Developers Discovering South Fulton County

ATLANTA-South Fulton County, an 180,000-acre area whose residential growth started 10 years ago near Interstate 285 and Cascade Parkway, today is being courted by some of the area’s leading commercial developers. The reasons, area brokers tell GlobeSt.com, are cheaper land and North Fulton County’s near saturation level for retail, office and subdivision projects.

For example, land that is selling for $350,000 per acre ($8.03 per sf) in North Fulton may be bought for $35,000 per acre (80 cents per sf) in South Fulton, the brokers say. But retail and office ventures lag behind South Fulton County’s 100-million-sf industrial inventory.

To solidify the residential component, elected county officials have approved zoning for 15,000 new homes over the next few years. Atlanta developer John Wieland, a high-end builder, already is constructing the company’s fifth neighborhood venture, The Regency, in the Cascade Road area. Torrey Homes is building Oakley Township, a 930-home community, on Oakley Industrial Boulevard.