Whole Foods, Johns Creek, Georgia

The City of Johns Creek in prominent North Fulton County, Georgia is the location of Whole Foods’ flagship store. Columbia Engineering worked with the developer to create the site design for this high profile retail center, located inside the environmentally sensitive Chattahoochee River Corridor, while meeting the stringent regulations of the Johns Creek Community District, the Fulton County Overlay District and The Sierra Club.

The 10+ acre site, with over 80,000 square feet of retail space including the flagship anchor store and additional shops, was designed for high visibility and easy customer access. The close proximity to a major thoroughfare (less than 50 feet) and the high elevation (10 feet above the roadway) of the property demanded a creative site design to showcase the lush landscape and the modern architecture of the building. The design also included over 1,500 feet of sidewalks which wind throughout the center creating a pedestrian friendly environment.

Storm water management was accomplished through a 600,000 gallon underground detention chamber to maximize the valuable real estate for the center. Maintaining the Chattahoochee River Corridor ecosystem was a critical component of detention design.