March 5, 2026
Developer tapped for pro hockey plan at North Point Mall
By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Jamestown, the developer responsible for Ponce City Market, has been selected to redevelop North Point Mall into a sports-anchored, mixed-use entertainment center.
Sheriff’s Office to apply for school safety funds
By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office is seeking funding for new radio systems and camera software to better ensure school safety.
Congressionally Directed Spending and Community Project Funding could provide more than $2,7 million without a local match for radio, camera and drone technology.
At a Feb. 24 work session, the County Commission unanimously authorized the Sheriff’s Office to seek the funding.
Forsyth County Schools Superintendent Mitch Young said Feb. 25 that the district is in full support of the security technology, adding the partnership with the sheriff’s office has proved to be a “game changer.”
The money would allow the purchase of radios that pair traditional radio broadcasts with LTE and WiFi functions, an application for the funding said.
The radios would help ensure dependable communications for school resource officers within the thick walls of schools.
See FORSYTH, Page 13
In partnership with property owner New York Life, Jamestown plans to position the 100-acre property for a potential National Hockey League franchise, Jamestown said in a Feb. 26 announcement.
The specific details of the site plan will be determined as part of a rezoning process, but Jamestown said it will include multi-family homes, retail, office, hotels, public transit and a state-of-the-art arena.
Jamestown, which in 2024 acquired the Atlanta affiliate of North American Properties known for Avalon, has begun conducting feasibility studies for the site’s
See MALL, Page 14
A 6-foot-tall Gundam costume stands at the entrance of The Gundam Place hobby shop on Atlanta Road in Cumming. The store has become a hangout for model robot enthusiasts. See story, Page 5
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Alpharetta financial adviser convicted in Ponzi scheme
By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — The CEO of a financial advisory group based at Avalon was convicted in a case that authorities described as perhaps the largest Ponzi scheme in Georgia history.
Todd Burkhalter, founder of Drive Planning, pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Jan. 21. A plea agreement recommends 17-and-a-half years in prison, although U.S. District Judge Tiffany R. Johnson may impose a different sentence.
Drive Planning was located at 8000 Avalon Blvd., in the heart of the Alpharetta mixed-use center.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said authorities will continue working on Burkhalter’s case.
“Unbelievably, Burkhalter shamelessly continued to scam his victims even while under federal investigation,” Hertzberg said. “(The) guilty plea is just the first step in holding Burkhalter accountable for the considerable harm he caused.”
Between September 2020 and June
Cumming man arrested for possession of drugs
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Deputies allegedly seized suspected drugs during the Feb. 20 arrest of two people charged with warrants.
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were dispatched about 2:30 p.m. to a Ridgefair Drive home in Cumming. The deputies were seeking a 38-year-old Cumming man wanted on a violation of probation warrant.
Deputies found the man and a 36-yearold Winder woman inside a car in the driveway. The woman also was charged with a violation of probation warrant.
After their arrest, deputies found a baggie containing a small rock inside the vehicle in plain sight, the sheriff’s office said. The rock was suspected to be heroin
2024, Drive Planning, under Burkhalter’s direction, defrauded more than 2,000 victims and stole more than $380 million, prosecutors said. The company marketed several investment opportunities, including a Real Estate Acceleration Loan and Cash Out Real Estate Fund.
The Real Estate Acceleration Loan, which was the company’s primary investment, was fraudulently marketed as a bridge loan opportunity that would guarantee a 10 percent return every three months, prosecutors said.
Drive Planning claimed it offered short-term loans to real estate developers who needed immediate cash. Fraudulent collateral sheets were used to mislead investors into thinking their investments were safe and collateralized by real estate.
Prosecutors also said Burkhalter and Drive Planning also falsely represented the extent of its relationship with real estate developers.
None of the Real Estate Acceleration Loan funds were used for their supposed intended purpose.
