The last week of April was a year in the making for officials in the Atlanta office of North American Properties.
Well, a year and one month to be technical about it.
North American bought The Forum Peachtree Corners in March 2022 and got to work putting together a redevelopment plan for the former Gwinnett County mall that will revitalize the once thriving shopping destination.
On April 27, they were joined by Peachtree Corners town leaders to break ground on the construction of their redevelopment plans, the Gwinnett Daily Post reported April 29.
"How time has flown," noted Tim Perry, managing partner of North American Properties, as he spoke to the event's guests. "We spent the last year gearing up and getting ready for this momentous occasion. We cannot be more excited to start today."
The modern upgrade of The Forum is to Peachtree Corners officials, in a way, like a major downtown redevelopment. It is destined to be a major shopping destination located just across Peachtree Parkway from the popular Peachtree Corners Town Center, with the two areas connected by a pedestrian bridge.
"The Forum is the economic heart of Peachtree Corners from a retail, restaurant and shopping perspective, and it's a fantastic complement to the Town Center across the way," explained City Councilman Eric Christ.
At more than 20 years old, The Forum currently sports 500,000-sq. ft. of space but in recent years began to slide into decline, so North American's plans are as much of a revitalization effort as a redevelopment project. When everything is completed on the project, The Forum will become a mixed-use community with residential, retail and dining uses, as well as home to a hotel.
"Everybody knows what's happened with brick-and-mortar retail," Peachtree Corners Mayor Mike Mason said. "When the vacancy rates started climbing, we knew, like [at] Gwinnett Place Mall, Northpoint Mall, [and] other malls, something had to be done.
"And so, we started looking for a partner to help us revitalize this [property] because it's an essential landmark here in this community. When we found North American and we listened to their proposal, we knew [they were] the partner to work with."
He added that North American has a well-deserved reputation "for being a part of the community where they live."
Forum to Include Five ‘Jewel Box' Buildings
North American brings to The Forum project years of experience in creating mixed-use developments that are designed to be activity hubs beyond simply being a destination. The company's portfolio includes the redevelopment of Colony Square in midtown Atlanta, and the development of Avalon in Alpharetta, Ga.
In fact, the revitalization efforts at The Forum are expected to include aspects of Avalon, The Daily Post noted.
As part of The Forum's overhaul, North American will build a plaza where concerts, yoga classes, and other social gatherings will be held. In addition, contractors will erect five new "jewel box" buildings to house new restaurants and stores, a boutique hotel, multi-family housing and a parking deck.
Two of the buildings on the north end of The Forum's boulevard are expected to house restaurants, while two more will be for retail space. The fifth jewel box is planned to be the site of a wine bar or, possibly, a brewery in a two-story space next to the new plaza.
According to North American, the new development's parking deck and the jewel boxes will be the first components to get under way, followed by the plaza and other community-oriented aspects of the project.
What is currently vacant space on the north end of The Forum will be turned into a food hall and part of the parking lot in front of it will be transformed into an outdoor dining area between the two northern jewel box buildings. Additionally, the parking area in front of the Belk department store will become the plaza, complete with a concert stage.
"Just like you have the living room at Avalon, and you have the main plaza, [The Forum's north end] will be that sort of living room area, a much more casual [space]," Perry explained. "You'll have the food hall behind us and further down will be the more active area."
In speaking to the Daily Post, Perry noted that vertical construction of the parking deck is expected to begin later this year with a completion set for some time in 2024, but its construction timeline has been shifted to accommodate this year's holiday shopping for retailers.
Construction of the plaza, which will replace some of The Forum's current parking spaces, will begin while the parking deck is under construction since that work was pushed back.
The multifamily housing and boutique hotel will be the last components of The Forum to be built.
With the redevelopment being done in phases, construction at The Forum is expected to take a few years to complete, although a precise date has not yet been announced.
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