For years Johns Creek had a Town Center plan but no downtown to go with it. That changes this fall. The city's public half of the district is already open, and the private half opens on Oct. 29. The 20-acre Boardwalk at Town Center opened beside City Hall in May. Toro Development Company's $560 million, 43-acre Medley holds its public ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, in The Plaza. Over the next eight weeks, city events and Medley events will fall on the same few blocks. Both halves are also linked by a pedestrian tunnel that has only been open since August.
Fall evenings that used to mean a drive to another city can now begin at a pond overlook and end at a wine bar. Getting the most out of it depends on knowing which half is putting on which event.
The public half opened first and has already won an award
The Boardwalk is easy to mistake for part of Medley, but it is a city park. North Atlanta Star made the distinction in September: the Boardwalk is the civic piece of Town Center, a free public space that belongs to the whole city, and Medley is the private mixed-use project next door. The park is built around a wide elevated trail that winds through ponds, wetlands and woods, with overlooks, plazas, terraced seating and an amphitheater.
A few months after it opened, the Georgia Downtown Association named the Boardwalk its 2026 Outstanding Public Improvement Project, a statewide award that put it alongside projects in long-established downtowns. Johns Creek has no historic downtown, so the award carries extra weight here. The same report pointed out that the park gives the city a natural home for the kind of recurring events that have long sent residents to Alpharetta, Duluth or Suwanee.
The trail network goes further than most first-time visitors expect. The Town Center trail runs about a mile north from Johns Creek Parkway to McGinnis Ferry Road and includes a half-mile North Pond loop. The city says it connects to 14 Town Center sidewalks.
The tunnel ties the two halves together
The piece that makes Town Center walkable opened on Aug. 20. Mayor John Bradberry and Council members Larry DiBiase and Chris Coughlin cut the ribbon on the Medlock Bridge Road pedestrian tunnel, an arched underpass just north of Johns Creek Parkway. The city describes it as connecting neighborhoods, restaurants, retail, The Boardwalk and Town Center for people on foot or bicycle. The Boardwalk side of the district now joins the commercial blocks without anyone having to cross one of the city's hardest roads at street level.
What the private half adds on Oct. 29
Trader Joe's has been open at Medley since June 11, so many people already know the parking deck. On Oct. 29, WhatNow Atlanta reports, 28 retailers and restaurants open together. The opening-day lineup Toro announced breaks down roughly like this:
- Sit-down dinners: Rena's Italian Fishery & Grill, 26 Thai Kitchen, STIR, Lily Sushi Bar, Minnie Olivia Pizzeria
- Drinks: Tonic House, CRÚ Wine Bar & Bistro
- Quick and casual: Shake Shack, Knuckies Eatery, The Nest Cafe, Playa Bowls
- Coffee and sweets: Summit Coffee, Five Daughters Bakery, Cookie Fix, Amorino Gelato
- Shops and services: Sephora, High Country Outfitters, BODYROK, Kontour Med Spa, Moop's Boutique, Clean Your Dirty Face, The Commodore, Sugarcoat, Hollow Oak, Drybar, Burdlife, Petfolk
Visit Johns Creek says Medley businesses will open on a rolling basis, so check a restaurant's hours before planning dinner around it in the first weeks.
The bigger change for local evenings is the programming, more than any one tenant. Toro plans about 100 community events a year, with weekly and monthly programming continuing into 2027. Add that to the city's events at City Hall and on the Boardwalk, and a district that had no regular calendar a year ago now has two.
Eight weeks, one district
Here is how the two calendars fit together through Thanksgiving weekend. The Location column shows which half of Town Center each event uses.
| Date | Event | Location | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed., Oct. 21, 6–8 p.m. | City Trunk or Treat | City Hall, 11360 Lakefield Drive | Free |
| Wed., Oct. 28, 6–10 p.m. | Medley Unveiled preview | Medley | Ticketed |
| Thu., Oct. 29, 10 a.m. | Medley ribbon cutting | The Plaza at Medley | Free |
| Fri., Oct. 30, 6–10 p.m. | Party on The Plaza | The Plaza at Medley | Free |
| Sat., Nov. 7, 4–8 p.m. | City Diwali Celebration | Boardwalk at Town Center | Free |
| Mon., Nov. 23 | Outdoor ice rink season begins | The Plaza at Medley | Check Medley's site |
| Fri., Nov. 27 | Merry Medley | Medley Boulevard | Check Medley's site |
Halloween week is the busiest stretch. The city's Trunk or Treat at City Hall runs on Oct. 21, and nine days later Medley's Party on The Plaza fills a Friday night with live music, family activities and costumes. Families with young children get two free Halloween evenings at the same address cluster.
