14 Nov Circa-1950 Alpharetta school could be remade into Krog Street Market-type project
By Amy Wenk Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
A circa-1950 former school in Alpharetta could be remade into a mixed-use project similar to Krog Street Market.
Alpharetta-based Stonewalk Cos. LLC wants to rehab the Bailey Johnson school at 154 Kimball Bridge Rd. The project would transform the roughly 35,000-square-foot school and construct new buildings, combining a food hall, shops and loft office space.
For the developer, it’s a rare adaptive reuse opportunity in the suburbs.
“It’s hard to find anything outside the Perimeter that’s old,” said Robert Forrest, managing partner of Stonewalk Cos., which has the school under contract. He added the school sits high up on a bluff, giving it views of the nearby Avalon development, and on clear days, toward downtown.
“This vantage point will provide excellent views and ambiance for gathering and work and play,” Stonewalk said in documents submitted in Alpharetta.
The project would also bring new loft office space to Alpharetta, which today is a more traditional office market. Plans show several new buildings, with as much as 200,000 square feet of office space.
The overall project design could be inspired by a cotton mill, Forrest said. “This whole area was rich in cotton back in the day.”
He added Stonewalk plans to retain original elements of the former school, such as the gym floor.
The developer is working with Place Maker Design and has submitted early conceptual renderings to Alpharetta planners (see the slideshow).
Forrest said he already has a brewery interested in the project.
The hope is to start construction next spring, with the goal of reopening the school for its 70th birthday in 2020.
