The United Peachtree Corners Civic Association recently hosted a community meeting featuring representatives from North American Properties, the new owners of The Forum shopping center. With over 300 residents in attendance, Tim Perry, NAP’s Managing Partner for Atlanta, walked the attentive crowd through their plan to convert The Forum into a true mixed-use development.
Ultimately, their goal as stated by Perry is, “a mix of population and traffic that populates and uses the property 18 hours a day.”
To make that happen, initial designs include converting much of the interior parking area into a mix of spaces. The area in front of the current anchor store, Belk, would become a concierge site with public restrooms and outdoor seating with a nearby small stage for live music. Additional new buildings might include restaurants or wine bars with additional outdoor seating.
To compensate for the lost parking, NAP proposes a parking deck in the space beside Belk along the back side of the property. Developers promise this deck would only be about 5 feet taller than the Belk store.
This first phase of improvements would most likely take place between 2023 and 2025.
Simultaneously, but with a later completion timeline, plans include a 120 to 150-room boutique hotel and several high-end multi-family rental units.
Residents in attendance expressed concern about the impact greater density might have on schools and traffic. Other issues arose over additional lighting and sound the neighborhood behind the project might experience.
The next step is to take the project to the city for zoning and permitting approvals.
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