Anyone who drives Towne Lake Parkway between I-575 and the Mill Street roundabout has watched the land at Woodstock Parkway fill with steel, block and construction fencing for about a year. So what is actually going in there, and how long will the lanes keep shifting?
Woodstock Mill District, the 11-acre project at 150 to 210 Towne Lake Parkway, is mostly a place for errands. The tenant list leans heavily toward a vet, a dentist, a barber, a nail salon, a Pilates studio and a coffee shop around a Publix. The one building designed to make it a dinner destination hasn't been leased yet. The road widening is still under way, and the sidewalk that would tie the district to Main Street doesn't have an opening date yet.
The road went first
The city's widening project started before any storefronts opened, and its layout was drawn around the shopping center. The City of Woodstock's project notice says work began in March, after Georgia Power moved its utilities. The changes run between Woodstock Parkway and the Towne Lake Parkway/Mill Street roundabout:
- Two continuous eastbound lanes into the Mill Street roundabout, with the right lane becoming a dedicated exit onto Mill Street
- Two westbound lanes, starting at the entrance to the new shopping center
- A dedicated left-turn lane for Waffle House and the Cherokee County Tax Commissioner's Office
- A dedicated right-turn lane for westbound drivers turning onto Woodstock Parkway
- Upgraded pedestrian crossings at the Woodstock Parkway intersection, tying into new sidewalks
The westbound lanes start at the shopping center's entrance. That detail shows the road and the development were planned as one corridor. The city says the work is coordinated with the private Mill District project and with the Lyndee Lane extension.
The project costs $1.5 million, paid for with SPLOST VII money plus a grant and loan from the State Road and Tollway Authority's Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank. Bartow Paving has 365 consecutive days from its January 12, 2026 notice to proceed, which puts the contract window at mid-January 2027. When the Woodstock Post road guide checked on October 16, it found no posted closures or detours in the area. It still told drivers to expect lane shifts on Towne Lake Parkway into 2027.
That stretch carries nearly 33,000 vehicles a day, according to the developer figures Urbanize Atlanta reported. Even a small lane shift backs up quickly on a road that busy.
Three storefronts open now
You don't have to wait for spring to visit the corridor. Connolly's development includes the 28,000-square-foot strip center next to the new buildings, which used to be called Towne Lake Plaza and is being renovated. Three of its existing tenants are staying.
The Blue Ghost Arcade at 164 Towne Lake Parkway has arcade machines, pinball and console games, plus drinks and events. Current hours are on its website.
Maxwell's Cigar Bar at 150 Towne Lake Parkway, Suite 158, sells cigars, beer and wine and books live entertainment. Its site posted a music lineup for October 16 and 17.
Dive Georgia at 168 Towne Lake Parkway sells and rents scuba gear, teaches classes, services equipment and books dive trips.
Two new tenants have signed in the renovated center. WhatNow Atlanta reported that Tin Drum Asian Kitchen & Boba Tea Bar is headed to 150 Towne Lake Parkway with pan-Asian food like wings, bento boxes, ramen and pho. The company didn't give WhatNow an opening timeline. barre3 is also planned for 150 Towne Lake Parkway with low-impact barre and fitness classes, and it doesn't have an opening date yet either.
Right now, the parts of the corridor you can actually walk into are an arcade, a cigar bar and a dive shop.
The tenant list for the new buildings
The new buildings are a different kind of project. Connolly bought the site about a year before Urbanize's September 24 report and started building right away. Plans call for six one- and two-story buildings with designs inspired by the area's historic mills, plus a 48,000-square-foot Publix. The district totals 118,000 square feet and was 79 percent leased in September.
Besides the Publix anchor, these are the first-wave tenants Connolly announced for the new buildings:
| Tenant | What it is | Footprint |
|---|---|---|
| Sydel's Coffee | Coffee, pastries and crepes | New independent concept from Woodstock residents |
| Three Dollar Café | Sports bar known for wings and drafts | Neighborhood sports bar brand |
| Super Chix Chicken & Custard | Fast-casual chicken and custard | Nearly 50 locations in 10 states |
| Club Pilates | Pilates studio | Described as the world's largest Pilates brand |
| Petfolk | Primary and urgent vet care | National clinic brand |
| E's Barber Shop | Modern barber | Six metro Atlanta locations |
| Dentists at Woodstock Mill | General dentistry | Part of PDS Health, 28 Georgia practices |
| Allure Nail Bar | Manicures and pedicures | Full-service salon |
Count the uses. Only two of the eight are places to sit down with food or a drink: the coffee shop and the sports bar. Super Chix is counter service. The other five are appointments: a vet, a dentist, a barber, a nail salon and a fitness class. Add Tin Drum and barre3 from the renovated strip, and the whole development is set up for weekday errands around a grocery run. That's useful for anyone living between I-575 and Main Street. It's a different role from Main Street's restaurants.
The corner that's still open
The one exception hasn't been leased. Urbanize reported that nine retail spaces were still open in September, including a freestanding corner building meant for a chef-driven restaurant. No tenant had been named for it as of the North Atlanta Star's October 6 update. That report also said individual opening dates hadn't been announced.
The corner building is the only part of the plan that could draw people at dinnertime the way Main Street does. Until it's leased, the district works as an errand stop on the way downtown.
Connolly told Metro Atlanta CEO that tenants would begin moving in this fall ahead of a spring 2027 opening. WhatNow's October 1 report on Three Dollar Café, at 150 Towne Lake Parkway, also pointed to spring 2027. No separate date has been announced for the Publix.
The walk to Main Street
The developer says the site is a four-minute walk from Main Street and is meant to carry downtown's feel out toward the interstate. A 10-foot-wide sidewalk along the site is part of Woodstock's Greenprints Trail System and is designed to connect Main Street with the Olde Rope Mill trails. The North Atlanta Star's October report describes that sidewalk as a connection that will be made and doesn't give an opening date.
The smaller road change could matter more to the streets nearby. City planning records describe the Lyndee Lane extension running north from Towne Lake Parkway, with a future link to Kyle Street. A city council agenda item described an agreement for SSP Towne Lake to build the extension in exchange for surplus remnant property. No opening date has been posted.
Dates before spring
For now, downtown's events are still at the Main Street end of the corridor, and they mark out the months until the district opens.
- Saturday, October 31, 4 to 8 p.m. The city's Halloween Skelebration at Northside Hospital-Cherokee Amphitheater, with trick-or-treating, games, crafts, music and food vendors.
- November 26 to December 13. Santa's Mailbox at The Park at City Center.
- Sunday, December 6. The Christmas Jubilee & Parade of Lights. The parade starts at 5:30 p.m., and the Mayor and Santa light the 30-foot tree at The Park at City Center afterward.
- December 26 to January 17. Christmas tree recycling and chipping at Olde Rope Mill Park.
The tree drop-off at Olde Rope Mill Park falls right around the end of Bartow Paving's contract window in mid-January. Olde Rope Mill is also the trail end of the planned Greenprints sidewalk along the Mill District site.
If you're wondering how a new Publix, a Pilates studio and a busier corridor might change things on your own street, Heather Edwards can talk through what's coming to this part of Woodstock. Schedule a free consultation, and bring your questions about Towne Lake Parkway.