Alpharetta Clears 195 Townhomes for Old Milton Parkway Office Site
Alpharetta approved 195 townhomes on a site long planned for offices along Old Milton Parkway. The new residential community includes open space and walking connections to nearby parks.
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A large tract along Old Milton Parkway that spent decades reserved for offices is now approved for housing.
The Alpharetta City Council voted 6–1 on Aug. 17 to allow 195 for-sale townhomes at 3842 Old Milton Parkway. The decision changes the Camden Pond master plan, redesignates the property from professional office to high-density residential and rezones approximately 29.2 acres for the new community.
Empire Homes plans to build 105 residences on the western portion of the site, while Toll Brothers would develop 90 on the eastern side. The project received unanimous support from the Planning Commission before reaching the council.
The approval is more consequential than an ordinary subdivision decision. Alpharetta is giving up land long intended for employment-generating offices while adding one of the city’s larger concentrations of attached housing.
It also reflects the changing economics of suburban development. A professional-office project never materialized on the property, while demand for for-sale housing near Ga. 400, Avalon and Alpharetta’s employment centers remains strong.
North Atlanta Star previewed the council hearing when the proposal still faced a final vote. The approval now allows the builders to proceed into detailed engineering, permitting and construction planning.
The plan became smaller during neighborhood talks
The earliest version contained 207 townhomes. By the time it reached the Planning Commission, the builders had reduced the total to 195—approximately 6.7 homes per acre.
The final plan provides about 12.85 acres of open space. Along portions of the boundary with Camden Pond, it includes a 25-foot undisturbed tree-save area and a 60-foot building setback.
Residents of Camden Pond and Stoneridge raised concerns during the review about traffic, buffers, stormwater management, tree loss and pedestrian connections. Empire and Toll Brothers met repeatedly with the neighboring communities and revised the plan before the vote.
Representatives of both homeowners associations ultimately supported the rezoning, although a separate petition signed by 42 residents continued to seek larger buffers and further trail improvements.
That neighborhood support appears to have mattered. The final council vote followed a 7–0 recommendation from the Planning Commission and included 25 conditions governing such details as architecture, open space, lighting, sidewalks, tree preservation and construction of pedestrian connections.
No more than 10% of the homes may be rented, preserving the project’s primary purpose as an owner-occupied community rather than allowing it to become a large rental development.
The city’s official case page identifies the approvals as MP-26-05, CLUP-26-03 and Z-26-03. The Aug. 17 council agenda originally described a 202-home request, but the final plan approved by the council contains 195.
A promised connection to parks and the Greenway
The development is expected to include internal walking routes linking toward Preston Ridge Park and the Big Creek Greenway.
One condition requires the builders to replace an existing pedestrian bridge where the trail would cross Big Creek. Because work near the creek could require federal approval, the council clarified the deadline for completing that connection rather than tying the builders to a date they might be unable to meet while permits remain pending.
The proposal also calls for closing the Cotton Creek cul-de-sac and converting that area into greenspace. That change could reduce vehicle conflicts while creating a more direct pedestrian environment between the existing and new neighborhoods.
Those connections will be important because Old Milton Parkway itself is not a comfortable recreational walking route. A useful trail link would give residents an alternative way to reach nearby parks and the Greenway without relying entirely on the busy arterial road.
The value of that promise will depend on what is ultimately constructed. Final engineering will determine the precise trail alignment, bridge design and handling of difficult terrain around the creek.
Townhomes replace a potential office commute
Traffic was one of the central neighborhood concerns, but the city and developers argued that the approved housing would generate fewer rush-hour trips than a fully developed office campus.
The applicant’s traffic study projected approximately 100 vehicle trips during the morning peak and 103 during the evening peak. Those figures do not represent all daily traffic; they estimate activity during the busiest commuting periods.
A townhome community distributes more trips throughout the day, while a large office development concentrates arrivals in the morning and departures in the evening.
That comparison helped the residential proposal, but it does not eliminate traffic questions. Old Milton Parkway already carries heavy traffic between Johns Creek, North Point Parkway, Ga. 400 and central Alpharetta. Nearly 200 additional households will still add vehicles to surrounding intersections.
The builders have agreed to cover necessary side-street improvements if they are not included in planned Georgia Department of Transportation work. Specific off-site changes will be finalized during later engineering and permit reviews.
What happens next
The zoning decision establishes what may be built; it does not mean construction begins immediately.
Empire and Toll Brothers must prepare detailed plans, obtain land-disturbance and building permits, complete stormwater and hydrology reviews and satisfy the council’s conditions. The Big Creek trail crossing may require an additional federal permitting process.
The builders have not announced home prices, a construction start or the first move-in date.
Those details will determine whom the project actually serves. “For-sale” distinguishes the community from the apartment developments that frequently dominate local housing debates, but it does not necessarily mean the homes will be attainable for middle-income buyers.
The larger change is already settled, however. After years in which this Old Milton Parkway property could have become an office campus, Alpharetta has chosen a residential future: 195 townhomes, two national builders and a new neighborhood connecting into an established part of the city.
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