Roswell project aims to craft mixed-use district from dying strip mall

Hoping to capitalize on job growth, rising housing costs, and a booming downtown district in Roswell, the developer behind The Battery’s residential component has set sites on a property that epitomizes the dying suburban strip mall.

Pollack Shores Real Estate Group, a multifamily developer and investment firm, announced today it has purchased an underutilized shopping node at 11060 Alpharetta Highway with plans of obliterating it to build 300 luxury rentals and retail.

Described as walkable and “urban-inspired,” the new district will be called Sun Valley.

As the generically titled Roswell Shopping Center, the strip mall has been home to such attractions as Yummy House Asian and Buffet, A1 Driving, and H&R Block, all separated from Alpharetta Highway by a black sea of parking spaces. Plans call for razing it this fall.

In a prepared statement, Steven Shores, Pollack Shores’s CEO and president, predicted that the “premier destination” will be “a pedestrian-focused community that encourages residents and guests to enjoy this dynamic neighborhood in a new way.”

Future Sun Valley residents, like their intown counterparts in newer apartment communities, will have access to amenities such as a dog park, pet-washing station, “upscale pool and lounge,” and a yoga room.

Expect 23 three-bedroom rentals in Sun Valley—an intown rarity—although the bulk will be one-bedroom flats. Granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and “a mixture of luxury vinyl-plank wood flooring and carpet” will be standard.

Like The Battery and another venture in Suwanee, the Sun Valley project represents the developer’s ongoing quest to invest in suburban markets with top-performing schools and nearby entertainment and job centers, per a press release.

Added Brian Oates, the company’s director of development: “We are highly motivated to give this property new life.”