Perimeter Area: Revitalized Region

It was nearly a decade in the making, but the massive reconfiguration of the interchange at Interstate 285 and Georgia 400 is finally in the rearview mirror, and life is good inside the Perimeter district. Fortune 500 companies weathered the disruption of the complete redo of the interchange, new companies have moved in, and the area that for decades has been best known as an office hub now bustles with activity after 5 p.m. and on the weekends.

“We spent years lobbying the state to make improvements to that interchange,” says Ann Hanlon, executive director of the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts. “The project started in 2016, but the lobbying started around 2005. It’s the main access point for the Perimeter market and it was just a huge bottleneck for all of the tens of thousands of commuters trying to get into the Perimeter market in the morning and back out in the afternoon.”

Hanlon estimates upwards of 85,000 people come into the region daily. She says because of the improvements, commuters from Cobb, Henry and Forsyth counties are saving 30 minutes a day coming into the district.

“It’s a huge time-saver, and we can use it to recruit new companies into the market,” she says. “We’re the largest business district in the state. We have more Class A commercial office space than any place else in Metro Atlanta.”

Construction of the reconfigured interchange consisted of more than 20 individual projects, including new ramps, lanes and bridges, according to Hanlon. The project was a public-private partnership and cost more than $922 million. “It was a very big and very complicated project,” she says.

Redevelopment Surge

Developed in the ’70s and ’80s, with another boom in the ’90s, the area was the original suburban office market in Metro Atlanta, according to Hanlon. But today, a new surge of redevelopment is transforming the area.

Unique Offering: High Street is a mixed-use development in Dunwoody that opened in September 2024.. Photo credit: Contributed

“It’s being reimagined into something different,” she says. “This is not your grandfather’s Perimeter. There are 10,000 people living in the market that weren’t there 10 years ago. We’ve got three new apartment complexes under construction that are set to be delivered in 2026. It’s cool because it has changed the nature of the market; you’ve got energy. Our market used to be very quiet after office hours and now that’s not the case anymore.”

Hanlon credits mixed-use developments like High Street, which opened in Dunwoody in September 2024, for bringing more people, shops, bars and restaurants to the area.

“So there’s places for people to go after hours,” she says. “This used to be a corporate office market, and now it’s a 24-hour market. It’s changing and it’s evolving; it’s a cool time to be here.”

Located in the heart of the Perimeter, High Street is a multi-phased, mixed-use development at the intersection of Perimeter Center Parkway and Hammond Drive. Located close to Georgia 400, I-285 and the Dunwoody MARTA station, Phase 1 of High Street includes 150,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, 598 luxury apartments and approximately 320,000 square feet of new and existing office space – all connected by a 75-acre park.

“High Street is now up and running, including several restaurants,” says Michael Starling, Dunwoody’s director of economic development. “The apartments are all full, so that’s been very successful. The existing office space is 70% occupied and new loft office space, 100,000 square feet total across three buildings, is leasing now.”

Dunwoody City Manager Eric Linton says the development’s public green spaces, including water features and an events plaza, are a big draw when the weather is warm.

24-Hour Market: Dunwoody City Manager Eric Linton. Photo credit: Woodie Williams

“The outdoor gathering areas will be used for things like concerts, wedding events and after-work gatherings,” he says. “It’s a great asset for the city and for the residents that live there and in the area. It’s a unique offering and something Dunwoody didn’t have before.”

The development sits right on Dunwoody’s border with Sandy Springs, putting it within walking distance for those residents as well. That accessibility is expected to generate even more foot traffic, solidifying High Street’s status as a destination, Linton says.

“Phase 1 was really built around this common green space and is meant to be density of people,” he says. “There will be about 600 apartments in Phase 2, same as Phase 1, but less retail. There will be 20,000 to 30,000 square feet of retail, mostly street level,” he says.

Also making headlines in Dunwoody is Campus 244, an adaptive reuse project of the former Gold Kist headquarters. The site has been redeveloped and expanded to create 380,000 square feet of modern office space, and a new 145-key hotel opened on-site in November. Global logistics provider Transportation Insight and Nolan Transportation Group opened a new headquarters at Campus 244 in June. CT Cantina & Taqueria opened in March, and Stäge Kitchen & Bar is also slated to open this year.

“That’s $600 million in investments between just those two projects,” Starling says, “Phase 1 of High Street and Campus 244.”