The Oct. 28 preview is the only paid night of the opening. Medley Unveiled benefits the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra and includes restaurant tastings, cocktails, beer, wine and nonalcoholic drinks. The entertainment lineup is a string quartet, a DJ, a live violinist at the Tree Bar and dueling pianos. Tickets are sold through Eventbrite, and complimentary valet is included.
The city's Diwali Celebration on Nov. 7 will be one of the first big seasonal events held at the Boardwalk since Medley opened. The city page says more details are coming.
The rink runs into the new year. Medley's Skate the Plaza page lists the season from Nov. 23, 2026, through Feb. 7, 2027. The Merry Medley page also mentions the rink as part of its Nov. 27 celebration, so check the official page before booking a first skate.
Parking for each half
Each half of the district has its own parking. Visitors to Medley can park in the on-site deck or the surface lots, which Medley locates on the north side of the property. Valet is $12 per car at the marked drop-off area on Medley Boulevard near Concierge. The Boardwalk uses public and ADA parking at City Hall, 11360 Lakefield Drive, and the park is reached by the path to the left of the City Hall entrance. If your plans include both the Boardwalk and Medley, decide which half you will spend the most time in and park there.
Two road projects border the district. In its Aug. 28 update, the city said Johns Creek Parkway work was in its finishing stage. Widening work on McGinnis Ferry Road is active, with completion expected in spring 2028. No event-day traffic or overflow-parking plan for the opening had been published as of early October.
The rest of the fall calendar is still across town
Town Center gives Johns Creek a center, but much of the city's fall calendar still happens elsewhere. On Oct. 10, three events overlap:
- Spooky Mill at Autrey Mill Nature Preserve, 9770 Autrey Mill Road, runs from 2 to 9 p.m. with games, crafts, a haunted hike and exhibits.
- World Music Ensemble, a free all-day concert from Arts On The Creek and Fulton County Arts & Culture, runs from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Johns Creek United Methodist Church, 11180 Medlock Bridge Road.
- The city's free Adaptive Recreation Field Day runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Cauley Creek Park, 7255 Bell Road.
A week later, on Oct. 17, the JCBC Jaunt returns to Cauley Creek Park, with the 5K at 8:30 a.m. and the Fun Run at 9:45 a.m. Proceeds go to the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra's adaptive efforts. That makes two fall fundraisers for the same orchestra, one on a running course and one at Medley's preview night. At Newtown Park, the amphitheater is now Founders Amphitheater after a July council vote renamed the former Mark Burkhalter Amphitheater.
Away from Town Center, State Bridge Road has picked up new restaurants too. Saathvik Aahar held its grand opening at 5805 State Bridge Road in August. Famous Dave's announced an Aug. 25 opening in State Bridge Crossing at 10710 State Bridge Road. Toastique announced a June 27 opening for its Johns Creek location at 3005 Old Alabama Road, and the location's page now lists daily hours and online ordering.
What opens after the ribbon cutting
Opening day is only the first round of tenants. Fadó Irish Pub, CT Taqueria, Tabla, 13 Hub Lane, Fogón and Lions, Northern China Eatery and Warby Parker are all announced as later Medley openings, with no individual dates yet. A second phase called Encore is planned to add 408 apartments, more retail and a 150-room Marriott Tribute Portfolio hotel. The Johns Creek Magazine reports that the hotel's anchor restaurant, Chops Lobster Bar, is coming in 2028. Medley is one part of the city's 192-acre Town Center plan, and its opening marks that plan's next phase.
The first downtown season starts with Trunk or Treat at City Hall on Oct. 21. Medley's free ribbon cutting follows at 10 a.m. on Oct. 29.
If Medley's opening has you curious about how Town Center is changing life in Johns Creek beyond this season, Katharine McQueen is glad to share a measured local view. Let's Connect.
