There is an article on the Patch this morning that suggests the new city center project will be unveiled on Monday. Good. For at least a couple of years the city of Alpharetta has been assembling land downtown and it is about time the residents picking up the tab see what is being planned for their tax dollars.
While city council members have been hyping the project to me for months they have refused to provide any hard details so I have no idea whether the project will be worthwhile or not. I will reserve judgement until I have a chance to see what is proposed.
But if you are curious what may be coming I suggest you take a look at the changes the city has proposed for the downtown area in the new land use plan (that council hasn’t approved or condoned but submitted to ARC for approval anyway). The city of Alpharetta has been working on the new city center ever since the last one failed so I think it is safe to assume that they would not be proposing a new land use plan that did not conform with it.
City Center
According to the proposed CLUP changes the area noted above as P-3 will be zoned as “central business district”. Since we aren’t privy to the city’s intentions yet let us assume that the area will include a new city hall as proposed before, the land that the city has already voted to donate for a new library and other such commercial uses.
Then note that the vast majority of land covered by the new city center is identified as P-4. According to the legend of the new CLUP that property will be developed as high density residential. We can’t know for sure but based on the failed city center proposal there will likely be a large condominium development surrounding an open space designated as a park.
The map above is a fact but there is always the unlikely chance that it doesn’t conform to the new plan to be unveiled soon. The rest is simply conjecture based on what the city tried to do before. The rumor mill says that the bond issue needed to pay for the new city center would cost between 25 and 30 million dollars.
I know the same people that supported the last city center project are once again lined up behind this one. And I know that there are others that didn’t like the last proposal that are already on board this time. I am glad the public may soon see what is being cooked up so we can make a decision for ourselves.
GA Jim 
There is also an article in the Revue which has similar content. It said Haynes Bridge would be re-routed (to now existing Brooke Street???) and the existing Haynes road area would be a sort of a greenway/picnic area. It also said there would be a small amphitheater tucked in there somewhere.
The curious thing I see is that this area includes the Baptist church. Does this mean the church is relocating? To where?
Having a few high-end classy homes mixed in like Duluth might be OK, but it needs to be very limited. There is really no need with the existing high-density along Webb Bridge, not to mention nearby Prospect Park and MetLife.
The land in P3 that is north of Academy Street currently belongs to First Baptist Alpharetta. It is well known that they want to move, and I think they already have their new property picked out. Will the city buy them out and use this land for city hall and the library? It would be a smart move, especially if they are able to reuse the sanctuary building for the city hall. It wouldn’t require the city to build from scratch. This is probably the most cost effective way to go, yet I kinda doubt that’s what they have in mind. Hope I’m wrong.