Two decades after it originally debuted, a Gwinnett County lifestyle center’s quest to better resemble Avalon and other buzzy mixed-use districts in suburban Atlanta is officially underway.
Following a groundbreaking celebration Thursday, North American Properties officials have provided fresh visuals that lend a better idea how The Forum shopping district in Peachtree Corners may soon look and function.
A decade before Peachtree Corners’ incorporation as Gwinnett’s largest city, The Forum debuted in 2002 in its current, vaguely Medieval format. At its core is surface parking, a roundabout, and a fountain; around that, The Forum’s retail strip is dotted with vacancies today but counts key tenants such as lululemon, Pottery Barn, Trader Joe’s, and Ulta Beauty, along with restaurants and office space.
The Forum shopping district's Peachtree Corners (formerly Norcross) location, northeast of Atlanta. Google Maps
Courtesy of North American Properties
Alongside joint venture partners Nuveen Real Estate, NAP acquired the 500,000-square-foot, open-air shopping hub in March 2022. Since then, the new owners have implemented changes such as daily street sweeping and pressure washing, increased security, and a new calendar of events, officials said.
The focus now turns to physical changes project leaders hope will modernize and transform The Forum into more of a mixed-use OTP destination, across several phases of development. That includes the addition of 381 multifamily units, a 125-key boutique hotel, new dining and experiential retail, a parking structure, and what’s described as an “expanded public realm” where streets and parking spaces are today. As with Avalon, concierge and valet hospitality touches will also be added.
Beyond Avalon’s ground-up development, NAP is best known in Atlanta for redeveloping Colony Square in Midtown and revising Atlantic Station before selling it. The company’s undertakings also include Avenue East Cobb, a drive-to shopping center where NAP is currently hoping to create a new downtown-like experience in Cobb County.
Attributes at The Forum today include walking trails, a pedestrian bridge to Peachtree Corners Town Center, Wi-Fi throughout the property, and pet-friendly rules. It still attracts more than four million visitors per year, according to NAP.
Have a look at what’s in store, according to developers, in the gallery above.
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