Why North Fulton Can’t Build a $400,000 Home Anymore: Chris Burnett, City of Sandy Springs, and Rich Johnson, North Fulton Economic Alliance, on Redevelopment, Regional Collaboration, and the Future of Workforce Housing (North Fulton Voices, Episode 21)
On this edition of North Fulton Voices, Chris Burnett, Director of Economic Development for the City of Sandy Springs, and Rich Johnson, Executive Director of the North Fulton Economic Alliance, join hosts Jack Murphy and Kathy Swahn to talk about economic development as a housing question. Site selection consultants now ask where a company’s workforce will actually live before they ask about buildings, and that shift is reshaping how North Fulton’s cities compete and cooperate for jobs.
Chris and Rich describe a region running out of open land and increasingly focused on redevelopment: Sandy Springs has already replaced the aging Embassy Row office park with mixed-use housing and retail, is demolishing the former UPS building at 35 Glenlake, and is clearing 13 acres of old retail at North River for new apartments, townhomes, and a city park. Both guests point to a widening gap in the middle of the housing market. In Sandy Springs, a teardown lot recently sold for $750,000, meaning the new home built on it will likely need to sell near $2 million to pencil out, pricing out the kind of $350,000 to $500,000 home that used to be the norm.
The conversation also covers the North Fulton Economic Alliance’s approach to regional collaboration rather than city-versus-city competition, the potential for transit-oriented development near MARTA’s North Springs Station and the Windward area, and the new Bus Rapid Transit line planned along Georgia 400.
North Fulton Voices is presented by the North Fulton Improvement Network. The show series is proudly sponsored by John Ray Co. and North Fulton Business Radio, LLC.
Key Takeaways from This Episode
- Economic development now runs on housing. Site selection consultants increasingly ask where a company’s workforce will live before they ask about office space.
- North Fulton’s population is aging faster than it is growing younger. Census data shows more seniors than youth living in the region for the first time.
- The middle of the housing market has nearly disappeared in Sandy Springs. Teardown lots now sell for $750,000, pushing the homes built on them toward the $2 million mark and squeezing out the $350,000 to $500,000 price point.
- Redevelopment, not new construction, is now how North Fulton grows. Sandy Springs has replaced aging office parks like Embassy Row with mixed-use housing and is clearing old retail sites for apartments and townhomes.
- The North Fulton Economic Alliance is built to align cities, not compete with them. With only two employees, the organization focuses on regional branding, talent pipeline development, and support for each city’s own economic development team.
- MARTA’s land near the North Springs Station could support new housing, but ground-lease requirements and affordability mandates make it a harder deal to finance than private redevelopment.
- A planned Bus Rapid Transit line along Georgia 400, paired with new express lanes, aims to connect workers to jobs across the region once construction wraps.
Topics Discussed in this Episode
00:23 Introduction and today’s topic: economic development as a housing issue
01:04 Site selectors now ask where the workforce will live
02:08 North Fulton’s shifting demographics and the graying of the region
03:35 Chris Burnett introduces himself and the City of Sandy Springs
06:27 Rich Johnson introduces the North Fulton Economic Alliance
08:34 Regional collaboration instead of city-versus-city competition
12:44 Vulnerabilities: limited greenfield land and the need for redevelopment
14:13 North Fulton’s rankings and the housing affordability squeeze
16:14 Lessons from the North Fulton delegation’s trip to Denver
20:32 City Springs and the next phase of downtown Sandy Springs
23:18 The generational divide between younger workers and retirees
27:35 Why rents work but down payments don’t for young buyers
36:08 Redeveloping aging office space: Embassy Row, 35 Glenlake, North River
41:35 MARTA, transit-oriented development, and the coming Bus Rapid Transit line
44:27 Sandy Springs’ comprehensive plan and the missing middle housing gap
49:26 The biggest misconception about economic development
Chris Burnett, Director of Economic Development, City of Sandy Springs
Chris Burnett is Director of Economic Development for the City of Sandy Springs, appointed to the role in 2024. He spent more than 40 years in community banking, serving as president and CEO of several Atlanta-area banks and founding the Bank of Sandy Springs in 2013.
Chris also served six years on the Sandy Springs City Council, from 2016 to 2021. He has led the city’s redevelopment initiatives, including the North End, City Springs Phase II, and the conversion of aging office parks like Embassy Row and 35 Glenlake into mixed-use housing, along with a new apartment and retail project at North River.
Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Georgia State University and completed graduate banking studies at Louisiana State University and remains active with the Sandy Springs/Perimeter Chamber of Commerce and Special Olympics of Georgia. His banking background and years in city government give him both a financing lens and a policy lens on the affordability questions raised in this episode.
Rich Johnson, Executive Director, North Fulton Economic Alliance
Rich Johnson is the first Executive Director of the North Fulton Economic Alliance (NFEA), a regional partnership formed under the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce. He leads the Alliance’s work to brand the North Fulton region, build a national marketing strategy, expand the local talent pipeline, and support the six North Fulton cities’ individual economic development efforts.
Before joining NFEA, Johnson spent more than a decade with AT&T Georgia, most recently as Assistant Vice President of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, where he led the company’s statewide legislative and regulatory strategy and managed its engagement with the Georgia General Assembly and Public Service Commission.
A native Georgian and University of Tennessee-Knoxville graduate, he serves on the boards of the University System of Georgia Foundation and the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, with past board service including Georgia 811, the Georgia Emergency Communications Authority, and the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce. He grew up in North Fulton and now lives in Milton with his wife and two children, giving him a resident’s stake in the region’s growth alongside his professional one.
North Fulton Improvement Network
The North Fulton Improvement Network (NFIN) is a think tank made up of community leaders from a variety of sectors, focused on missing middle housing and the livability challenges confronting North Fulton. We come from the six cities making up the northern half of Fulton County, Georgia—Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Mountain Park, Roswell, and Sandy Springs—and are working to address the widespread yet little-known financial vulnerability across the region. With stakeholders from sectors including business, nonprofit, faith, government, and citizens, we center our work on five areas of impact; seek to educate the public about these issues; build a network of individuals and organizations with innovative private and public solutions; and connect resources to those in need.
The leadership team of NFIN is Jack Murphy, Nancy Diamond, and Kathy Swahn.
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Jack Murphy
Jack Murphy is a volunteer with The Society of St. Vincent de Paul and is Chair of the North Fulton Improvement Network. He is also in his 21st year of working for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
He has served on both the National and Georgia Boards of The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, responsible for Diversity, Advocacy, & Systemic Change. Jack is currently the national SVDP chair of Systemic Change and Advocacy.
Jack received a BA in psychology from Belmont Abbey College and an M.Ed. from UNC-Greensboro. Jack and his wife, Nancy, a retired elementary school principal, have two grown daughters and two grandchildren. They live in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Kathy Swahn
Kathy has resided in the North Fulton area for almost 45 years. She has watched the community evolve from what was “unincorporated Fulton County” to a six-city bustling suburban community. Her history has been marked by a strong emphasis on children: she raised two daughters as a stay-at-home mother, held leadership positions in school PTAs and Girl Scouts, participated in the National Charity League and the North Fulton Council of PTAs, and held the position of chair of the Superintendent’s Advisory Council.
Kathy resumed her career by entering the nonprofit sector. She joined the team at North Fulton Community Charities, running their holiday program, becoming Development Director and successfully managing the $3 million capital campaign for their Elkins Road location. Along the way, she also served on the DFACS Board and chaired the board of the Fulton County Continuum of Care for four years.
After having the opportunity to join in the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program, Kathy was surrounded with a dynamic group of folks who worked to create The Drake House. Since 2004, she served as board chair for the first four years, executive director for nine years, and is now retired. Over those years, The Drake House served over 500 single mothers with over 1,000 children and grew the assets of the organization to over $4 million.
Kathy continues to serve The Drake House on the Advocacy Committee, along with her work for NFIN.
She spends much of her time traveling to the DC area, where her children and grandchildren reside.
Sponsor for North Fulton Voices: John Ray and North Fulton Business Radio, LLC
The North Fulton Voices show series is proudly sponsored by John Ray Co. and the North Fulton affiliate of Business RadioX®.
John Ray is a podcast show host and producer and owns North Fulton Business Radio, LLC, the North Fulton (Georgia) affiliate of Business RadioX®.
John also operates his own business advisory practice, Ray Business Advisors. John’s services include advising solopreneurs and small professional services firms on their value, their positioning and business development, and their pricing. His clients are professionals who are selling their expertise, such as consultants, coaches, attorneys, CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.
John is the author of the #1 nationally best-selling book, The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices.
John is the host of North Fulton Business Radio and The Price and Value Journey. North Fulton Business Radio, the longest-running podcast in the North Fulton region of Georgia, features a wide range of business and community leaders. The Price and Value Journey focuses on solo and small-firm professional services providers and covers issues such as pricing, value, and business development.