Burkhalter operated the Real Estate
POLICE BLOTTER
All crime reports published by Appen Media Group are compiled from public records. Neither the law enforcement agencies nor Appen Media Group implies any guilt by publishing these names. None of the persons listed has been convicted of the alleged crimes.
or fentanyl, the sheriff’s office said. — Jon Wilcox
Suspected drugs seized at Cumming residence
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — A 22-yearold Cumming man was arrested on drug charges during a highway traffic stop Feb. 21.
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office said deputies stopped a car after it failed to maintain its lane about 2 a.m. on north-
Acceleration Loan as a Ponzi scheme from its inception, using at least $21,000 of an initial $50,000 in investments to repay an earlier investor, prosecutors said. He also used at least $80,000 in investor money to pay his ex-wife’s attorneys and recreational vehicle expenses.
Other investments were used to pay for a $2-million yacht, $2.1-million luxury condo in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, $800,000 for luxury vehicles, millions on luxury travel trips and $320,000 on clothing, jewelry, and beauty treatments.
David Bradford, former chief operating officer of Drive Planning, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in December.
In August 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a temporary restraining order against Drive Planning, filing civil enforcement actions. A court-appointed receiver is responsible for recovering funds and selling assets to repay victims.
This case remains under investigation by the FBI with help from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex R. Sistla is prosecuting.
bound Ga. 400 near Union Hill Road.
Deputies began an intoxicated driving investigation after the man allegedly said he had taken Lexapro and Adderall, which he was not prescribed. They noted the man’s pupils were dilated, the sheriff’s office said.
The man was determined to be unsafe to drive and arrested on a driving under the influence of drugs charge.
A search of the man allegedly found baggies of suspected methamphetamine and colored pills.
The man told deputies he was in possession of methamphetamine, Ambien and Xanax, according to the report.
The man also was charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of a Schedule IV controlled substance and misdemeanor failure to maintain lane. — Jon
Wilcox
DEA seizes 37 pounds of meth in Sandy Springs
By CARL APPEN carl@appenmedia.com
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — A federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) operation in Sandy Springs yielded one arrest and 16 kilos of suspected methamphetamine Feb. 13, according to agency officials and documents obtained by Appen Media.
The DEA executed a search warrant on an apartment on Northwood Drive in Sandy Springs. Inside the home agents located 37 pounds of, “a crystal-like substance,” which allegedly tested positive for methamphetamine, according to court documents.
The federal officers found one woman and two juveniles in the apartment. They released the children to a guardian and arrested the adult, charging her with felony trafficking in illegal drugs. The agency also seized an undisclosed amount of money.
DEA agents conducted the investigation and apartment search, asking Sandy Springs Police detectives to assist with “perimeter security” and have a department vehicle on site. Once the arrest was complete, federal officers turned the suspect over to city police for transportation.
The DEA executed a search warrant on an apartment on Northwood Drive in Sandy Springs.
DEA officials told Appen Media the city will now prosecute the case.
Sandy Springs detectives took the woman to the Fulton County jail. A judge awarded her a $100,000 bond, though she now also has an immigration hold. This status, known as a detainer, is a request for jails to hold suspects, “for up to 48 hours beyond the time they
would ordinarily release them so [the Department of Homeland Security] has time to assume custody,” according to the federal agency.
Conditions surrounding the woman’s immigration status are not clear. The DEA referred further questions to the city, considering they will now pick up the drug case. Sandy Springs Police spokespeople
declined to provide details of the arrest or suspect.
The incident and arrest are absent from the city’s Police to Citizen website, an online portal presented as a way for the public to see law enforcement activity.
City officials also declined to comment on why the events are missing from the dashboard.
State budget includes $409M for mental health hospital
By ZOE SEILER zoe@appenmedia.com
ATLANTA — Georgia lawmakers are making plans to construct a state mental health hospital. The Fiscal Year 2026 amended budget includes $409 million for the new facility.
The forensic mental health hospital would serve state prisons and local jails to ensure inmates receive mental health care and alleviate pressure on correctional facilities. Lawmakers have not disclosed where the facility would be located.
