Johns Creek's First Holiday Season With a Downtown, From the Boardwalk to Medley

Medley opens with a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29. When it does, the land between City Hall and McGinnis Ferry Road becomes one connected walk. At the south end is a public wetland park with an amphitheater deck. At the north end is a 25,000-square-foot plaza ringed by restaurants. The trail between them is less than a mile long.

Two parties built the two halves. The City of Johns Creek built one, and Toro Development Company, the firm behind Avalon in Alpharetta, built the other. Both were designed as pieces of the same Town Center plan, and the season ahead is the first real test of that plan. Between early November and early December, the major holiday events move back and forth between the city's stage and the developer's plaza.

The Walk Behind City Hall

The Boardwalk at Town Center opened May 8, 2026. It sits directly behind City Hall at 11360 Lakefield Drive. Appen Media reported construction costs of $39 million. Mayor John Bradberry told the outlet that "it's going to be the most important thing to happen for our community since we were incorporated."

The park's main feature is a 15-foot-wide trail. It passes through a constructed wetland area within the existing south pond, with terraced seating and an amphitheater deck built out over the water. According to the city's project page, the trail continues north to McGinnis Ferry Road and connects to 14 Town Center sidewalks.

Georgia Trend reported on Sept. 30 that the Boardwalk links up with Medley at its north end. To the south, it links to the Johns Creek Greenway through a pedestrian tunnel under Medlock Bridge Road. The city's park, the private plaza and the existing greenway now share one path.

Mark Toro, Toro Development's principal and chief vision officer, described the gap the project was meant to fill. He told Georgia Trend that Johns Creek "has never had a central destination for people to spend time together or a place to call its own," and said that from the beginning Medley "would bring the city's broader town center vision to life."

What Opens on the North End

Medley covers 43 acres at Johns Creek Parkway and McGinnis Ferry Road, and the Johns Creek Convention & Visitors Bureau guide puts the investment at $560 million. Phase one includes roughly 164,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space and 110,000 square feet of office. Georgia Trend counts 883 residences, for sale and for rent. The plaza is designed to hold up to 200 events a year.

Opening week runs three days. One night is ticketed and two are free.

Medley's anchor is already open. Trader Joe's opened its first Johns Creek store at 1000 Medley Blvd. on June 11, and the store hours were reported as 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. That opening came more than four months before the ribbon cutting.

Who Is Cooking, and Who Is New to the Market

The visitors bureau says Johns Creek already has more than 125 restaurants serving food from more than 25 countries. Against that, the most useful thing about Medley's lineup is how many names are new to the suburbs or new to Georgia:

• STIR, the Chattanooga oyster-and-cocktail restaurant, anchors the Plaza in its first Georgia location, with its companion bar Tonic House next door.
• Fadó Irish Pub arrives in its first suburban location.
• Northern China Eatery, which the guide calls an Atlanta dumpling institution, makes its first move to the suburbs.
• Five Daughters Bakery brings its 100-layer donut, and Amorino serves gelato shaped into roses.

The rest of the dinner list includes Rena's Italian Fishery & Grill, CRÚ Food & Wine Bar, Lily Sushi, Fogón and Lions, 26 Thai Kitchen and Bar, Tabla and The Nest. The casual tier has Shake Shack, Minnie Olivia Wood Fire Pizzeria, Knuckies Hoagies, CT Taqueria and Playa Bowls, plus Summit Coffee and Cookie Fix. The shops include Sephora, Warby Parker, High Country Outfitters, Moop's Boutique, 13 Hub Lane, Burdlife, Hollow Oak and The Commodore. The wellness and grooming tenants are BODYROK, Kontour Med Spa, Drybar, Sugarcoat, Clean Your Dirty Face and the vet-and-pet-care concept Petfolk.

Both the visitors bureau and the developer say tenants will open on a rolling basis. Grand opening day will not have every one of these names open. As of mid-October, Trader Joe's is the only Medley tenant publicly confirmed as operating. Anyone planning a dinner at a particular restaurant can check hours on medleyjohnscreek.com before going.

A Holiday Calendar That Changes Sides

This is where the connected Town Center starts to show. In past years the city's holiday events had the season to themselves. This year the city and Medley have each scheduled events, and they alternate ends of the same trail through the season:

1. Wednesday, Oct. 21, 6–8 p.m.: Trunk or Treat at City Hall, 11360 Lakefield Drive. Free, with candy, food trucks and family activities.
2. Friday, Oct. 30, 6–10 p.m.: Party on the Plaza at Medley, the free Halloween-night close to opening week.
3. Saturday, Nov. 7, 4–8 p.m.: Diwali Celebration at the Boardwalk, 11362 Lakefield Drive. Free, with vendors, food, performances and a drone and light show at 7 p.m.
4. Nov. 23, 2026 through Feb. 7, 2027: Skate the Plaza at Medley, with outdoor ice skating for the whole winter.
5. Friday, Nov. 27: Merry Medley, an all-day holiday event with a concert, performances, skating and a fireworks finale.
6. Friday, Dec. 4, 6–8 p.m.: Holly Jolly Block Party back at the Boardwalk. Free, with Santa, a 40-foot tree lighting, hot cocoa, local choirs and lights.

In the five weeks between the Oct. 30 Party on the Plaza and the Dec. 4 tree lighting, the major events switch ends of the trail three times. Both venues sit on the same walk, so an evening at the Diwali drone show or the Holly Jolly tree lighting can end with dinner on the Plaza. After Nov. 23 it can also end with a turn on the ice.

The opening-week guide shows that local businesses expect this kind of movement. Ylan Sanders, general manager of the Hampton Inn & Suites Johns Creek, told the visitors bureau: "Our guests can walk right over and have dinner, shop, catch live music in the Plaza, and walk back."

Parking Once

Each end of the trail has its own parking plan. For everyday visits to the Boardwalk, the city lists public and ADA parking at City Hall. For the May 8 opening concert, the city also opened lots at 11330 and 11340 Lakefield Drive and at 11315 and 11465 Johns Creek Parkway. That set of lots shows how the city handles parking for its largest Boardwalk crowds.

At Medley, the developer has built on-site parking decks and surface lots and offers valet. Valet is complimentary for Medley Unveiled ticket holders. With the trail in place, a single parking spot at either end covers an evening at both: the Diwali show on Nov. 7 and dinner on the Plaza afterward, or skating at Medley followed by the walk south to the Holly Jolly tree lighting on Dec. 4.

What Comes After the Ice

The north end will keep growing after this winter. A second phase of Medley, called Encore, is underway for 2027, and a 150-key boutique hotel is planned for 2028. Medley has also published a 2027 event calendar, starting with Lunar New Year at Medley on Feb. 6, 2027. That date falls one day before Skate the Plaza closes.

Farther out, the city's planned Chattahoochee Greenway is still in design. Its first phase is a 1.1-mile trail from Abbotts Bridge Road to Cauley Creek Park, and right-of-way acquisition for phase two is anticipated for fall 2027.

For this season, the Town Center is a trail of less than a mile with two venues on it, and the holiday calendar runs from Oct. 21 at City Hall to Feb. 7 on the Plaza ice.

If you own a home within reach of the Boardwalk or Medley and want to understand how a newly connected Town Center could figure in your plans, Debra Johnston is glad to talk it through with you, discreetly and on your schedule. Let's Connect.