Much of the Windward Tech District finds its origin in the ambitious 1980 proposal brought forth by Mobil Land Development to build a 3400 Acre planned development, which included the construction of a 1300 acre lake. This made it one of the largest Planned Unit Developments at that time, with a size and scope not seen in the Southeast. But in order to gain a better understanding of the origins of the Windward Tech District, you need to go back a couple decades further.

Alpharetta was an agrarian community of just over 1300 people in 1960. That began to change with construction of GA 400. Construction of the 53-mile freeway, later called the North Fulton Expressway, began in the late 1960s. By 1971 a completed portion ran from Atlanta up to the Old Milton Parkway exit in Alpharetta. By 1975 it had made its way up to Cumming, eventually terminating just south of Dahlonega, GA.

With this major roadway connection in place and the City of Alpharetta receiving 4 highway interchanges (one of those being Windward Parkway), city leaders crafted future land use plans that set up zoning in the highway corridor for corporate office.

The tech infrastructure soon followed as the age of the internet took off and launched a need for higher speed connections for growing technology companies. The City of Alpharetta decided to focus on delivering a strong fiber optic network as a competitive draw to technology companies. Windward ended up being the perfect location to offer that to businesses, with Mobil Land’s Windward project offering a connected lifestyle to residents wanting to live close to this thriving new job center.