Gov. Brian Kemp was set to sign the 2026 amended budget March 3.
During a press conference Feb. 20, Senate leaders pointed to a court decision that led to the closure of state mental health hospitals.
The U.S. Department of Justice sued the state of Georgia in 2010 for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and hospitalizing individuals with developmental disabilities or mental illnesses for longer than necessary. The entities entered into the Olmstead Settlement Agreement, and it was extended in 2016.
The Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) was required to stop admitting
patients with developmental disabilities to state hospitals and enhance community services. The state was required to move individuals from state hospitals into homes so they could integrate into the community.
Now that the consent agreement has been lifted, lawmakers said they can work to provide better mental health care.
“We are going to build a mental health facility by putting in over $400 million in
our amended budget,” Lt. Gov. Burt Jones said. “It’s a 300-bed facility that will be a great start to addressing this issue that so many of our law enforcement men and women have had to deal with for many, many years.”
Jones added that the facility will be done in partnership with the federal government.
“I told them without hesitation that the state of Georgia wanted to be a partner in this effort because long-term, this is something we need to address,” Jones said. “It can’t be handled just at the state level. We do need our federal partners to help with this.”
He also said a construction timeline hasn’t been determined yet.
Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, is the Senate appropriations chair. He said the Olmstead agreement led to mental health hospitals shutting down. For the past 16 years, the state has worked to provide mental health services in communities, and it put a burden on law enforcement officers.
“When those state mental health hospitals closed, our county jails became the state mental health hospitals,” Tillery said.
Sen. Larry Walker, R-Perry, added that law enforcement officers are not equipped
to be social workers or provide mental health care.
“Once we got out from under [the Olmstead agreement], we are ready to act and ready to move,” Walker said. “We’re making a bold action to put $409 million to build a hospital to house these folks that have had a run-in with the law, that are awaiting trial or need a place to be and don’t belong in a jail.”
Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman, president of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association, expressed his support for the new mental health hospital.
“Inmates who are in jail and commit crimes sometimes aren’t bad people,” Freeman said. “Sometimes the crime was committed because they have a severe mental illness and they need treatment, not incarceration.”
He added that inmates are not only serving sentences, but some are battling mental health conditions as well.
“They require specialized care and attention. Jails are not equipped to address significant mental health needs,” Freeman said. “Not only will this facility provide a safe place for competent treatment, but it will also help alleviate the burden for our correctional system, allowing us, the sheriffs and the police chiefs, to focus on keeping Georgians safe.”
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5 | Forsyth Herald | March 5, 2026
Cumming pilot forges business selling fictional robots
By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Something inexplicable awoke inside David Leyva when the Forsyth County resident saw a toy robot sitting in a Tokyo shop.
Specifically, it was an RX-78 from the Japanese science fiction anime Gundam series, a franchise that has spawned numerous television shows, movies, novels, manga and plastic model kits.
For Leyva, who grew up making models of military jet aircraft, the robot was simultaneously familiar and electrifyingly new.
“It’s weird to explain, but it just really inspires you,” Leyva, 46, said. “It really opens your imagination, like, ‘Wow, imagine if this was real. How gigantic this thing would be.’”
That experience started Leyva on a path that would hijack his free time, lead him to an enormous like-minded fan community and inspire him to start a business that now outearns his job as an airline pilot. Looking back, Leyva said he could never have guessed the model robot would open so many doors. But he admits the pieces were always there inside him.
More than a decade after his fateful experience in Japan, Leyva, a husband and father of two, is the proud owner of The Gundam Place, which boasts a storefront at 580 Atlanta Road in Cumming, warehouse and almost a dozen employees.
As a kid, Leyva was fascinated by military aircraft, painstakingly assembling the plastic parts with glue. He spent many hours building the kits, which included some of his favorite aircraft like the F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-14 Tomcat.
That childhood interest developed into a dream to one day fly, and as Leyva grew older he left behind the models and pursued the rigorous training to become a pilot. He now flies for a major airline in a senior role.
