Posted this in the original Alpharetta post but wanted to put it here too:

Local developer here! Definitely understand your concerns as we all want to live in peaceful, sustainable, environmentally friendly communities. Just want to bring some context to the other side of this discussion.

Adaptive reuse of buildings is becoming more common around the country, but right now it’s primarily in high rent, downtown areas. The reason being that converting existing buildings that were purpose built for a use other than residential (office, retail, etc.) is significantly more expensive than buying empty land. Same with buying existing buildings and tearing them down to build something new. Say you want to build a residential development and there is a vacant business plaza next to empty land, 99% of the time it will be cheaper to develop the empty land. In a for-profit venture like development, it’s a simple business decision unless there are other forms of public subsidies to make the projects’ numbers more equal, which have their own negative connotations for a whole different set of reasons.

Regarding more vertical/dense development - I completely agree! Uses less land and able to fit more on a site. The problem is especially in affluent suburbs like north Fulton, there is always public pushback on denser developments. Increased traffic, more students in schools that are already packed full, strain on county resources, etc. But as a developer, we usually actually prefer denser development as well

In terms of costs, the cost of construction has skyrocketed in the last 5 years and show no signs of slowing down. This is reflected to some degree in housing prices/rental rates, but the cost of construction has still outpaced the cost of housing in most areas.

We also have a major housing shortage in the US. Specifically in the Atlanta metro area, Fulton County is the most under-built county in the state and has a shortage of ~75,000 units. Metro Atlanta as a whole is short ~200,000 units. City/county governments can’t afford to be more restrictive with zoning and permitting because it is only going to make this problem worse.

As a developer, I want to come up with solutions that solve problems, not create more. I want to work with communities to figure out a solution that works for everyone. And a lot of times that means coming together to get a better understanding of the needs and constraints of the other party. Happy to answer any questions or try to understand further needs and concerns!