For decades, most suburban business parks across metro Atlanta were designed with a single priority: parking. But as the region’s workforce increasingly demands walkable, sustainable, and connected environments, a major transformation is taking shape in North Fulton.
Opening its doors this October, Johns Creek Town Center — and its $560 million flagship mixed-use district, Medley — is turning a former 192-acre office park into a vibrant, transit-oriented hub. Supported in part by regional planning momentum through the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Livable Centers Initiative (LCI), this project offers a compelling playbook for how suburban centers can evolve, driving sustainable, long-term economic development.
From Single-Use Office Park to a Multimodal District
At the heart of the Johns Creek Town Center plan is a commitment to creating an environment where people can live, work, and play without being tied to a steering wheel for every errand.
Key features of this project include:
- A $560 million mixed-use anchor: Developed by Toro Development Company, the 43-acre Medley district brings 150,000 square feet of retail, dining, and entertainment, 110,000 square feet of office space, a boutique hotel, and over 800 new residential units directly into Technology Park.
- Built for active transportation: The master plan weaves together new multi-use trail networks, leafy sidewalks, pedestrian bridges, and direct connections to the city’s 20-acre Boardwalk at Town Center park.
- Adaptive reuse: Existing office buildings are being adaptively reused and integrated into walkable, tree-lined streetscapes — substantially reducing the carbon footprint of new construction while preserving a strong commercial base.
A Powerful Jobs Engine
Beyond transforming the physical landscape, Johns Creek Town Center is proving that walkable, transit-oriented development is a magnet for high-wage employment and local economic vitality. When office space is surrounded by housing, public space, restaurants, retail, and other amenities, the benefits ripple across the entire region.
- Corporate job gains: The mixed-use vision is already driving massive corporate relocation. Life-sciences leader Boston Scientific brought more than 300 R&D and manufacturing roles to its adjacent facility, while animal health giant Boehringer Ingelheim selected Medley for its new U.S. headquarters, bringing nearly 500 corporate employees to the district.
- Local employment: In addition to executive and tech roles, Medley’s bustling 150,000-square-foot retail and dining footprint is generating hundreds of local jobs in hospitality, retail management, grocers, and site operations.
- Easing traffic congestion: By concentrating employment, housing, and everyday needs in a single walkable grid, residents and commuters can walk to lunch or bike to work — directly easing traffic along major corridors like Medlock Bridge Road (SR 141) and McGinnis Ferry Roads. In addition, a pedestrian tunnel under Medlock Bridge Road connects neighborhoods to the Medley development.
A Vision for the Future of Metro Atlanta
As Johns Creek prepares for Medley’s grand opening in October, the project shows how suburban communities can successfully evolve. Johns Creek Town Center shows how multiuse, multimodal design is not just good for the environment — it’s great for business.
Georgia Commute Options — a program made possible by the Atlanta Regional Commission and Georgia Department of Transportation — works with businesses, property managers, CIDs and local transportation management associations to develop and implement commute programs and services that reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality across the region.