Riverwalk Village: Revised Site Plan

The folks behind Riverwalk Village have filed a revised site plan with the city and it looks like they have reduced about 50% of the retail and office.  It reduces the height in some places.  I'll weigh in on some of the other changes at another time but in all, I think they reduce the overall quality of the project.  If you're going to build a mixed-use center.  Do it right.  PERIOD.  It goes before Design Review Board tomorrow night (Tuesday June 2) for it's initial review.

GDOT has also killed the early offramp from 400N which would allow traffic to this development to avoid Holcomb Bridge Road. That's completely, utterly ridiculous.  But, this is GDOT we're dealing with.  The body that is proposing an exit at McGinnis Ferry before they fix the HBR interchange.  Topic for another time...

Here's the new site plan.  

Hat tip to Scott Long Twitter: @ScottLong  If you like New Urban Roswell, you should follow Scott Long.  He has great Tweets.

Event: A First Look at Riverwalk Village

Town Hall | Roswell is an unique forum to learn about our city.  Listen to local, regional and national voices discuss important topics and how they impact Roswell.  Add in a little laid back socializing, have a drink and enjoy.

Our topic this month is Riverwalk Village.  Hear from the group behind this $500 million development slated for the southeast quadrant of the GA 400/Holcomb Bridge interchange.  The proposal includes over 1,500 residences, 1.7 million square feet of office and 500,000 square feet of retail. Over 40 percent of the land will be preserved as some form of green space and it will center on a small lake which will be the heart of the development with a 200 room hotel, Roswell’s largest, overlooking the lake.

Kevin Sloan of Kevin Sloan Studio will lead the presentation.  Per his Wikipedia Entry…

Mr. Sloan is a landscape architect, urban planner and writer with international scope, located in Dallas, TX.  He is the founder and director of Kevin Sloan Studio, a design studio principally concerned with the urban design and landscape architectural problems generated by the metropolitan city and its new and unprecedented formation.

Recent projects include master planning the 270-acre South Campus at Syracuse University in New York; the urban design at Vitruvian Park, a 100-acre mixed use development in north Dallas; the master plan for a dense urban addition on Lake Carolyn in Dallas; and the master plan for the Southern Methodist University’s winning submission for the George W. Bush Presidential Library.

Admission is free this time around and will be limited to the first 250 people.  You will need to reserve your tickets quickly for this one.  RSVP Here

Town Hall | Roswell is brought to you by RoswellNEXT in partnership with Roswell Inc.

Riverwalk Village: Roswell's Next Act

In November, news broke on a huge real estate development slated for 104 acres of the southeast quadrant of Holcomb Bridge Rd and GA 400 interchange.  It’s the biggest news out of Roswell in years.  It could be the biggest news out of Roswell since the last development was proposed in virtually the same area.  Many readers will recall the failed $2 billion Roswell East (aka Charlie Brown) proposal in 2007 that succumbed to significant neighborhood backlash before it had the opportunity to succumb to the real estate downturn.  the new project, Riverwalk Village, is still very ambitious.  What $500 million project isn’t?

There is simply too much to cover in one column but here’s the quick & dirty (and my previous columns here & here).  It’s much smaller than Charlie Brown but it’s still huge.  It could have up to 1,556 residences with some multifamily (renter and owner occupied), senior housing and single-family attached homes.  Office space could total 1.7 million square feet, a tad more than the BoA building in Midtown.  That’s on top of almost 500k square feet of retail and a 200 room full-service hotel.  The Swift School could open a new campus and about 43 percent of the overall site is reserved for green space and walking trails that would connect to the river and nearby neighborhoods. This project is quite simply a mixed-use behemoth.  

Under the current proposal,  the buildings will be low to mid-rise with the tallest proposed buildings being 10 stories.  Most of those taller buildings will be down the hill using the topography to create the illusion that the buildings aren’t as tall.  The hotel would be 28 rooms larger than the Doubletree, currently Roswell’s largest.  

The project is being led by Duke Land Group of Dunwoody.  They are seeking rezoning from the city and have presented a site plan that they believe works within the new UDC to provide the type of development that the city sees as contextually appropriate for that part of the city.  Asking around, this group seems to be well heeled and very capable of executing on the vision.  

