Perimeter Center

Perimeter Center is a neighborhood and major edge city in metro Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is centered on Perimeter Mall, the nucleus around which it has formed. Perimeter Center is located north of Atlanta proper, and lies within three cities - Brookhaven, Dunwoody and Sandy Springs. It is one of metro Atlanta's largest business districts and one of the largest edge cities in the United States, comprising over 29,000,000 square feet (2,700,000 m²) of office space, 6,000,000 square feet (560,000 m²) of retail space, and 40,000 residents.^[1][2]

History

Like many edge cities, Perimeter Center was farmland until the late 1960s. In 1971, Perimeter Mall opened, constructed on a former cow pasture and debuting as the seventh mall in metro Atlanta. Perimeter Mall was ostensibly named after the 64-mile (103 km) long Interstate 285 which circumscribes Atlanta’s perimeter, and at one time was the edge of Atlanta’s suburban extent. Since the opening of the mall, Perimeter Center was developed though office parks constructed adjacent to the mall, including the Ravinia and Concourse complexes in the 1980s. An expansion of Georgia 400 in 1993 provided a direct highway link to Buckhead. A MARTA transit connection was established with the opening of the Dunwoody and Medical Center Stations in 1996 and the Sandy Springs Station in 2000. Perimeter Center was a focal point for the incorporation of Sandy Springs in 2005 and Dunwoody in 2008. While DeKalb County threatened to sue Dunwoody over Perimeter Center's inclusion in the new city, the lawsuit never came to fruition.

Government

Perimeter Center spans two counties, DeKalb to the east and Fulton to the west, with the county line running straight north and south just a few hundred yards or meters to the west of the mall. This line also demarcates the city of Sandy Springs to the west from the cities of Brookhaven and Dunwoody to the east. The Perimeter Center Community Improvement District is made up of two separate self-taxing community improvement districts, set-up by the two counties to improve the area. While legally separate, they work together as a single entity.^[3]

Cityscape

The Perimeter Center skyline including Dunwoody (center) and Sandy Springs (left and right).

The area is home not only to the strip malls that are typically built near major indoor malls, but also many office parks that contain high-rise office buildings, including skyscrapers that house the world headquarters of United Parcel Service (UPS), AT&T Mobility, Cox Enterprises, Haverty's and Newell Rubbermaid.

The King and Queen Towers, formally known as Concourse at Landmark Center, are the most recognizable structures due to the artistic structures that top them. Perimeter Place, a shopping area that emulates a town center rather than a typical strip mall, contains the Manhattan, Perimeter Center's first high-rise condominium tower.

Pill Hill

The skyline of Pill Hill

Pill Hill — nicknamed for its cluster of hospitals and doctors’ offices — is located near the intersection of Georgia 400 and Interstate 285, on the Sandy Springs side of Perimeter Center. Pill Hill has become the health-care mecca of Atlanta, with three hospitals, hundreds of physician practices, multiple outpatient centers and support services making it a premier location for medical practices. Pill Hill has grown exponentially since it began taking shape in the late 1960s when Scottish Rite, which was previously a children’s convalescent home, expanded into a full-fledged medical center in 1965. Northside Hospital became the first major medical provider to build on Pill Hill in 1970, and Saint Joseph’s was built soon after. The area has seen a major transformation over the past 40 years, as Northside has grown from 250 beds to 537 beds, while Saint Joseph’s completed a 64-bed expansion in 2005 to bring it to a total of 410 beds. MARTA serves the district through the Medical Center Station.^[4]

Transportation

Perimeter Center Parkway

Perimeter Center is located at the interchange of two major freeways: the north/south Georgia 400, and the "top end" of the Interstate 285 beltway, "the Perimeter" for which the Mall and the area around it were named.

Perimeter Center is connected to Buckhead, Midtown and downtown Atlanta via heavy-rail rapid transit. There are three MARTA train stations in the area. Opened in June 1996, Dunwoody station swings out east of the county line to serve the mall at the southwest corner of its parking lot. Going back west of the line is Sandy Springs station, located under one of the busiest intersections in the area. North of there is the North Springs station next to Georgia 400, currently the end of the north line. A further extension that has been studied but not planned is up the 400 corridor to Alpharetta, the location of another edge city about 10 miles (16 km) or 16 kilometers to the north-northeast. The Atlanta Regional Commission has this in long-term plans, along with an east/west light rail route along the Perimeter, going west to Cumberland (about 9 miles (14 km) or 15 kilometers west-southwest), and east to Doraville to meet the existing northeast MARTA line.

References

External links

• City of Sandy Springs

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Municipalities and communities of DeKalb County, Georgia, United States County seat: Decatur Cities Atlanta‡ Avondale Estates Brookhaven Chamblee Clarkston Decatur Doraville Dunwoody Lithonia Pine Lake Stone Mountain CDPs Belvedere Park Candler-McAfee Druid Hills Gresham Park North Decatur North Druid Hills Panthersville Redan Scottdale Tucker Unincorporated communities Atlanta Chinatown Embry Hills International Village Lenox Park Northlake Pittsburg Smoke Rise Snapfinger Vista Grove Ghost town Constitution Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

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