This N. Fulton city to get its own version of Atlanta Beltline

A rendering of pocket park spaces and boardwalk for the Alpha Loop.

A rendering of pocket park spaces and boardwalk for the Alpha Loop.

Alpharetta has approved plans to get its own version of the famed Atlanta Beltline.

Mayor David Belle Isle discussed the forthcoming Alpha Loop at a State of the City Address Feb. 21, a day after city council approved it.

The path will consist of a three-mile inner loop and a five-mile outer loop, connecting locations like downtown with the Avalon mixed-use development to the east and the Northwinds project to the south.

Belle Isle likened it to the Atlanta Beltline, a network of parks, trails and transit on a 22-mile former railroad corridor circling Atlanta's intown neighborhoods.

The Alpha Loop will take years to complete, but some sections — such as the one connecting downtown and Avalon — may be completed late this year or early 2018. Developers of private projects along Thompson Street have already started constructing segments as their projects are built out.

The goal is to provide an easy way to get to some of Alpharetta's most popular attractions and new developments, including a planned food hall where a location of The Varsity once operated and the Big Creek Greenway.