This article is part of our ongoing 2026 Development Update series examining how public projects and private investment are reshaping North Atlanta.
New Commercial & Retail Developments in Alpharetta
Downtown Alpharetta & Avalon Area Projects
Several significant mixed-use projects are underway near downtown Alpharetta and the Avalon area. The Gathering – Alpharetta, a new community less than a mile from both downtown and Avalon, has broken ground on a 43,700-square-foot retail center called The Shoppes at The Gathering. Site work is in progress, with vertical construction slated for fall 2025 and an anticipated opening by late 2026. The retail hub will feature seven buildings (4,200–8,400 sq. ft. each) inspired by Napa Valley-style architecture, creating an open-air destination along Haynes Bridge Road. This project, developed by Lincoln Property Company in partnership with homebuilder Brock Built, will integrate with Alpharetta’s Alpha Loop trail, enhancing walkability between downtown, Avalon, and nearby neighborhoods.
At Avalon itself – the city’s flagship mixed-use center – new high-end retail is arriving. In late 2025, British fashion brand Boden chose Avalon for its first-ever U.S. store, a 2,000 sq. ft. boutique situated between existing luxury retailers. Around the same time, home furnishings retailer Homesense (a sister brand of HomeGoods and TJ Maxx) opened a new store in Alpharetta, just in time for the holiday shopping season. These additions underscore Avalon’s continued draw for both national and international brands.
Windward District & North Fulton Developments
Alpharetta’s Windward Parkway corridor is seeing major investment in mixed-use developments. At the Windward Park project on GA 400 and Windward Pkwy, plans call for 186 townhomes, a 31,400 sq. ft. retail village, a 249-room Hilton hotel, and 500,000 sq. ft. of Class A office space, plus a 200-unit condominium tower. This ambitious 52-acre development aims to create a 24/7 live-work-play environment serving the Windward community and beyond. Another nearby project, Continuum Alpharetta, involves a $109 million transformation of an existing office campus into a modern mixed-use destination with offices, restaurants/retail, residences, and green space. Early phases are already attracting corporate tenants (Hewlett Packard Enterprise, DataScan, etc.), solidifying the Windward area’s reputation as a tech hub.
On Old Milton Parkway, Portman Holdings has proposed redeveloping the Brookside office campus into a new district blending retail and housing. The Brookside Redevelopment plan would introduce up to 60,000 sq. ft. of retail, 335 apartments, and 75 townhomes on the site, while retaining one existing office building. The project includes significant open space and trail improvements, potentially linking with the nearby Georgia State University Alpharetta campus. Meanwhile, just east of GA 400, the long-struggling North Point Mall area is poised for a dramatic overhaul. Trademark Property Co. has envisioned turning the 1990s-era mall into a “North Point” mixed-use community featuring new housing (potentially hundreds of apartments and townhomes), offices, and park space. Alpharetta’s City Council even approved a special tax district in late 2025 to support the mall’s redevelopment, aiming to revitalize the North Point corridor into a walkable district akin to Avalon. While an initial $500–$550 million plan was debated throughout 2025, city leaders and developers continue to refine the concept of replacing large swaths of mall parking and structure with a “verdant gathering place” for residents to live, work, and play.
Other Notable Developments
Elsewhere in Alpharetta, additional projects target key corridors. In the Haynes Bridge Road area, Lakeview Park has been zoned for a substantial development including 630,000 sq. ft. of offices, 32,000 sq. ft. of retail, and hundreds of new residences – all linked by the planned Alpha Loop trail that will connect to downtown and Avalon. In the Northwinds area (northwest of Haynes Bridge & GA 400), the Northwinds Summit mixed-use project continues to progress. It will ultimately deliver over 1.2 million sq. ft. of office space, a 150-room hotel, 30,000 sq. ft. of retail/dining, plus a residential component. And on Kimball Bridge Road, a unique adaptive reuse is underway at the old Bailey-Johnson school site – plans would convert the historic school into 40,000 sq. ft. of Class A offices and add a new 120,000 sq. ft. timber-frame office building, blending modern workspace with local history. Each of these developments, large and small, reflects Alpharetta’s ongoing growth and the city’s strategy of balancing commercial expansion with community amenities.
