Why North Fulton Can’t Build a $400,000 Home Anymore
Why North Fulton Can’t Build a $400,000 Home Anymore: Chris Burnett, City of Sandy Springs, and Rich Johnson, North Fulton Economic Alliance, on Redevelopment, Regional Collaboration, and the Future of Workforce Housing (North Fulton Voices, Episode 21)
On this edition of North Fulton Voices, Chris Burnett, Director of Economic Development for the City of Sandy Springs, and Rich Johnson, Executive Director of the North Fulton Economic Alliance, join hosts Jack Murphy and Kathy Swahn to talk about economic development as a housing question. Site selection consultants now ask where a company’s workforce will actually live before they ask about buildings, and that shift is reshaping how North Fulton’s cities compete and cooperate for jobs.
Chris and Rich describe a region running out of open land and increasingly focused on redevelopment: Sandy Springs has already replaced the aging Embassy Row office park with mixed-use housing and retail, is demolishing the former UPS building at 35 Glenlake, and is clearing 13 acres of old retail at North River for new apartments, townhomes, and a city park. Both guests point to a widening gap in the middle of the housing market. In Sandy Springs, a teardown lot recently sold for $750,000, meaning the new home built on it will likely need to sell near $2 million to pencil out, pricing out the kind of $350,000 to $500,000 home that used to be the norm.
The conversation also covers the North Fulton Economic Alliance’s approach to regional collaboration rather than city-versus-city competition, the potential for transit-oriented development near MARTA’s North Springs Station and the Windward area, and the new Bus Rapid Transit line planned along Georgia 400.
North Fulton Voices is presented by the North Fulton Improvement Network. The show series is proudly sponsored by John Ray Co. and North Fulton Business Radio, LLC.
Key Takeaways from This Episode
Economic development now runs on housing. Site selection consultants increasingly ask where a company’s workforce will live before they ask about office space.
North Fulton’s population is aging faster than it is growing younger. Census data shows more seniors than youth living in the region for the first time.
The middle of the housing market has nearly disappeared in Sandy Springs. Teardown lots now sell for $750,000, pushing the homes built on them toward the $2 million mark and squeezing out the $350,000 to $500,000 price point.
Redevelopment, not new construction, is now how North Fulton grows. Sandy Springs has replaced aging office parks like Embassy Row with mixed-use housing and is clearing old retail sites for apartments and townhomes.
The North Fulton Economic Alliance is built to align cities, not compete with them. With only two employees, the organization focuses on regional branding, talent pipeline development, and support for each city’s own economic development team.
MARTA’s land near the North Springs Station could support new housing, but ground-lease requirements and affordability mandates make it a harder deal to finance than private redevelopment.
A planned Bus Rapid Transit line along Georgia 400, paired with new express lanes, aims to connect workers to jobs across the region once construction wraps.
Topics Discussed in this Episode
00:23 Introduction and today’s topic: economic development as a housing issue
01:04 Site selectors now ask where the workforce will live
02:08 North Fulton’s shifting demographics and the graying of the region
03:35 Chris Burnett introduces himself and the City of Sandy Springs
06:27 Rich Johnson introduces the North Fulton Economic Alliance
08:34 Regional collaboration instead of city-versus-city competition
12:44 Vulnerabilities: limited greenfield land and the need for redevelopment
14:13 North Fulton’s rankings and the housing affordability squeeze
16:14 Lessons from the North Fulton delegation’s trip to Denver
20:32 City Springs and the next phase of downtown Sandy Springs
23:18 The generational divide between younger workers and retirees
27:35 Why rents work but down payments don’t for young buyers
36:08 Redeveloping aging office space: Embassy Row, 35 Glenlake, North River
41:35 MARTA, transit-oriented development, and the coming Bus Rapid Transit line
44:27 Sandy Springs’ comprehensive plan and the missing middle housing gap
49:26 The biggest misconception about economic development