Connecting Communities

As Georgia State invests in its Brookside location, private development is investing in creating a community that leverages the nearby recreational and educational assets already in place.

Brookside Reserve, a 160-residence condominium community by The Providence Group, is now selling, with homes under construction. The development replaces an aging office building off Brookside Parkway that rose above hundreds of black-topped, white-lined parking spaces. Nearby, Alpharetta has approved an additional 104 for-sale townhomes on the site of another aging office building.

Portman Holdings, the firm behind the iconic Peachtree Center development in downtown Atlanta, is making its first foray outside of the perimeter with Brookside Village, now under construction. The project will bring 335 apartments, 75 for-sale townhomes and 185,000 square feet of office, retail, restaurant and other commercial space to the district. The development, on Brookside's west side, will retain one of two existing office buildings on a 20-acre site, take down the other and connect by trail to the adjacent 30-acre Brookside Park. It is expected to open in 2029.

"Brookside shows what's possible when a university, a city and private builders share one vision," says Ambrish Baisiwala, chairman and CEO of Portman. "Georgia State's commitment to its Alpharetta Campus has been essential, and we're proud to work alongside the university and the city to build a neighborhood that serves students, residents and businesses alike."

All of the attention on Brookside has attracted even more attention. In August, the Alpharetta City Council rezoned nearly 30 acres of land across Old Milton Parkway from Brookside for a 195-unit for-sale townhome community being developed by Empire Homes and Toll Brothers.

That growth is also benefiting the public spaces that tie Brookside together. Impact fees from the new developments, along with a federal grant secured with the help of U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.), will fund a full renovation of Brookside Park, including new trails, a pedestrian bridge to the Big Creek Greenway and a trail extension that will connect directly to Georgia State's Alpharetta Campus.

"Alpharetta is a globally connected, highly educated community and home to roughly 700 technology firms," says Mayor Jim Gilvin. "Because we've seen that the needs of the office market have changed, what we're focused on now is redevelopment that positions Alpharetta as a place with the amenities - like the connections being made among the recreational, residential and educational assets we have in Brookside - that make the city both a great place to build a business and a great place to raise a family."