Campus 244 also boasts a central green space, a key component to making office space attractive to potential recruits, according to Hanlon. To that end, the Perimeter CIDs partnered with Dunwoody to complete a 14-foot-wide bike and pedestrian path on Ashford Dunwoody Road, from Hammond Drive to Perimeter Center West. The trail opened late last year.

“The total cost was about $3 million, and we were 50-50 funding partners,” she says. “It’s about a quarter of a mile long and features, lighting, benches and signage.”

Adaptive Reuse Project: Campus 244 is on the site of the former Gold Kist headquarters. Photo credit: Contributed

Pulling Together

Hanlon says the CIDs are “really focused” on building out a network of trails in the area. “Having access to trails increases the value of commercial properties,” she says.

Next up, construction is expected to begin this summer on a section of trail along Mount Vernon Road, from City Springs to Sandy Springs MARTA station, Hanlon says.

Regional Powerhouse: Ann Hanlon, executive director of the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts. Photo credit: Kevin Garrett

“It will provide huge east-west connectivity all the way from Roswell Road to the MARTA station,” she says. “It will cost about $6 million, and we have chipped in $2.8 million.”

These partnerships are the building blocks of what Hanlon sees as the transformation of the area from a collection of successful cities into a growing regional powerhouse. The civic organizations in the Perimeter do a “good job of collaborating,” Hanlon says, but positioning the area as a region gives it “more collective horsepower.”

“We’re doing our first big market-wide event in mid-May, Envision Perimeter,” she says. “Fresh branding, a new logo and tagline and a fresh perspective focused on everyone kind of pulling together.”

That “pulling together” perspective was first manifested earlier this year when the Dunwoody and Sandy Springs chambers merged. On Jan. 1, the unified Greater Perimeter Chamber of Commerce became official.

Focused on Infrastructure: Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul. Photo credit: Kevin Garrett

Underpinning the need for a more regional presence are the numerous Fortune 500 companies that call the Perimeter area home, many of which are in Sandy Springs, including Graphic Packaging Holding Co., Intercontinental Exchange/NYSE, Newell Brands, Inc., United Parcel Service (UPS), Veritiv Corp. and Smurfit Westrock. Sandy Springs is also home to Inspire Brands, a restaurant holding company that owns Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’ Donuts, Jimmy John’s and Sonic. Additional large corporate employers include ServiceMaster, Cox Communications, Focus Brands and Mercedes-Benz USA.

“We’re the world’s headquarters for paper and packaging,” says Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul, giving a shout out to Graphic Packaging and Smurfit Westrock. “Asbury Automotive Group is relocating its headquarters here, bringing 350 new jobs to the city.”

Asbury Automotive, one of the largest franchised automotive groups in the country, is buying the building that previously served as the headquarters of Newell Brands, a global manufacturer and marketer of consumer and commercial products, including Rubbermaid, Sharpie and Coleman. After the completed renovation of the 98,000-square-foot facility, Asbury plans to move in this summer. Meanwhile, Newell Brands signed a lease for 180,000 square feet of office space in the “Queen” tower at Concourse Office Park in June 2024.

“During construction [of the I-285 Georgia 400 interchange], we counseled patience to our employers, and they listened, and they stayed, so it’s turned out real well,” Paul says. “Not only did we retain our major employers, but we’re also still bringing in major employers to the market.”

Road Improvements

Construction Project: The Georgia Department of Transportation is adding toll lanes along 16 miles of Georgia 400. Photo credit: Contributed

However, more construction-related delays in the area are on the horizon. The Georgia Department of Transportation plans another major construction project in the area – the addition of toll lanes along 16 miles of Georgia 400. Construction is expected to begin later this year.

“The impact will be less than the total redo of the 400 and 285 interchange,” Paul says, “because a lot of that’s going to be aerial work. Clearly there will be impacts, but not nearly the impacts we’ve seen the last 10 years.”

Paul says highway capacity will not be diminished by the project, and in fact, the new managed lanes will provide additional capacity not just for commuter traffic, but it will “tie in really well with the MARTA system.”

“It will provide [connectivity] from Sandy Springs to the Forsyth County line,” he says. “It’s been a longtime dream of the transit world to have multimodal transportation in the corridor, so we can handle a lot more commuters as a result.”

With the lull between major construction projects and a pause on the construction of the second phase of City Springs due to market conditions, Paul says the city is focused on infrastructure projects to prepare for the growth in the area from 2025 to 2050.

