Alpharetta City Council to vote on plans for an NHL arena and new North Point Mall district

The future of North Point Mall and a redevelopment plan built around the possibility of bringing an NHL team to metro Atlanta is headed for a final vote Monday night.

The Alpharetta City Council is scheduled to consider the proposed North Point Sports & Entertainment District during a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. The council previously voted 4-3 to move the proposal forward.

The nearly 99-acre plan would replace the mall with a mixed-use development centered around an approximately 20,000-seat hockey arena.

The proposal also includes a 4,000-seat music and performing arts venue, a 2,000-seat practice facility and community ice rink, two hotels, a movie theater, offices, shops, restaurants, 1,385 rental units and 26 acres of parks, plazas and trails.

The council is being asked to approve changes to the property's master plan and zoning, along with several exceptions to existing development rules.

Development plan depends on Metro Atlanta NHL team

Frances Bohn, Jamestown's director of development and construction, told CBS News Atlanta that much of the proposed development depends on the NHL awarding an expansion team to the market and choosing the North Point site.

"Right now, we are working on a variety of different fronts, but most of it is contingent on an NHL expansion team award to the city and the site," Bohn said.

Jamestown has not claimed that an NHL team has been awarded or committed to the project. The company said in February that it was pursuing the redevelopment partly to make the site ready for a potential NHL expansion franchise. 

If the NHL does not select the market or the site, Bohn said Jamestown would need to reconsider the proposal.

"We would have to go back to the drawing board and think through what that looks like," she said. "It would be a different plan. Absolutely."

Bohn said the property could still be redeveloped without the arena, but the company would need to begin the planning and approval process again for a different proposal.

Approval doesn't mean immediate construction

If the council approves the project Monday, construction would not begin immediately.

Jamestown would first assemble its development team and begin detailed design, planning and permitting. 

"Earliest would be at least a year out, probably, just because of the amount of design and permitting that is required of something of this scale," Bohn said.

Jamestown estimates the development would require about $2 billion in construction spending and create more than 13,000 temporary construction jobs and more than 6,000 permanent jobs across the proposed uses. Those figures are the developer's estimates.

How the project could be funded

North Point Mall is privately owned by New York Life, which acquired the property in 2021. Jamestown is overseeing planning and development work.

In 2025, Alpharetta approved a tax allocation district covering North Point Mall and surrounding commercial properties. The district is expected to help pay for infrastructure improvements by using tax revenue generated as property values rise within the designated area.

Bohn said the financing structure would not raise existing homeowners' property taxes. She also said the developer could seek incentives or infrastructure commitments later, though those details have not been determined.

"I think that is always a possibility," Bohn said. "I think we would have to get a little bit further down the road with all of those things."

Jamestown said it modified parts of the proposal in response to community feedback about traffic, density and other concerns. Bohn said the mall's carousel, which residents asked the company to preserve, now has a permanent place in the proposed development.

The council's decision Monday will determine whether Jamestown can move forward with its current plan.