The official announcement came roughly one week after the opening of Avalon another nearby mixed-use mega-project at Old Milton and GA 400 in Alpharetta.  This seemed very timely and no doubt was meant to capitalize on the excitement surrounding the opening of a high profile walkable mixed-use development.   The comparisons are bound to continue but Riverwalk Village will be strikingly different than what you find at Avalon.  First and foremost, Riverwalk has the Chattahoochee.  The only river that Avalon has next to it is the river of cars running up and down GA400.  Riverwalk is mixed-use and it’s roughly the same size parcel but Duke will be going for more of a village or neighborhood feel than an upscale shopping destination.

The current site plan calls for 16 different sections broken out into 7 categories, each with a slightly different intent and purpose.  For the most part, I think Duke has hit the nail on the head.  

• A1-A2 - Office District - Well located along the western edge placing it closest to 400 keeping the residential and retail further away from the highway.  
• B1 - Medium Density Residential (Townhomes) - I really like that this parcel is situated close to the river and will offer some of the best walkability options for residents who will be able to walk to shops, restaurants, office and a national park (and eventually a train station?).
• C1-C8 - Mixed Use Development District (Residential & Non-Residential Uses, Such as Retail, Restaurant, Civic, Office, Multi-Family, Entertainment) - This one is a bit tough to envision but the obvious main point is that it will front what appears to be a Main Street that bisects the new development.  This could create a great walkable street on the east side of Roswell where nothing close to a walkable urban street currently exists.  The small bridge crossing the lake should be a great focal point.
• D1 - School or Alternate Residential District - Well played.  This part of the property abuts 21 single family homes in Martins Landing, the most vocal opponent of Roswell East.  So, they make some options.
• E1-E2 - Entertainment District (Restaurant, Retail, Grocery, Multi-Family) - Everyone loves entertainment.  From the initial renderings, they seem to have done an excellent job putting this area next to the lake, using the water in an urban fashion actually building right up to the water. Be prepared to be Entertained!
• F1 - Hotel District (Hotel, Civic, Multi-Family) - Positioned directly on the little lake.  Well thought out and Roswell needs this.  Period!
• Greenspace - (Parks, Trails, Landscaping) - A real opportunity to differentiate the development from virtually any other in Atlanta.  Mixed-Use with a connection to the Chattahoochee River and the Roswell Riverside Trail and potential MARTA connectivity.  

This project will increase a lot of things not the least of which are the tax rolls and traffic.  The first is obviously a win for the city while the second is going to make what is already a bad situation a bit worse.  There’s no sugar coating that.  The city and state need to step up and fix the HBR/400 interchange.  There are some small projects underway but much more is needed.  It sure would be nice to have the $48 million in improvements from TSPLOST but that’s spilt milk.  Proposal for HBR/400 Interchange Circa 2012Current projects like the early off ramp from 400N, the extended northbound turn lane to 400N from Old Alabama and the realignment of HBR eastbound to eliminate the lane switching before Old Alabama will all help but more is needed.  Mr. Acenbrak has some tricks in his bag I’m sure but we’re going to need money to make them happen.

Now that I’ve given you most of the facts, it’s time to share some of my thoughts.  

• If the developer is truly going for a village feel, architecture and street design are critical.  Modern corporate architecture does not jive with a village feel.  Don’t try to be Avalon.  Take inspiration from some of the award winning developments from metro Atlanta such as Serenbe, Vickery Village and Glenwood Park and incorporate the designs seen in our historic district that make Roswell great. 
• Roads should be as NARROW as humanly possible and connect as much as possible.  Villages and wide roads don’t mix. Villages and fine grained connectivity do.  Also, let's finally connect the greenway to the river. 
• Figure out the MARTA solution now rather than later.  Everyone will be better off for it.  I’ve heard an underground solution might be necessary due to the incline from the river.  How cool would that be to enter Roswell by subway and walk to the River?
• Old Alabama Avenue - OA should be turned into a grand tree lined avenue in the European style from HBR all the way to the river.  DPZ gave us a fantastic model in their Historic Gateway Master Plan.
• Gigabit.  It’s a must.  Avalon has set the standard.  If we are serious about attracting business and entrepreneurs, we must have the fast speeds that they require.