“I worked all my life to be where I am as a professional,” he said. “It took me 40 years to become a captain.”
Building obsession
But amid his career and life goals, Leyva found a pleasant distraction in the world of Gundam, a hobby he admits became an obsession.
After long days spent as a father and pilot, he often would recede to his desk to build Gundams.
“Once everybody at home goes to bed, and I have a couple hours on my own, I start building,” he said. “I just forget everything. There’s nothing else at that point.”
As a pilot, Leyva said he appreciates the realistic detail of the robots. Unlike the more fantastical fictional machines like Transformers, Gundams are grounded in rational technology and engineering.
A pilot sits at the controls within an aircraft-like cockpit. The metal-alloy chassis are covered in removable armored plating. Each weapon-covered limb is movable, allowing the builder to imagine they are assembling a real, futuristic piece of military hardware.
“You start putting it together, and you start seeing how it’s transformed into an arm or a leg, and everything moves like it would in real life,” he said. “Those pieces are becoming like a freaking machine, like pistons and so many details. Everything works, and it starts looking like a robot.”
Leyva, who now has built almost 50 of the models, quickly became hooked.
“It was weird. I even thought, ‘Wow, I have never been like this,” he said. “It was like holy cow, I can’t stop buying these things.”
Model opportunity
Leyva admits his wife, although supportive, shared no part of his interest, leading him to seek out others who shared his interest. After connecting with some groups on Facebook, he learned his experience was hardly unique. That realization sparked an idea inside him.
“Everybody was desperate to get the new model kits,” Leyva said. “I started thinking, ‘Well, this could be an amazing business.’”
He started buying the kits wholesale and selling them online, using Google and social media to advertise.
Customers were eager to take them off his hands, and some who lived in the Atlanta area began messaging him if they could avoid shipping costs with in-person pickups. Leyva obliged, meeting local fans in person in shopping mall parking lots.
The meetups became so frequent he decided to purchase a warehouse to store the robots, doing retail business out of a small storefront there. A promotional partnership with a popular Gundam influencer and burgeoning word-of-mouth notoriety led him to finally open a shop dedicated to in-store purchases.
Leyva never looked back, and his business has since found a level of success that still surprises even him.
“Every year, I get surprised,” he said. “It just keeps happening. We grew at least 30-40 percent every year.”
Robot shop
Tucked into an unassuming strip mall, the shop is easily overlooked, customers said. But once found, Gundam aficionados have found it represents a kind of home to them.
See GUNDAM, Page 14
The Gundam Place owner David Leyva builds a model.
PHOTOS BY: DAVID LEYVA/PROVIDED
Model kit enthusiasts mingle and dive into work during a building session at The Gundam Place in Cumming.
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numbered 1 through 7, with each number containing 3 clues for the 3 answers on the line. But here’s the catch! The clues are not in order - so the first clue in Line 1 may (or may not) actually be for the second or third answer in that line. Got it? Good luck!
PARTNERS
1. Jekyll’s partner. Like some gas. Garbage.
2. Sea bird. Valuable fur. Clark’s partner.
3. Poe’s bird. Lum’s partner. Like a busybody.
4. Hardy’s partner. Small salmon. Kind of test.
5. Musical mark. Fibber McGee’s partner. Territory in NE Canada.
6. Baby buggy. Popeye’s partner. Latin American dance.
7. Bird venerated by ancient Egyptians. Delilah’s partner. Half-moon tide.
1 Jekyll’s partner. Like some gas. Garbage
2. Sea bird. Valuable fur. Clark’s partner.
How to Solve: Each line in the puzzle above has three clues and three answers. The last letter in the first answer on each line is the first letter of the second answer, and so on. The connecting letter is outlined, giving you the correct number of letters for each answer (the answers in line 1 are 4, 5 and 5 letters). The clues are numbered 1 through 7, which each number containing 3 clues for the 3 answers on the line. But here’s the catch! The clues are not in order - so the first clue in Line 1 may (or may not) actually be for the second or third answer in that line. Got it? Good luck!
