By Tyler Wilkins (Atlanta Business Chronicle) – Nov 7, 2024
Financing has been lined up for a major mixed-use project in Johns Creek aimed at providing the affluent north Fulton suburb with a town center.
Toro Development Co. recently announced that it has built the capital stack for the first phase of Medley, a $560 million development that is poised to add a hotel, shops, restaurants, entertainment venues and nearly 1,000 residential units to the corner of McGinnis Ferry Road and Johns Creek Parkway.
The deal includes a $158 million construction loan from Mexico City-based Banco Inbursa, as well as an equity investment of an undisclosed amount from Denver-based real estate private equity firm Ascentris. Last year, the Development Authority of Fulton County granted the developer a tax break that comes with estimated savings of $13.4 million over the next decade.
“It was a heavy lift, but the fundamentals of experiential mixed-use real estate remain attractive to the right investors, even in today’s frigid market,” said Mark Toro, chief vision officer for the namesake company who is known for developing Alpharetta’s Avalon during his time with North American Properties, in a prepared statement.
Medley is set to rise on top of a former State Farm campus, which the insurance giant exited after moving to its Dunwoody hub. Toro purchased the comatose office park for $44 million – or roughly $1 million per acre – in March and then razed a 350,000-square-foot office building to prepare the site for construction. Another office building will be repurposed as part of the redevelopment.
Unlike other suburbs, Johns Creek has never had a true downtown. Medley is part of a broader effort by local leaders and developers to create walkable, mixed-use hubs across the metro area. Some have been built from scratch, while other communities have seen notable reinvestment in their historic downtowns.
Medley is intended to serve as an anchor to a broader 192-acre town center envisioned for Johns Creek. Toro envisions the project, dubbed Medley as a nod to the area’s racial and ethnic diversity, becoming a “third place” for residents to gather with one another.
“Our plan will completely transform a struggling, commodity office park into a walkable, urban oasis for Johns Creek,” Toro said. “This is the kind of project the investment community is excited to hear about.”
Toro expects to break ground on the 43-acre project in December and open the first phase in late 2026. The first phase includes a 175-key hotel, 180,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space, 110,000 square feet of office space, 340 apartments, 133 townhomes and a 25,000-square-foot plaza. At full build-out, the project would contain approximately 900 residential units and additional commercial space.
More than 50% of retail space in the development is already leased. Space is reserved for 26 Thai Kitchen and Bar, Amorino, AYA Medical Spa, BODY20, Burdlife, Clean Your Dirty Face, Cookie Fix, CRÚ Food & Wine Bar, Drybar Shops, Fadó Irish Pub, Five Daughters Bakery, Fogón and Lions, Knuckies Hoagies, Lily Sushi Bar, Little Rey, Minnie Olivia, Pause Studio, Sugarcoat Beauty and Summit Coffee.
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