“The biggest mistake in Metro Atlanta since Oglethorpe [founded Georgia] was [that] we built first and put infrastructure in second,” he says. “We’re trying to build the infrastructure now to accommodate the growth that’s going to occur in the future.”

Changing With the Times

Investing in the City: The new police headquarters and municipal court that opened in April, above. (Photo credit: Bob Pepalis) The project cost $60 million, according to Sandy Springs City Manager Eden Freeman, above right. (Photo credit: Contributed)

Roads, trails and public safety facilities are among the infrastructure projects underway according to Sandy Springs City Manager Eden Freeman. And a new police headquarters and municipal court, opened in late April. The new headquarters and courthouse moved from leased space into space that’s owned and managed by the city.

“We spent $60 million, including the purchase of the land. Just down the street we built a new fleet maintenance facility for the police department, which has saved us a lot of money. It provides fuel at a reduced cost to the city,” Freeman says.

In addition to a fueling station, the facility, which opened in June, includes vehicle service bays, office space, parking and an outdoor picnic area.

Big Draw: Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center hosts a number of concerts, plays, dance performances and more. Photo credit: Contributed

Meanwhile, the city is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

“We’ve got a really big milestone this year,” she says. “Rather than one big event, we’ll host a series of events starting this summer and going into the actual date itself, which is December 1.”

In 2005, Paul was elected to the founding City Council for Sandy Springs and served one term. He also chaired the city’s Charter Review Commission.

“In 2005, I was assigned the role of running the [cityhood] referendum and getting it approved,” Paul says. “The referendum received almost 94% of the vote, so I think I did a really good job.”

According to Freeman, since the city’s inception nearly $500 million has been invested in infrastructure that wouldn’t have happened without cityhood.

Medical Hub

Sought-After Location: Christian Sigman, Brookhaven city manager. Photo credit: Kevin Garrett

Covering approximately 12 square miles of land, the city of Brookhaven isn’t going to attract a multi-billion-dollar electric vehicle manufacturer or a multi-million-dollar distribution center; however, that is not stopping the city from putting up comparable numbers for economic development. And that development is turning Brookhaven into a medical life sciences hub for Metro Atlanta, according to City Manager Christian Sigman.

“The intersection of North Druid Hills and [Interstate] 85 is becoming a much sought-after location,” he says. “The new hospital combined with investments by Emory across the street, that’s $2.5 to $3 billion. Corporate Square is a $600 million development. Those investment numbers are typically statewide numbers for a Rivan plant or a giant battery plant, but this is better development for us. This is people, this is multiuse versus a 1-million-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center.”

The “new hospital” is Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s $1.5 billion Arthur M. Blank Hospital, located across the street from Emory’s Executive Park health innovation district, home to the Emory Musculoskeletal Institute and Emory Orthopedics & Spine Center. Corporate Square is located across the interstate from the healthcare providers and is envisioned as a remake of a long under-performing office park on 32 acres.

Massive Project: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Arthur M. Blank Hospital was designed for future expansion. Photo credit: Contributed

Once completed, Corporate Square could include up to 2,000 new residences, including apartments, townhomes, corporate housing and senior living residences, and a public plaza. Other components of the development could include 30,000 square feet of retail, a 350-key hotel and 100,000 square feet of medical office space.

Linda Matzigkeit, Children’s chief administrative officer. Photo credit: Contributed

In September, Children’s opened the new hospital, the centerpiece of its North Druid Hills campus and one of the largest healthcare projects in Georgia history. The new 19-story, 2-million-square-foot facility was intentionally designed for future expansion, according to Linda Matzigkeit, Children’s chief administrative officer.

“With 446 licensed beds, Children’s can meet the growing healthcare needs of children across the state of Georgia,” Matzigkeit said in an email. “This was made abundantly clear in the hospital’s first two months alone when we regularly saw days with more than 400 inpatients. Since opening, the emergency department at Arthur M. Blank Hospital has seen more than 32,500 patients, and more than 4,800 surgeries performed in the hospital.”

Thanks to a grant from the late Bernie Marcus and The Marcus Foundation, this year Children’s will open The Marcus Center for Cellular Therapy that will offer a full range of cellular therapy treatments for a broad spectrum of diseases, not just cancer, according to Matzigkeit. “The treatments we will be able to offer to our patients, addressing the full child, head-to-toe, will help put Children’s on the map as a national leader in new therapies.”

New mixed-use developments, a plethora of Fortune 100, 500 and 1,000 companies and world-class healthcare providers make today’s Perimeter a bustling hub of change and growth, in the best possible way.