CONNECTING COMMUNITIES
CONNECTING COMMUNITIES
The Brookside district, on the south side of Old Milton and east of North Point Parkway, was first developed in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a suburban office park. What was then Georgia Perimeter College opened a campus there in 2000, and later expanded with a second building. Georgia Perimeter College consolidated with Georgia State University in 2016. Today, GSU’s Alpharetta Campus is a major destination for students seeking two-year degrees and those in dual-enrollment programs that combine high school and college credit.
“With a learning and tutoring center dedicated to science, technology, engineering and math and a multimillion-dollar laboratory wing, science-focused students are particularly drawn to our Alpharetta Campus,” says GSU President M. Brian Blake. “Georgia State’s Perimeter College has been ranked among the top 20 two-year colleges in the nation, offering students a direct pathway to our downtown campus and a four-year degree. And Georgia State just earned its highest-ever ranking among the nation’s top public universities in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges list.”
But with demand for traditional office space dwindling in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, city leaders in Alpharetta have reimagined the Brookside district less as an island of offices and more as a retail, residential and educational hub.
In 2022, the Alpharetta City Council adopted the Brookside Small Area Plan aimed at signaling to developers that the area, which features nearby access to amenities like Brookside Park and the 12-mile Big Creek Greenway, was ripe for transformation. That transformation is now underway.
Where once stood acres of parking lots, new residences and retail operations are rising. Where an asphalt expanse separates Georgia State’s two classroom and administrative buildings, soon a classic college quad will tie them together.
“As a Georgia State graduate and a member of the Alpharetta City Council, I’ve seen both sides of this partnership,” says Alpharetta City Councilman Fergal Brady. “The city, Georgia State and Portman Holdings share a vision for Brookside where the campus, the neighborhood and the park all flow together. That shared vision means a better experience for the people who live here and the students who study here, and a more connected community for everyone in Alpharetta.”
▲ The parking area between the two buildings that make up Georgia State University's Alpharetta Campus will be replaced with a new Panther Quad, creating connections between the buildings and with the surrounding Brookside community in Alpharetta.
▼ Plans for the Panther Quad on the Alpharetta Campus call for a large oval-shaped lawn surrounded by shaded seating and study areas, and a pavilion with a stage for events and performances.
▲ The parking area between the two buildings that make up Georgia State University's Alpharetta Campus will be replaced with a new Panther Quad, creating connections between the buildings and with the surrounding Brookside community in Alpharetta.
▼ Plans for the Panther Quad on the Alpharetta Campus call for a large oval-shaped lawn surrounded by shaded seating and study areas, and a pavilion with a stage for events and performances.
INTENTIONAL PLANNING
While part of Georgia State’s 10-year strategic plan pillar of “Identity, Placemaking and Belonging,” creating what will be known as a Panther Quad at the Alpharetta Campus complements the private development efforts underway that are transforming uses in the area and providing livable, walkable connections.
Under GSU’s BluePrint to 2033 strategic plan, each of the university’s campuses — Atlanta, Alpharetta, Clarkston, Decatur, Dunwoody and Newton — will feature a Panther Quad that offers an inviting open-air gathering space for studying, relaxing and socializing. The Panther Quad on the Clarkston Campus opened in April and work is well underway on the Atlanta Campus Panther Quad.
“Without community, Georgia State is simply a collection of classrooms and corridors, of lecture halls and labs. That’s why identity, placemaking and belonging are so important to our strategic plan,” Blake says. “Creating a Panther Quad on every campus gives our students, faculty and staff a true campus experience and, particularly in Alpharetta, helps connect the GSU community with itself and with the larger surrounding community.”
Though still in the design phase, plans for the Alpharetta Panther Quad call for a massive oval lawn to replace the parking lot between GSU’s two buildings. The project is highlighted by improved walkways, shaded study areas, a pavilion with a stage for performances and a “Bronzie” statue of Georgia State’s famed panther mascot.
Supporters can contribute to the Alpharetta Panther Quad project as well, through Georgia State’s ambitious Meet the Future State campaign, a transformative fundraising effort recently launched to help provide resources for the Georgia State of tomorrow.
“With the design of the Alpharetta Panther Quad being finalized this fall and the fact that this quad is a priority of our strategic plan, we are going to include this project as a funding opportunity in our Meet the Future State comprehensive campaign, with hopes to raise the capital and begin the work on the Alpharetta Panther Quad in 2027,” says L. Jared Abramson, Georgia State’s executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Georgia State is also in the midst of an outreach campaign to reinforce its visibility among employers and community partners in North Fulton County and understand and respond to workforce needs in the area.
J. Mack Robinson College of Business Dean Richard D. Phillips spearheaded a listening tour with employers throughout the area over the summer and his team is working to develop a road map for potential new educational offerings identified as priority programs. Those could range from graduate certificates to master’s programs or other workforce-related offerings.
“The relationships we’ve built with partners in Alpharetta are invaluable, and being a part of that community is a tremendous opportunity and responsibility,” says Georgia State Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Nicolle Parsons-Pollard. “As an engine of social mobility and economic development, we take seriously our role in educating the workforce of Georgia’s tomorrow, so we’re delighted to work hand-in-glove to understand the needs and offer the solutions that help the community grow.”
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP
As Georgia State invests in its Brookside location, private development is investing in creating a community that leverages the nearby recreational and educational assets already in place.
Brookside Reserve, a 160-residence condominium community by The Providence Group, is now selling, with homes under construction. The development replaces an aging office building off Brookside Parkway that rose above hundreds of black-topped, white-lined parking spaces. Nearby, Alpharetta has approved an additional 104 for-sale townhomes on the site of another aging office building.
Portman Holdings, the firm behind the iconic Peachtree Center development in downtown Atlanta, is making its first foray outside of the perimeter with Brookside Village, now under construction. The project will bring 335 apartments, 75 for-sale townhomes and 185,000 square feet of office, retail, restaurant and other commercial space to the district. The development, on Brookside’s west side, will retain one of two existing office buildings on a 20-acre site, take down the other and connect by trail to the adjacent 30-acre Brookside Park. It is expected to open in 2029.
“Brookside shows what’s possible when a university, a city and private builders share one vision,” says Ambrish Baisiwala, chairman and CEO of Portman. “Georgia State’s commitment to its Alpharetta Campus has been essential, and we’re proud to work alongside the university and the city to build a neighborhood that serves students, residents and businesses alike.”
All of the attention on Brookside has attracted even more attention. In August, the Alpharetta City Council rezoned nearly 30 acres of land across Old Milton Parkway from Brookside for a 195-unit for-sale townhome community being developed by Empire Homes and Toll Brothers.
That growth is also benefiting the public spaces that tie Brookside together. Impact fees from the new developments, along with a federal grant secured with the help of U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.), will fund a full renovation of Brookside Park, including new trails, a pedestrian bridge to the Big Creek Greenway and a trail extension that will connect directly to Georgia State’s Alpharetta Campus.
“Alpharetta is a globally connected, highly educated community and home to roughly 700 technology firms,” says Mayor Jim Gilvin. “Because we’ve seen that the needs of the office market have changed, what we’re focused on now is redevelopment that positions Alpharetta as a place with the amenities — like the connections being made among the recreational, residential and educational assets we have in Brookside — that make the city both a great place to build a business and a great place to raise a family.”
