Sandy Springs Completes $4.33 Million Incentive Deal for North River Shopping Center Redevelopment
Sandy Springs has approved a $4.33 million incentive deal to support Woodfield Development’s plan to transform North River Shopping Center into a mixed-use community with housing, retail, and a new public park.
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North River Shopping Center is set for its biggest change since opening nearly 50 years ago.
Sandy Springs has completed a $4.33 million incentive package that clears the financial path for Woodfield Development to replace the aging Roswell Road center with apartments, townhomes, restaurants, shops and a new public park.
The Sandy Springs Development Authority approved a 10-year, $2.55 million property-tax abatement on Aug. 26. City Council had already approved $1.775 million in recreation-impact and permit-fee waivers on Aug. 18. Together, those decisions support Woodfield’s planned redevelopment of the 13-acre property at 8830 Roswell Road.
Woodfield expects to buy the southern eight acres in October. A separate builder, not yet named, is expected to develop the northern portion.
The project calls for 336 apartments, 85 for-sale townhomes, approximately 10,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, 70 public parking spaces and a 0.71-acre park along Roswell Road.
The park is the public return
Woodfield will build the park and transfer it to Sandy Springs after completion. Current plans include open lawn, shaded seating, a playground, restrooms and room for community events.
The city values the park, its land, construction, design and share of public parking at about $6.5 million. The tax abatement applies only to the apartments; the townhomes, restaurants and shops remain outside the deal.
That structure gives the developer a temporary reduction in apartment property taxes while requiring it to deliver the park and related improvements. The agreement is contingent on Woodfield closing on the property and completing the redevelopment.
A mostly empty center gives way to a new neighborhood
North River Shopping Center, built in the late 1970s, has been increasingly vacant for years. Demolition has already begun in parts of the center, though full construction cannot begin until remaining tenant leases end and Woodfield completes its purchase.
The site sits on the Sandy Springs side of Roswell Road just south of the Chattahoochee River, making it one of the first commercial properties drivers encounter after crossing from Roswell.
For nearby neighborhoods, the redevelopment will bring more residents and construction traffic to an already busy road. It will also replace large expanses of empty pavement and storefronts with a park that will be open to the public, not just to residents of the new apartments.
Construction could take up to three years. Woodfield has projected roughly 700 temporary construction jobs and 30 to 45 permanent jobs once the apartments, restaurants and shops are operating.
The City Council’s incentive agreement and the Development Authority’s Aug. 26 vote give the project its public approvals. The next visible step is the October closing, followed by a much larger demolition and construction effort.
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