North Point Mall site makes a play for an NHL team
Since it opened as one of the nation’s largest malls in 1993, North Point Mall in Alpharetta, Ga., has rarely stood still. Anchors came and went on a regular basis.
In 2014, Apple closed its store at North Point and moved across town to the new Avalon mixed-use development.
In 2022, Brookfield Properties sold the mall to New York Life, which aimed to redevelop the project as “North Point” and add apartments, new retail areas, and parks. The Alpharetta city council denied the plan.
In 2024, one of the boldest and oddest new plans was laid out for North Point and municipality officials. Alpharetta Sports & Entertainment, led by former National Hockey League right winger Anson Carter, proposed a redevelopment of North Point Mall site that would be anchored by an NHL-sized arena with the hope of making it the site of a new NHL franchise.
This week, in collaboration with New York Life, the real estate investment firm Jamestown announced that it will oversee pre-development activities for the 100-acre property and seek entitlements that will position the site for a potential NHL franchise expansion to the greater Atlanta market.
“We think this is a great location for an NHL team and, hopefully, our efforts will attract an owner who wants to acquire an expansion team and bring hockey back to Atlanta,” said Tim Perry, Jamestown’s chief investment officer. “As an established commercial retail corridor with the transportation infrastructure in place to support a dense mix of uses, the site is well positioned for redevelopment and to accommodate event and game day traffic associated with an NHL hockey arena.”
World class arena in a mixed-use environment
Machete Group, a real estate advisory and development firm specializing in developing sports arenas, stadiums and surrounding mixed-use districts, will work alongside Jamestown to guide the redevelopment.
Machete has overseen a wide range of developments in the United States and around the world, including with the NHL, NFL, NBA and MLS.
“We’re looking forward to helping guide a vision that integrates a world-class NHL arena into a broader mixed-use environment designed to be active, connected, and sustainable for decades to come,” commented Machete managing partner David Carlock.
The design plan that Jamestown and Machete will propose to municipal officials is to pair a state-of-the-art NHL arena with walkable streets, activated public spaces, and a mix of multi-family housing, stores, offices and food-and-beverage.
Jamestown will oversee property management of the site on March 1. Additional details will be shared in the coming weeks and months as Jamestown and New York Life initiate and advance the rezoning process with the City of Alpharetta.
The ultimate success of Jamestown’s and Machete’s plan to bring NHL hockey back to the Atlanta metro, however, depends on much more than municipal entitlements. Crucial to its success will be the succoring of hockey fans in the Atlanta Metro.
In 1980, the NHL’s Atlanta Flames relocated to Calgary. The city got back into the league with the Atlanta Thrashers at the beginning of the 1999-2000 season. Just 11 years later, the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg and became the Jets.