Small Business Openings and Closures
Recent Restaurant and Retail Openings
Despite all the large projects, Alpharetta has also welcomed many new small businesses and eateries in recent months. One headline-grabber is Siena, a locally owned restaurant that just opened in January 2026 on Devore Road near downtown. Founded by co-owner Aïda Lemma and Chef Baba Estavillo, Siena blends Mediterranean and Italian cuisines into a unique “Med-Italian” menu. The restaurant occupies the former space of a Mediterranean café and offers dinner service Tuesday through Sunday, with plans for a weekend brunch soon. Early diners are treated to creative small plates (like sweet potato falafel with harissa) as well as hearty entrees such as honey-lavender lamb chops – a fresh concept for Alpharetta’s dining scene.
In late 2025, Alpharetta saw the debut of Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, an upscale steak and seafood restaurant from the Darden Restaurants group. The new Eddie V’s opened in October near Haynes Bridge Road, bringing a 10,000-square-foot, high-end dining venue featuring three private rooms and a wine list of 300+ selections. This opening marks the brand’s expansion into North Fulton and caters to the area’s appetite for fine dining. Another notable addition is Homesense, a home décor superstore that opened its doors in Alpharetta just before the 2025 holidays. Shoppers can now browse Homesense’s wide selection of furniture, lighting, rugs and kitchenwares at discount prices – a timely arrival as the community grows. And at Avalon, the aforementioned Boden store launch in November 2025 drew fashion-conscious crowds; the boutique is stocked with the British brand’s womenswear “edits” and signals Avalon’s continued draw for first-to-market retail experiences.
It’s not just national brands planting flags – smaller concepts are popping up too. For example, a Middle Eastern café called Mint Olive & Thyme (MOTW) opened in Alpharetta in 2025, offering coffee, pastries and space for casual meetings. And in the North Point area, a new Laghman Express introduced authentic Central Asian cuisine (like hand-pulled noodles and Uzbek plov) to local diners. Each month seems to bring a fresh storefront or eatery to Alpharetta’s streets, reflecting a vibrant post-pandemic recovery in the small business sector.
Notable Closures and Changes
Alongside the new openings, a few businesses have recently closed or transitioned. Perhaps the most talked-about was Off Leash, an innovative dog park bar that opened in summer 2024 in downtown Alpharetta (142 South Main Street). Despite initial excitement – it featured indoor and outdoor play areas for pups and a restaurant/bar for owners – Off Leash shuttered its Alpharetta location by December 2024 after just a few months of operation. The owners cited a “business decision” and even canceled plans for a second location, making the Alpharetta site the first and only Off Leash park before its quick demise. The concept’s closure, first reported by local media in December 2024, was a disappointment to dog-loving patrons, though Off Leash hinted at possibly “reimagining” the use of the space in the future. The sudden closing underscores the challenges new entertainment-oriented businesses faced, even in a dog-friendly community.
More traditionally, Alpharetta lost one of its longtime grocery stores in 2025. Kroger confirmed that its supermarket at 11877 Douglas Road (at the Alpharetta/Milton border) closed on August 16, 2025 as part of a larger corporate downsizing. The Douglas Road Kroger was one of four Atlanta-area locations the chain shut down in Q3 2025, citing efforts to “run more efficiently” amid economic conditions. While neighboring Kroger stores absorbed the employees and shoppers, the closure marked the end of an era for that Alpharetta community.
Other changes include some relocations: a few independent boutiques have moved to new storefronts, and at least one longstanding restaurant changed ownership (bringing a menu overhaul). These quieter shifts often fly under the radar but indicate normal churn in the small-business ecosystem. Overall, however, the volume of new openings – from restaurants to retail – has outpaced closures in Alpharetta recently. City officials and local business leaders note that the demand for space in Alpharetta’s downtown and commercial districts remains high, a positive sign of economic vitality.