Wishing Duke all the best.  If all goes well with permitting and approvals, ground could be broken in Q4 2015.  One thing is for certain.. a lot will change between now and the finished product.  Look forward to more coverage of Riverwalk Village by The CurrentHub and check my blogwww.NewUrbanRoswell.com for my thoughts and opinions.

All the News on Riverwalk Village

Here are all the links you could possibly want that deal with the new Riverwalk Village development here in Roswell.  If you know of any others that aren't included, please add them to the comments.

What do the New Riverwalk Village Site Plans Include? - MarkSpain.com - 11/20/2014

Crown Reveals More Riverwalk Details - Biznow - 11/12/2014

Group Announces Plans for 104-Acre Roswell Complex - Roswell Neighbor - 11/12/2014

Exciting Things are Happening in Roswell Georgia - JanetWeidman.wordpress.com - 11/11/2014

Mammoth Mixed-Use Development Proposed at Corner of Roswell's Holcomb Bridge, GA 400 - NorthFulton.com - 11/11/2014

Duke Land Group Unveils Plans for Riverwalk Village in Roswell - RE Business Online - 11/10/2014

Duke Land Group Releases Early Plans for Eco-Driven Mixed-Use Community - MHNOnline - 11/10/2014

This Proposed Mini-City Could Rival Avalon - Curbed Atlanta - 11/7/2014

Riverwalk Village: The Site Plan - New Urban Roswell - 11/7/2014

Duke Land Group Unveils Plans for 104 acre M-U Community in Roswell GA - Commercial Property Executive - 11/7/2014

Duke Land Plans Mixed-Use Lakeside Development in Roswell, GA - Design Build Network - 11/7/2014

Initial Thoughts on Riverwalk Village - New Urban Roswell - 11/6/2014

Another Crown Jewel for Goldkist Owner - Biznow - 11/6/2014

Proposal Would Bring 1,500 Residential Units to Roswell - Roswell Patch - 11/6/2014

Plans Unveiled for an Ecologically Driven Mixed-Use Development in Roswell - Globe Newswire - 11/6/2014

Developer Pitches $500 Million Roswell Project - AJC (paywall) - 11/5/2014

Developers Revive Plans for Roswell Mini-City - AJC - 11/5/2014

Riverwalk Village: The Site Plan

I was able to get a copy of the site plan today for Riverwalk Village and it looks pretty darn good.  I'm seeing a lot more pros than cons as I dig in.  It utilizes the land and geography nicely and puts appropriate development in the appropriate place.  Here's the plan overlaid on Google Maps.

There are 16 different sections broken out into 7 different categories, each with a slightly different intent and purpose.  I think they have largely gotten these right.  Here are the descriptions for each according to the site plan along with my commentary.