3. Poe’s bird. Lum’s partner. Like a busybody
4. Hardy’s partner. Small salmon. Kind of test
5. Musical mark. Fibber McGee’s partner. Territory in NorthEastern Canada.
6. Baby buggy. Popeye’s partner. Latin American dance
by
7. Bird venerated
ancient Egyptians. Delilah’s partner. Halfmoon tide.
The historic crossroads community of Ocee
BOB MEYERS
Ocee was a small unincorporated rural crossroads community in today’s North Fulton County reportedly named after a Cherokee location meaning “home.”
In 2006 it became part of Johns Creek together with three other crossroads communities – Newtown, Sheltonville, or Shakerag, and Warsaw – when the city incorporated. The Ocee Community area exists today as names for a park, school, church, library and a cemetery among other places in Johns Creek.
The Ocee community was centered around today’s intersection of Jones Bridge Road and Kimball Bridge Road, extending about 2 miles in all directions. As it gradually grew in the 1800s the community established an Ocee School, Ocee Baptist Church, a Methodist Church and other churches and a series of stores. According to local historian Connie Mashburn, cotton farming was important, and one of the largest cotton gins in the area was built in Ocee.
Ocee was first named New York. In the mid-1800s it was common to name communities after famous cities or people because settlers thought a recognizable name would create a more official image on maps and would help make it easier to obtain postal services. Additional examples of that idea in Georgia were Athens, Dublin, Warsaw, Dallas, Rome and others.
The government rejected the community’s application for postal service because the New York name was too common and likely to cause confusion in mail delivery. In 1883 the first post office in what would become Ocee opened under the name Mazeppa to comply with the U.S. Post Office requirement for unique names.
The use of dramatic literary names for communities was fashionable in the late 1800s. The name Mazeppa was sophisticated, modern and cultured. It was the name of a 17th century Ukrainian nobleman named Ivan Mazeppa in Lord Byron’s 1819 poem “Mazeppa.” Byron made the name popular in paintings, music and an 1828 Victor Hugo poem.
The Mazeppa Post Office was discontinued and the Ocee Post Office opened in May 1903.
Larry Webb Bennett grew up in Ocee and notes “There was not much traffic when I was a kid. When we played baseball, the street was part of
The Ocee clubhouse was built by local residents in the 1950s with materials provided by Fulton County. It played an important social role when Ocee was a small rural community. Standing in front of the building are, from left, John Bennett , the first president, Barbara Moore co-president, and President Wayne Moore .
the field. If a car did come along you could hear it a mile away.”
Larry went to the Ocee Elementary School which, circa 1950, changed its name to the Amy L. Dodd School.
“My mother, Francis Webb Bennett, was the cafeteria manager and I worked in the cafeteria. About 60 kids
Judy Webb and her husband Lewis moved to Ocee in 1981. Judy recalls the cannery built in the mid-1920s on Jones Bridge Road where a Publix is today. In the 1990s, Janice Shirley Gunter converted the cannery into an antique and gift store. Judy remembers seeing the Tri-Weekly newspaper mimeographed in 1938-1942 by Ocee School students. Her in-law, Jim Webb, wrote a popular weekly column under the name Mentor Webb. He was born in a log cabin on Webb Bridge Road. General Stores were important as sources of necessary items including food, clothing ammunition, animal feed, tools and informal credit accounts. They were also social gathering places. The first general store in Ocee opened in the late1880s and operated until the 1920s-early 1930s by farmer James Wright Shirley (1868-1960) who owned the Farm Merchandise Store in downtown Alpharetta, a store in Stono as well as his store in Ocee. Stono appeared on maps in the late 1800s and early 1900s and was a “post-hamlet,” a small rural postal community, but all traces of it have disappeared today.
attended the school.” Larry recalls. His grandfather donated property for the school. Larry’s wife Pat taught 6th and 7th grades. The two grades were combined due to the small number of students.
