Following a couple decades of substantial growth and infrastructure investment, officials with Atlanta-based developer Connolly say Woodstock has evolved into one of the Southeast’s best, most vibrant suburban downtowns. And now they’re putting their money where their mouth is. 

Connolly today announced plans to develop a new infill “gateway to downtown Woodstock” from Interstate 575 that will be anchored by Publix and take design cues from historic mills. 

Connolly closed on the 11-acre site Sept. 25 and immediately kicked off construction of what’s being branded the Woodstock Mill District.

The site is located where Towne Lake Parkway meets Woodstock Parkway, about 0.4 miles east of I-575—a stretch of roadway traversed by nearly 30,000 vehicles each, per Connolly’s tally. 

Courtesy of Connolly; designs, Place Maker Design

Woodstock Mill District's 150 to 210 Towne Lake Parkway site (in red) in relation to downtown (right) and Interstate 575. Google Maps

Designs for the 118,000-square-foot Woodstock Mill District, as drawn up by Atlanta-based Place Maker Design, call for 90,000 square feet of new retail, to include the big-box grocer. That will be blended with an adjacent, 28,000-square-foot shopping center Connolly bought in 2021. 

The shopping center, Towne Lake Plaza, will undergo renovations next year to better conform with new construction. It'll also be branded Woodstock Mill District. 

“We’re blending these two parcels into one cohesive district featuring restaurants, shops, and service providers,” Connolly principal David Connolly said in a project announcement.  

Alongside the Publix, plans call for six freestanding buildings (between 3,500 and 13,750 square feet in one or two stories) with spaces for patios. Three restaurant spaces will face a planned traffic circle. 

The site is a four-minute walk from Woodstock’s Main Street and will be designed to extend downtown’s vibe toward the interstate, according to Connolly. Part of Woodstock’s Greenprints Trail System, a 10-foot-wide sidewalk, runs along the site and connects Main Street to Old Rope Mill Trail.

Connolly’s schedule calls for delivering the project in phases throughout the second half of 2026. 

“This Publix location will fill a void in the market, delivering a much-desired grocery retailer on the east side of I-575 within walking distance to Main Street,” added Connolly. 

Courtesy of Connolly; designs, Place Maker Design

Courtesy of Connolly; designs, Place Maker Design

The development team also includes Benning Construction (general contractor), Lavista Associates (leasing), Ameris Bank (construction financing), CBRE (land brokerage), and Robertson Loia Roof, P.C. (civil engineer). 

Woodstock Mill District developers say the “booming” population of Woodstock and Cherokee County includes 70,000 residents within a three-mile radius of the site, pulling an average household income of $114,500. Along with high-priced single-family housing and denser apartments and townhomes, other recent developments around Woodstock’s Main Street have included a new 635-space parking deck to help accommodate more than 30 restaurants and retailers, according to Connolly officials.  

Closer to its Atlanta home base, Connolly's intown developments have recently included the $70-million Parkside on Dresden project that added retail and nearly 200 homes to Brookhaven's main drag. 

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