Major Employers: Relocations and Expansions
Corporate Relocations to Alpharetta
Alpharetta’s appeal as a business hub continues to attract major employers, with several companies recently choosing the city for new headquarters or offices. In early 2026, Kawneer, a global manufacturer of architectural aluminum building products, announced it is relocating its corporate headquarters to Alpharetta. Kawneer signed a lease for ~29,400 sq. ft. at the Continuum development in the Windward Tech District, with plans to move about 100 corporate jobs into the city by June 2026. This move adds another industry leader to the Windward roster and underscores the momentum of that tech-focused district, which already hosts heavyweights like ADP, Equifax, LexisNexis, and Verizon.
Just weeks before Kawneer’s news, Hisense, the global electronics and appliance company, completed its HQ relocation to Alpharetta. Hisense moved its U.S. headquarters from Gwinnett to a 55,000-square-foot office at 5995 Windward Parkway, celebrating with a ribbon-cutting on January 15, 2026. This expansion by a Fortune Global 500 firm highlights Alpharetta’s growing reputation as a magnet for international companies. City leaders note that Alpharetta now has over 700 technology companies and many regional or U.S. headquarters, earning it the nickname “Technology City of the South.” It offers a skilled talent pool, access to Atlanta’s infrastructure, and suburban quality of life – a combination that proved persuasive for Hisense and others.
Another example is 5Q, an IT and cybersecurity firm serving the real estate industry, which relocated its headquarters from Peachtree Corners to Alpharetta in late 2025. In October, 5Q opened a new 12,000 sq. ft. head office on Founders Parkway and marked the occasion with a ribbon-cutting and its 10th anniversary celebration. About 40–50 employees are now based there, and the company cited Alpharetta’s thriving tech ecosystem and central location as key factors for the move. Likewise, global infrastructure giant ACCIONA launched a new Alpharetta office in late 2025, and German medical device firm PAJUNK expanded its U.S. headquarters in Alpharetta – both signaling steady growth in diverse sectors from construction to life sciences.
Expansion of Established Employers
It’s not only newcomers growing roots – some of Alpharetta’s largest established employers are expanding their footprint. Notably, Equifax Inc. announced a major campus expansion in 2025. The Atlanta-based credit analytics company is investing $25 million to expand its Alpharetta tech campus on Windward Concourse. This project will renovate a former data center into additional collaborative office space and is expected to create nearly 250 new high-tech jobs over three years. Once complete, Equifax’s Alpharetta campus will house roughly 1,660 employees, making it the company’s largest office worldwide. Alpharetta’s mayor praised the move, noting it “reflects what leading companies already know – Alpharetta is a premier destination for top tech talent”. Renovations began in late 2025, and Equifax’s growth here reinforces the city’s status as a fintech and data industry hub.
Other Fortune 500 firms are following suit. EY (Ernst & Young), for instance, launched a new Artificial Intelligence Lab at its Alpharetta facility in December 2025, aiming to employ dozens of data scientists and engineers in cutting-edge R&D. And in the healthcare sector, Jackson Healthcare – already one of Alpharetta’s biggest employers – opened a new training center as it continues to expand its headquarters campus off Northwinds Parkway. These expansions bring jobs and capital investment, and city officials often partner via the Alpharetta Development Authority or Select Fulton to support such growth.
In some cases, corporate restructuring has also brought jobs to Alpharetta. Microsoft and Salesforce, while headquartered elsewhere, have grown their North Fulton presence by leasing additional office space and increasing hiring in 2025, according to local commercial real estate reports. And state economic development announcements show Georgia landing new operations in Metro Atlanta that include Alpharetta sites – for example, a New Jersey law firm Brach Eichler just opened a satellite office in Alpharetta in early 2026 to serve Southern clients, and a South Korean manufacturer (JS Link) is establishing a facility in Columbus, GA with plans to collaborate with tech talent statewide.
Overall, Alpharetta’s business landscape is vibrant: new developments are reshaping key districts, small businesses are enlivening the community with fresh offerings, and major employers – both homegrown and newly recruited – are bringing investment and jobs. The city’s mix of commercial growth and entrepreneurial energy positions it as one of North Georgia’s most dynamic local economies. As 2026 unfolds, residents can expect to see construction cranes at work, new storefronts opening, and “Now Hiring” signs at companies old and new – all tangible signs of Alpharetta’s continued development.
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