Larry attended the Clear Springs Baptist Church.
“The preacher would come and preach one Sunday per month, so we would go to the Methodist Church when he was away. It was a closeknit community,” says Larry, who as an adult became executive director of Fiscal Services for the Fulton County School System.
Larry’s father, John Bennett, was Alpharetta’s first police chief and the only policeman in the small city. He also read water meters. Moonshining was big business, and John would take note of cars heading north to Dawsonville. If their rear ends were jacked up, he knew they were going to pick up moonshine and take it to Atlanta. He would wait for their return with their rear end low and heavy and chase after them.
Fulton County provided building materials for community clubs in small towns. Residents provided the labor to build them. The Ocee Community Club was used for 4-H meetings, civic gatherings and social events. Politicians would come and speak, according to Larry.
As the local school and churches adopted the Ocee name in the 1890s, the Shirley store became one of the first institutions to use it consistently thus helping solidify the name Ocee. Other stores operated during and after the Shirley store era, including The H.H. Turner family store operated from circa 1931 to the mid-1940s. Hugh and Bob Barnett’s store operated from the mid-1940s until the early1950s when, according to Connie Mashburn, the brothers moved to a larger store in Alpharetta. The Hunnicutt Store circa 1950s-1960s likely operated by A.J., W.T. or J.M. Hunnicutt.
Joan Compton, president of the Johns Creek Historical Society, sums up the situation by noting “Johns Creek has evolved from historic crossroad communities to today’s modern city with the Robert Fulton Library, stores, restaurants and homes that reflect the diversity of this great community.”
There is much more to say about the history of fabulous Johns Creek. Maybe in a future column.
Bob is a Member of the City of Alpharetta Historic Preservation Commission, director emeritus of the Milton Historical Society and member of the Alpharetta and Old Milton County Historical Society. You can email him at bobmey@bellsouth.net. Bob welcomes suggestions for future columns about local history.
Columnist
TIM SPRUIL/PROVIDED
Children stand in the middle of Jones Bridge Road in 1930. To the right, is the Shirley house and Bennett Store. To the left is the Turner house.
FLOYD JILLSON/ATLANTA JOURNAL JANUARY, 1990
Forsyth:
Continued from Page 1
The funds also would allow integration of school surveillance cameras with law enforcement, providing real-time access to video feeds.
Richard Tucker, Sheriff’s Office business operations director, said the funds also could provide for drones for intel high above events or within schools.
“We want to make sure we have the fastest, most robust response possible,” he said.
The Sheriff’s Office 2026 budget provides no funding for the projects, prompting authorities to seek money through alternative means, Tucker said.
“The funding request is significant. It’s something we feel like we have needed, but we have not made the request for these particular items,” he said.
The technology would give school resource officers a leg up in their mission of safeguarding more than 54,000 students across 42 school facilities, the application said.
On top of enhanced communications, the radios also feature encrypted channels, GPS tracking and remote software updates. Camera software would allow the Sheriff’s Office’s real-time crime center to have better situational awareness and improve emergency alerts.
Recent security challenges, including unauthorized entries and lockdowns
JON WILCOX/APPEN MEDIA
The Forsyth County Commission meets Feb. 24 to discuss items that included a funding to support additional security measures at local schools.
have highlighted some security limitations within schools, the application said.
“In these instances, delayed or unclear communication jeopardized both student safety and response efficiency,” the application said.
The technology is expected to enhance the role of school resource officers, allowing them to better serve
as mentors, safety educators and role models.
“This proposal aligns with our commitment to avoiding the overcriminalization of student behavior,” the application said. “Our SRO program is grounded in restorative and preventive practices, with officers trained to differentiate between disciplinary matters and criminal threats.”
Gundam:
Continued from Page 5
On a February afternoon, first-timevisitor and Cumming resident Chris Holte said he had no idea the shop existed in his backyard. Holte, who works in sales for a traffic control safety company, said he was pleased to find such a wide selection of models and customers and staff who share his interest.