• A1-A2 - Office District - This area is well located along the western edge to place it closest to 400 which was an intentional decision by the developer to keep the residential and retail further away from the highway.  I'm curious about it being further south on the site though as there will be a lot of commuters driving through to get to the offices.  That could be a positive for the retail and it would be great to be able to get out of the office and walk to the river during lunch break.
• B1 - Medium Density Residential (Townhomes & Single Family) - The residential is toned down from the East Roswell/Charlie Brown proposal from 2007.  In fact, there are roughly half the number of units coming down to 1500+ from 3000.  I don't see any single family on the site plan but the description calls for it.  We'll see if that happens.  I really like that this B1 parcel it is situated close to the river and what will eventually be more parks and trails in Riverwalk Village.
• C1-C8 - Mixed Use Development District (Residential & Non-Residential Uses, Such as Retail, Restaurant, Civic, Office, Multi-Family, Entertainment) - This one is a bit tough to envision but the obvious main point is that it will front what appears to be a Main Street that bisects the new development.  This could create a great walkable street on the east side of town that currently has nothing at all close to a walkable urban street.  Or.. It could end up looking plasticy and contrived like Town Brookhaven.  It will hopefully take its inspiration from Serenbe, Downtown Woodstock and Glenwood Park.  I like that there will be a small bridge crossing the lake.
• D1 (with alternate) - School or Alternate Residential District - This one is well played.  The developer has to expect that their largest opposition is going to come from Martins Landing.  This part of the property abuts 21 single family homes along Trailmore Dr & Trailmore Pl.  So, they place a school that will cater to children with disabilities on the adjacent property.  If for some reason, there is enough objection to the school, they have prepared option two which will be townhomes and multi-family from what I can tell. The one thing that seems a bit ridiculous is that the multi-family and the townhomes each have their own entrance/exit on to Old Alabama.  There should be street connectivity between the properties.
• E1-E2 - Entertainment District (Restaurant, Retail, Grocery, Multi-Family) - Everyone loves entertainment.  The lone rendering which I shared in my first post on Riverwalk is, from what I can tell along the lake in what looks to be E1.  They've done an excellent job putting this area next to the lake and it appears they will utilize the water in an urban fashion actually building right up to it which differs significantly from most modern development which caters to the environmental memes of water quality protection at all costs.  (One reason we can't develop much at all along the Chattahoochee).  I'm thinking the water in the lake won't be as blue as the rendering depicts though. Whatever they've done, it sure does attract a lot of Rendering People though.  Be prepared to be Entertained!
• F1 - Hotel District (Hotel, Civic, Multi-Family) - The articles and PR releases floating around are calling for a ~200 key hotel.  That would give this new hotel 28 more rooms than the Doubletree.  It will be positioned directly on the little lake.  Once again, well thought out.  Roswell needs this.  Period!
• Greenspace - (Parks, Trails, Landscaping) - This is a huge plus for this development and I sure hope they get it right.  There is a real opportunity to differentiate the development from virtually any other in Atlanta.  Mixed-Use with a connection to the Chattahoochee River and the Roswell Riverside Trail.  Wow!  I'd like to see the city jump on the opportunity to finally connect the Big Creek Greenway to the River by somehow extending the trail from Big Creek Park down through this project and to the River.  There aren't many details yet on the greenspace but given what they are doing with the rest of the property, I'm thinking this will be a win.

Our next post will take a look at transportation and potential traffic issues and after that, we'll hypothesize on what this means for Roswell and in particular, the Historic District given that it will have Avalon, Alpharetta City Center and now Riverwalk Village to compete with.

Initial Thoughts on Riverwalk Village

Image: Duke Land Group

The big news this week in Roswell is the $500 million mixed-use project called Riverwalk Village that is being proposed for the southeast quadrant of the Holcomb Bridge/GA400 interchange (paywall link).  Dunwoody based Duke Land Group announced on Tuesday that they will be seeking rezoning to allow for a massive development that could rival Avalon in size.  The AJC broke the story in Wednesday's paper with some details but little in the way of imagery.  

I've been able to find one rendering but have not been able to come up with a site plan yet (stay tuned).

Here are the high level details from the AJC article with my thoughts.

• 1,556 residences, including active adult housing, single-family attached housing and multifamily units that could be apartments or condos.  - This is about half of what the Roswell East (aka Charlie Brown) project had proposed.  I see this level of density being a major problem for the vocal NIMBYs on the east side of town.
• Nearly a half-million square feet of space for restaurants and retailers, including a grocery store. - This is a LOT of space.  I'm not sure what to think yet but it wil
• 1.7 million square feet of office space spread across several mid-rise buildings. That amount of office space is slightly more than the total floor space of Bank of America Plaza in Atlanta.  - Again, this is a LOT of space but the 400 corridor is booming and I'm not doubting this can and would be filled.
• A hotel with 200 rooms. - Yes PLEASE.  We need another hotel to compete with the Doubletree.  I would like to see one closer to the historic district though.
• A Swift School campus, a private institution for children with language difficulties. - This is a nice addition and will be a good fit.
• About 43 percent of the property would be preserved as green space with passive and active recreation amenities, such as walking trails that would connect to nearby neighborhoods and the Chattahoochee River. - I don't see that there would be any way to avoid this given the proximity to the river.  It will be a great addition.
• An existing apartment community known as Marquis Trace would be demolished. - Great news.  That think is a big POS and significantly underutilizes the land.

I think it's ambitious but doable given that this is one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in North Fulton.  I'm unsure of the developer's background but I'm optimistic.  My biggest concern is the vocal NIMBY force that will organize to once again defeat a project in that area.

So, that's the summary.  As this progresses, it will be one of the biggest stories in Roswell.  I'm looking forward to seeing how the project progresses and wish the developers luck in implementing what I hope will be a great addition to the city of Roswell.