Consultants present Northpointe framework plan emphasizing walkability, green corridors and multimodal streets

Jacob Lang, a partner with Star Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners, presented the Northpointe Development Framework Plan to the Alpharetta City Council during its March 3, 2025 work session, describing design principles and illustrative redevelopment scenarios for the district around the Northpoint Mall.

Lang said the plan is a guidance document, not a request for land-use or zoning changes, and is intended to "encourage investment and excitement from the development community" and provide "a guideline for public policy within the district." The plan centers on three guiding principles: walkable, green and vibrant.

The framework lays out a fine-grain street network intended to create redundancy and multimodal options. The team proposed four street typologies and two alley typologies. A typical street would include two 10-foot travel lanes in each direction, a 12-foot shared-use path on one side for pedestrians and bikes and an 8-foot pedestrian sidewalk on the other side; some streets would include parallel parking to buffer pedestrians. A larger “boulevard” typology would include a raised, curb-separated bike lane in addition to the 12-foot shared-use path, creating both protected on-street cycling and a shared trail experience.

Lang highlighted three open-space components: green streets that function as linear parks with vegetated buffers and green infrastructure, connections to existing trails such as the Big Creek Greenway, and expanded parks intended to catalyze redevelopment along their edges. He pointed to hydrology mapping showing historic tributaries that were previously piped and said one tributary identified as the “Tributary Park” is roughly 10 feet below finished grade and could be daylighted within a 40–60-foot right-of-way. A second, deeper tributary (about 25 feet below grade) would require 60–75 feet and was described as a more difficult, lower-feasibility option.

Lang illustrated “test fits” for parts of the district, including the Mansell Crossing area (near Barnes & Noble, TJ Maxx and Macy’s) and the Northpointe Market Center (near Target and Dave & Buster’s), showing mixed-use blocks, stacked parking buildings and active linear parks intended to draw the greenway into the district. He also showed conceptual bridge connections over Georgia 400 and Big Creek as longer-term, high-cost moves developers might pursue as traffic and demand increase.

Council members asked questions about specific elements. Councilman Hites asked how bicycling was incorporated; Lang said all four street typologies include bike infrastructure, with the boulevard typology carrying the dedicated, raised bike lane and the shared-use path providing space for family and recreational biking. Councilman Mitchell asked about a proposed corridor shown through the mall site; Lang identified it as Maxwell Road and said the internal alignment is flexible and that the plan borrows connections identified in earlier station-area planning by True North and MARTA.

The presentation concluded with Lang asking for feedback; city staff noted the framework is an informational tool council can use when evaluating future development proposals rather than a formal land-use action.

Next steps: the city will hold the framework in its files as a policy and design reference and will weigh developer proposals against the plan’s street, open-space and typology guidance as redevelopment proposals arrive.