08/21/2026
Gateway to New Sandy Springs Development
By Geoff Smith
The North River shopping center, just south of the Chattahoochee River off Hwy 9 in Sandy Springs, is set to undergo its largest transformation yet from a dated shopping district, to a buzzing mixed-use development.
According to a recent article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Sandy Springs officials approved an incentive package to help spur Charleston, SC-based Woodfield Development into rebuilding the center into 336 apartments, 85 townhomes, 10,000-12,000 square feet of retails and restaurant space, and a new city park fronting Roswell Road.
The shopping center's heyday was after it was first built in the 1970's. The North River Tavern, which is one of the few bars open after midnight and catches the overflow from people leaving Canton Street(so I hear), used to be a Steak & Ale. Crestwood High School used to be tucked back behind it where Sandy Springs Middle School currently is, and our football team used to eat our pre-game meals there. I attended Crestwood my freshman and sophomore year before the county finally put it out of its misery and I finished my junior and senior years at the newly-built Chattahoochee High School.
That area over the years kind of fell into disrepair. Caught between downtown Sandy Springs and downtown Roswell, it was kind of a no-man's land. The property owner tried to make it look modern several years back by installing the metallic front that you see today. But that didn't seem to help.
Sandy Springs officials have worked hard over the last 10 years to create some long-term plans to encourage fresh, new development there. They master-planned the area, allowing for development guidelines that they hoped would attract development. And with this deal, they will agree to waive $1.78M in recreation impact and permit fees, plus they are requesting that the Sandy Springs Development Authority approve a 10-year tax break for the apartments.
The development sits a stone's throw from the river and would seem to be a great prospect for redevelopment. New residents could easily walk to parks and trails that currently existing along the river there. City officials are hoping that this project will spur others like it in the area.
This comes at a time when the state is readying Hwy 9 for a total rebuild going from the river up to Roswell's Historic Square. That stretch of road has the dubious distinction of being one of the most dangerous and ridiculous in the entire metro Atlanta area. It's a 45 miles per hour, 3-lane road where the middle lane is actually reversable! That means in the morning, traffic goes one way on it and in the afternoon it goes another. Residents have to look at the electrical boxes above it to see if they are green or red to know whether or not they are supposed to be driving on it.
If you ever want to get a charge, drive up that middle road one afternoon. You'll feel the adrenaline rush when you come up and around a corner, not knowing if some unsuspecting driver will come whizzing toward you at 55 mph.
After 25 years of doing nothing, the state is finally initiating a plan that has won national awards and will add another lane, get rid of the reversable-lane, move the sidewalks off of the street, add a couple roundabouts and make this gateway to Roswell look attractive and inviting.
I had the pleasure of talking to the city's Transportation Director last week about the project. It does not include rebuilding that bridge, but the state fully intends to rebuild the bridge. He said they are flummoxed right now at how exactly to go about rebuilding it without completely stopping traffic throughout the process.
The bridge is out of date and essentially has to get replaced. But there are just not that many ways to get across the Chattahoochee. If they did have to shut it down for several years, it would drive traffic to GA400 and the Johnsons Ferry Bridge. He said their best engineers are working on a way to get it done that will tie it into the new Gateway Project and hopefully keep traffic moving in some fashion.
All that said, this could all beautify and freshen up a large area that for the last 30 years has looked to be in a deteriorated state.
Once all of this construction is over, it will have been good to own a home along this stretch as it is bound to add value.
Have a great week!
Read the full article here: https://conta.cc/4inZ2wd
Email from Geoff Smith Rates Tick Up On Expectations of Higher Oil Prices "A lie gets half way around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." -Winston Churchill Gateway to New Sa
