North Point Mall welcomes a steady stream of shoppers, although the once-thriving area has taken a hit over the past 10 years.
The Alpharetta City Council gathers June 2 in a session that saw the hiring of a law firm to act as special counsel to the city.
Staff Reporter
North Point Mall welcomes a steady stream of shoppers, although the once-thriving area has taken a hit over the past 10 years.
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ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Alpharetta is quietly positioning itself to lure a potential National Hockey League team to the once-thriving North Point Mall area.
At its June 2 meeting, the Alpharetta City Council approved hiring Troutman Pepper Locke, a prominent national firm that specializes in corporate law, as special counsel. A letter of engagement retains an attorney with the firm for a “confidential matter” for an hourly rate of $943.50.
City documents offered no further details about the engagement, but City Administrator Chris Lagerbloom said the move was intended to avoid a conflict of interest with Jarrard & Davis, the Cumming-based firm that typically provides legal services to Alpharetta.
Jarrard & Davis also represents Forsyth County, which was first to pitch drawing an NHL team tied to The Gathering at South Forsyth, a massive mixed-use development in the works just across the county line. County commissioners have reviewed plans for the $2 billion development near Union Hill Road and Ga. 400.
Those plans include a 750,000 square-foot arena and a 450-room hotel. County officials have openly discussed drawing a professional hockey franchise since late 2023.
Alpharetta gathered itself from the initial news and began strategizing how it could lure pro hockey to North Point. In March 2024, Alpharetta Sports & Entertainment Group submitted a petition to attract a hockey franchise to the city.
“The special counsel does, in fact, revolve around the future of North Point Mall and its redevelopment,” Lagerbloom said. “We simply wanted to have somebody in place that we could go to if we needed to.”
Lagerbloom said hiring Troutman Pepper Locke is about being prepared. The Alpharetta City Council has yet to receive any redevelopment plan for the mall involving a hockey team or arena.
The Alpharetta City Council gathers June 2 in a session that saw the hiring of a law firm to act as special counsel to the city.
“I don’t have an application for anything. I don’t have a request for anything …, (but) I’m trying to put the best (legal) team together to represent the city, so that when an application is received, we’ve got the right team in place to review it,” Lagerbloom said.
The decision to retain the firm comes about a month after the Alpharetta Development Authority approved a $150,000 feasibility study by strategic consulting firm Creative Artists Agency to research the economic viability of a hockey team and arena.
The study, which is expected to take five to six months, will determine market demand and appropriate characteristics for a new arena. It will estimate what kind of event programming and attendance the market can support, generating a profile to evaluate financial viability.
“We wouldn’t go into something blind,” Lagerbloom said previously. “A good progressive city does this type of work in advance of these massive, massive types of projects.”
Alpharetta Mayor Jim Gilvin said a project could provide enormous benefits for city residents.
Once a premier shopping destination, the mall’s significance has faded over the past decade as mixed-use developments like Avalon and Alpharetta City Center have siphoned a lot of visitors.
“A lot of our residents have seen that the mall is no longer what it used to be, and they are concerned about that,” Gilvin said.
A redevelopment plan could incorporate dining and shopping amenities and serve as an economic driver, stimulating investment in nearby areas, Gilvin said.
“North Point as a corridor is a critical part of our community,” Gilvin said, adding, “We see that as a very critical part of what Alpharetta will be. That is why we have been so diligent.”
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Staff Reporter
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