties, will be the keynote speaker for the Oct. 23 Eggs & Enterprise Breafkfast. The Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce presents the breakfast meeting most months of the year, bringing business and political figures before the business leaders of the cities in North Fulton. This month the meeting will be at the Country Club of the South at 7:30 a.m. Register online for this event, which is sponsored by Wells Fargo. Event Location Country Club of the South 4100 Old Alabama Road, Johns Creek Date/Time Information Tuesday, Oct. 23 7:30 am - Registration 8:00 am - Program begins 9:…

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North American Properties Adds Tenants for Avalon

The mixed-use development in Alpharetta is scheduled to open in April 2014.

North American Properties today announced new tenants for Avalon, saying more than half of the Phase 1 retail space is committed and another 25 percent is in negotation. The $600 million resort-inspired, mixed-use development in Alpharetta is scheduled to open April 2014.  “Avalon will deliver a purposefully designed experience in the art of living well,” said Mark Toro, managing partner for North American Properties. “Imagine stepping into a retail environment that feels and delivers like a five-star resort. Your every need is anticipated and every indulgence fulfilled.” Whole Foods and Regal Cinemas are the anchor tenants at Avalon, which will be built on property west of GA 400, north of Old Milton Parkway and east of Westside Parkway. …

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Pranit

4:09 am on Sunday, May 12, 2013

I suggest the most important, the Kids play area / entertainment. This will certainly boost the inflow of daily visitors to the property.   more ›

North American Properties Announces Avalon Tenants

The first phase of the mixed-used development in Alpharetta will open in April 2014.

CORRECTION: Whole Foods is exploring an option to convert its Harry's Farmers Market into a distribution center, but there's no need to change your shopping habits anytime soon. The grocer has just applied for zoning changes so that could be a possiblity. The store is not scheduled to close, and could well be open long after its Avalon store is expected to open in April 2014. North American Properties announced the construction timeline and the first seven tenants for Avalon, its mixed-use development at Old Milton and Westside parkways. The first phase of Avalon will begin construction this fall and take approximately 18 months, with the grand opening now scheduled for April 5, 2014, according to the official statement released Thursday …

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Developer: Avalon Will Generate $21 Million in Taxes Annually

A release by North American Properties says event programming will occur in public spaces throughout the year.

North American Properties immediately issued a media release on the approval of the master plan amendment for Avalon that thanked the city and promised a quality development. According to the release, Avalon will bring more than 1,000 temporary construction jobs to the area and 3,500 permanent jobs. Upon completion, it is expected to generate $21 million in annual sales tax revenue, $4.5 million annually in new property taxes (including $700,000 to the city of Alpharetta) and $1.1 million annually in hotel taxes for Alpharetta.   “The city of Alpharetta has long been one of the best places to live and work in the United States because its residents and elected officials have demanded a very high standard of quality from each new …

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Transferring Apartment Rights No Sure Thing for Avalon

Alpharetta City Council would have to approve any transfer of development rights–in this case apartments–so North American Properties has no guarantees for its development.

Since Alpharetta doesn't have an ordinance on its books that allows for transferring development rights, North American Properties would have no guarantees that it could get rights to apartments from another site. The city's Planning Commission recommended this as the way the developer could build its mixed-use Avalon project at the former Prospect Park site and still keep the 250 rental units above retail shops it says are critical. "We don't have a TDR [transfer of development rights] ordinance on our books. So absent that ordinance, there's not a smooth, clean process about which to do a transfer of development rights," said Assistant City Administrator James Drinkard. What will you tell City Council during tonight's Public Hearing at …

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Letter to the Editor

Alpharetta Resident Backs Avalon Proposal

In a letter to Alpharetta City Council, Kyle Tripp says the renting vs. owning debate is an oversimplified analysis.

I support North American Properties' proposal per their requested stipulations including the 'for rent' units. I feel that the argument for or against the project should not be reduced to a renting vs owning debate as it was framed in Planning. Avalon has too much to offer the city to be reduced to this oversimplified analysis. The current 2030 Comprehensive Plan suggesting an 85/15 split between owned vs. rent is largely pie in the sky wishful thinking. The city's own report states that it would take 35 years to achieve this ratio. You risk killing a mixed use, smart growth concept over a proposition that may not happen in our lifetime. We all know the ratio is out of reach so to base your decision on an unobtainable goal is nonsensical. …

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Mark Toro

8:12 am on Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Thank you for your support of Avalon, Michael. Your comments are spot on. We hope to see you Monday night.   more ›