The current boom of high tech and big data companies quickly changing nearly every aspect of our lives is a revolution unfolding right here in North Fulton, with the city of Alpharetta as epicenter.
Once the wooded home of Cherokee Indians, then cotton farmers and merchants, Alpharetta has rapidly transformed into a global information technology powerhouse, now dubbed “The Technology City of the South.”
Remarkably, more than 900 technology firms call North Fulton home, with 600 in Alpharetta. The city recently formed its own “Alpharetta Technology Commission” to entice more technology entities to the area.
This growth has its roots in the northward expansion of the Ga. 400 highway in the early 1980s. Developers lured businesses with new office parks near golf and tennis communities where executives could reside. The estate sub-division life took off, and many companies located to North Fulton.
The recent Great Recession hindered North Fulton economic progress, however, as businesses faltered. It’s now hopeful that the North Fulton cities of Alpharetta, Roswell, Milton, Sandy Springs, Johns Creek and Mountain Park will benefit from this tech revolution, especially with many collaborating to make it a reality.
The Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce, a federation of local businesses of all stripes, is at the forefront of economic expansion among these six cities. In fact, the chamber’s new Technology Forum is dedicated specifically to bringing North Fulton tech professionals together to network, share strategies, and discuss important issues.
Perhaps the most visible mark of Alpharetta’s progress is the massive 86-acre Avalon luxury residential and up-scale shopping and restaurant development off Ga. 400 (scheduled to open Oct. 30). North American Properties, the Avalon developers, built a custom “ultra-high-speed fiber-to-the-network” capability throughout the community, deeming Avalon Georgia’s first “fiberhood.”
Among all these new developments, however, the wisest one for Alpharetta may have been winning a new Gwinnett Technical College campus right across from the Avalon development. The first of three buildings will open in January 2016, with two more to follow, eventually accommodating up to 10,000 students.
North Fulton County school students may also benefit as the Chamber of Commerce’s Education Committee works with Fulton County Schools on programs nurturing homegrown student talent. Since students must now choose a possible career path before high school, exposing them to opportunities unleashed by the tech revolution in their own backyard seems a good place to start.
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