Dallas’ Lincoln Property Company wants to bring a taste of California wine country to metro Atlanta.

The firm is planning a 43,700-square-foot retail development called The Shoppes at The Gathering, at the corner of Haynes Bridge Road and Morrison Parkway in the upscale suburb Alpharetta, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported. 

The project will include seven buildings and a lawn for community events, with design inspiration drawn from the “casual architectural elegance” of Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley, said Tony Bartlett, Lincoln’s Atlanta market leader.

The development will form the retail piece of a larger mixed-use effort dubbed The Gathering, where Atlanta-based homebuilder Brock Built is already constructing single-family homes and townhomes. Lincoln expects to start construction on the retail component later this year, with completion targeted for the end of next year. Franklin Street and Centennial will handle leasing.

The project is not associated with the unrelated Gathering at South Forsyth, a massive $2 billion mixed-use project anchored by a proposed arena still undergoing negotiations with Forsyth County.

Bartlett cited Alpharetta’s strong demographics and tight retail vacancy as major draws for tenants.

Alpharetta’s retail market is feeling the squeeze. Retail construction deliveries across the metro plunged to just 500,000 square feet at the end of last year, a 64 percent drop from the prior year, according to Partners Real Estate.

Developers and investors are responding to what they see as pent-up demand as retail vacancy hovers around 4 percent and rents stay at record highs. Retail landlords like Asana Partners are seeing renewed interest from investors who stayed on the sidelines after the Great Recession, citing retail’s resilience against e-commerce disruption.

Lincoln’s Alpharetta project aims to tap into that energy with a blend of boutiques, experiential amenities and suburban walkability, an effort to match the city’s evolving lifestyle-oriented development model.

Suburban markets are increasingly blending walkable retail, residential and public spaces into more cohesive destinations. Some examples include Avalon in Alpharetta, Halcyon in Forsyth County and the Battery Atlanta that have shown demand remains strong for curated, mixed-use environments outside the urban core.

— Judah Duke

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