Public park, housing and shops to replace aging Sandy Springs retail center

Most of the large developments with urban vibes in Sandy Springs are clustered around the Perimeter rather than the city’s northern edge.

That’s starting to change, and a new mixed-use project aims to add to that momentum.

The city announced Tuesday it approved an agreement with Woodfield Development to help remake the 13-acre North River Shopping Center off Roswell Road as a mix of residences, shops and dining. The project will replace the aging strip mall with a public park, 336 apartments, 85 for-sale townhomes, retail and restaurants.

This rendering depicts a planned public park set to be included with a shopping center redevelopment in northern Sandy Springs. (Courtesy of Woodfield Development)

Patrick Kassin, senior vice president and regional development partner at Woodfield, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the project represents more than $200 million of investment from his company and its partners. He said it joins other projects such as the 30-acre Embassy Row mixed-use redo that aim to inject some live-work-play energy into northern Sandy Springs.

“We continue to be really excited about the growth of the north end of Atlanta, specifically Sandy Springs,” he said.

Sandy Springs stretches from the city of Atlanta to the south and the Chattahoochee River to its west and north. It has its urban core centered around its City Springs development along Roswell Road and other mixed-use projects. The northern stretch of Roswell Road approaching the river and neighboring Roswell is notably less dense.

Starting in 2018, Sandy Springs launched a task force to evaluate its north end and identified multiple priority redevelopment sites. One of those was the North River Shopping Center at 8830 Roswell Road.

Built in the late 1970s, the strip mall has spent most of the past decade more than half empty. Developer Stream Realty bought the shopping center in 2015, and it has been more than 50% vacant since then as multiple redevelopment plans stalled.

Real estate firm Insignia, which also owns Embassy Row at 6600 Peachtree Dunwoody Road, bought the shopping center last year for roughly $11 million. Four office buildings at Embassy Row are slated for demolition to become retail, townhomes and apartments, including a multifamily project by Woodfield.

Crews work to demolish a former bowling alley in the North River Shopping Center on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026, in Sandy Springs. Built in the late 1970s, the strip mall has spent most of the past decade more than half empty. (J. Scott Trubey/AJC)

Demolition work has already begun on some of the vacant buildings at North River Shopping Center before the land sale finalizes next month, Kassin said. He declined to provide transaction details, but Woodfield is under contract for 8 acres and an undisclosed townhome developer is under contract for the remaining 5 acres.

“This project represents the vision we’ve had for the north end for years,” Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul said in a news release.

This site map shows the proposed mixed-use development in Sandy Springs off Roswell Road. The project will replace an aging strip mall with a public park, 336 apartments, 85 for-sale townhomes, retail and restaurants. (Courtesy of the city of Sandy Springs)

The centerpiece of the project is a 0.7-acre park that Woodfield will develop and deed to the city. Sandy Springs has agreed to provide $4.3 million in incentives to the project through waived fees and a 10-year property tax break on the project’s apartments, which the city’s development authority is expected to finalize next week. Those incentives cover roughly two-thirds of the park’s development cost.