At home, Holte said he has little opportunity to talk about the robots with his wife, who often rolls her eyes at his niche interest.
“It mostly goes in one ear and out the other,” he said, chuckling. “She likes to
Mall:
Continued from Page 1
potential and is preparing preliminary plans. Jamestown also will oversee property management effective March 1.
The announcement comes as Forsyth County pursues a similar plan to attract a hockey franchise to The Gathering at South Forsyth, a $2 billion mixed-use arena development project off Ga. 400 at Union Hill Road.
Forsyth County Commission Chairman Alfred John reasserted the county’s commitment to the project Feb. 17.
“What remains unchanged is the exceptional strength of The Gathering at South Forsyth’s location, the comprehensive infrastructure planning already in place and the steadfast commitment of both Forsyth County and the development team to executing this opportunity with the highest standards of diligence and responsibility,” John said.
Jamestown CIO Tim Perry said the Alpharetta site represents a strong contender in attracting a team, citing a Tax Allocation District established by the City of Alpharetta in late 2025.
make fun of it.”
The shop’s walls are lined with shelves of more than a hundred model kits, providing an impressive selection, sales advisor Jason Tang said. The space also includes plenty of stimulation for the imagination. A 6-foot-tall robot costume stands at the entrance, and numerous dioramas and models, some valued in the thousands of dollars, sit behind clear display cases.
Gundam community
But The Gundam Place also offers something less tangible than kits and perhaps more important, a sense of community, Tang said.
While assisting Holte, Tang was pleased to see long-time customer Smeet
Patel, who has spent almost $10,000 at the shop over several years.
Patel, who now counts as one of his friends, often stops by to visit and enjoy a bit of friendly banter about Gundams or otherwise.
Like Patel, many have found the shop to be a place to connect with others.
The models are available for purchase from internet vendors, but many local Gundam fans prefer to stop by in person, Leyva said.
An after-hours monthly model building meetup routinely attracts anywhere from a 20 to 40 or more. Tables fill the floorspace during those nights, allowing customers to spend long hours chatting and forging friendships.
An annual gathering night attracts
hundreds, requiring the shop to sometimes rent out additional space next door.
“Those are on another level,” Leyva said.
Leyva said he never could have imagined a chance encounter with a model robot could enrich so many aspects of his life.
He is deeply thankful for the business opportunities the hobby has created for him, and he still finds time to revel in the world of Gundam.
But perhaps most of all, he is glad to be a part of a warm community that forges real relationships through an imaginary world.
“It makes me think it was worth all the effort,” he said.
Jamestown will work with North Point Mall owner New York Life in redeveloping the site for a potential National
League franchise.
“As an established commercial retail corridor with the transportation infrastructure in place to support a dense mix of uses, the site is well positioned for redevelopment and to accommodate event and game day traffic associated with an NHL hockey arena,” Perry said.
DEATH NOTICES
Paul Adams, age 91, of Alpharetta, GA passed away on February 20, 2026. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
Erin Athey, age 46, of Roswell, GA passed away on February 19, 2026. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
Machete Group, a real estate advisory and development firm, will work alongside Jamestown in the project. The group spe-
Merwin Brewer, age 94, of Roswell, GA passed away on February 18, 2026. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
Robert Brubaker, age 88, of Milton, GA passed away on February 19, 2026. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
cializes in developing sports arenas, stadiums and surrounding mixed-use districts.
David Carlock, managing partner of Machete Group, said the most successful arena districts are built for long-term use and community benefit. He said the project already boasts strong ownership, planning and market conditions.
“We’re looking forward to helping guide a vision that integrates a world-class NHL arena into a broader mixed-use environment designed to be active, connected, and sustainable for decades to come,” Carlock said.
Willis Dockery, age 75, of Milton, GA passed away on February 22, 2026. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
Troy Summey, age 95, of Roswell, GA passed away on February 22, 2026. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
John Kardian, age 56, of Roswell, GA passed away on February 17, 2026. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
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