Johns Creek Built Its Walkable Middle in Three Pieces. The Holiday Calendar Uses All of Them.

A month before Medley opened, a Johns Creek resident told Appen Media he already spent time at The Boardwalk, the trail and gathering space behind City Hall. He said he could see himself heading to Medley with friends after those visits. His friend group had been driving to Avalon and Halcyon in Alpharetta for coffee and walks. "We've got really nice parks and nice living situations, but we need the middle ground of a place where people can walk around," he told the paper.

That middle ground came together in three pieces during 2026, and the last one opened on Oct. 29. The holiday season starting this Saturday is the first one where all three exist at once. The free events on the calendar move back and forth between them.

A park, a tunnel and a plaza

The first piece is the city's. The Boardwalk at Town Center is a 20-acre park next to City Hall. It runs along Medlock Bridge Road between Johns Creek Parkway and East Johns Crossing. It has a 15-foot-wide elevated trail, a bandshell and amphitheater, terraced seating, pond overlooks and pedestrian plazas.

The second piece is the connection. In August the city cut the ribbon on the Medlock Bridge Road pedestrian tunnel, an arched underpass just north of Johns Creek Parkway. The city says it connects neighborhoods, restaurants, retail, The Boardwalk and Johns Creek Town Center for people on foot or bike. FOX 5 Atlanta covered the opening as a link between those same neighborhoods and Town Center.

The third piece is private, and it's the largest. Medley is a $560 million development on 43 acres at McGinnis Ferry Road and Johns Creek Parkway. It brings roughly 164,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space and a 25,000-square-foot plaza. The developer is Toro Development Co., which also built Avalon. The address is 2140 Medley Boulevard. Parking is in on-site decks, and valet is also available.

The park and the plaza are both on the Johns Creek Parkway side of Town Center. Most of this holiday season's free events are planned for one or the other.

Medley is opening in stages, so check before you go

Medley held its public ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, with doors opening right after. A free Party on the Plaza followed on Friday night. The Johns Creek Convention & Visitors Bureau says Medley's businesses will open on a rolling basis and tells visitors to check individual hours before heading out. The North Atlanta Star described the same pattern a few days before the ribbon cutting, with restaurants and shops opening in stages and more arriving in the weeks ahead.

Toro's announcement in late September sorted the tenants into two groups.

The second group includes two of the more distinctive names on the roster. The visitors bureau describes Fadó Irish Pub as opening its first suburban location here. It calls Northern China Eatery an Atlanta dumpling institution making its first move to the suburbs. STIR, the Chattanooga oyster-and-cocktail restaurant, is opening its first Georgia location as the Plaza's anchor. The Johns Creek Magazine reported its opening for 10 a.m. Oct. 29, along with the separate Tonic House cocktail bar next door and an open-air patio on the Plaza.

All told, Appen counts 21 restaurants, bars, cafes and eateries in the plan. That lineup joins the more than 125 restaurants the visitors bureau already counts across the city. A Saturday at Medley in early November may look quite different from one in February, and the difference comes from those "coming months" names.

The holiday calendar moves between the park and the plaza

Here is the city's free programming at The Boardwalk, combined with Medley's own holiday launch.

1. Saturday, Nov. 7, 4 to 8 p.m.: Diwali Celebration at The Boardwalk. The city's free event at 11362 Lakefield Drive includes food and retail vendors, performances and a drone-and-light show at 7 p.m. Details are on the city's Diwali page.
2. Friday, Nov. 27, from 4 p.m.: Merry Medley on Medley Boulevard. It's the day after Thanksgiving. The listing promises family activities, a holiday concert, performances, the rink opening and fireworks. The Merry Medley listing has the details.
3. Friday, Dec. 4, 6 to 8 p.m.: Holly Jolly Block Party at The Boardwalk. The city's free event brings Santa, hot cocoa, local choirs and the lighting of Johns Creek's 40-foot Christmas tree. See the Holly Jolly page.

The events alternate between the city's lawn and Medley's plaza, with roughly three weeks between the first two and one week between the last two. The city's big tree lighting stays at The Boardwalk. Medley opens its season with fireworks and a rink. Between those dates, the tunnel gives people on foot or bike an off-street way across Medlock Bridge Road into Town Center.

The rink keeps the plaza busy into February

Skate the Plaza is the event most likely to bring people back to Medley more than once. The rink runs from Nov. 27, 2026, through Feb. 7, 2027. An earlier preview listed a Nov. 23 start, but Medley's current event page says Nov. 27.

Regular hours, from the Skate the Plaza page:

• Monday through Thursday, 3 to 10 p.m.
• Friday, 3 to 11 p.m.
• Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The rink stays open longer when school is out. Hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily on Nov. 27 and from Dec. 21 through Jan. 4. Christmas Eve runs 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Christmas Day 3 to 10 p.m., New Year's Eve 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and New Year's Day 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Admission and skate-rental prices hadn't been posted as of late October, so check the event page before you plan a family outing around it.

On regular weekdays the rink doesn't open until 3 p.m. During the school break it opens at 11 a.m. If you're planning a midweek visit with kids, that affects which days work best.

Both ends are still growing

Medley says it plans to host more than 200 events a year. Encore, the development's second phase, is slated for 2027. A 150-room Marriott Tribute Portfolio hotel with Chops Lobster Bar as its anchor restaurant is scheduled for 2028. On the city side, The Boardwalk already hosts the summer concert series in its bandshell and amphitheater.

For now the dates are set. The Diwali drone show starts at 7 p.m. this Saturday at The Boardwalk. Merry Medley's fireworks and the rink opening follow on Nov. 27, and the 40-foot tree lights up at 11362 Lakefield Drive on Dec. 4.

If you'd like to talk through what Medley's arrival means for your corner of Johns Creek, whether you're thinking about your next move or just curious about the area, the team at SET Real Estate Group is glad to help. We follow these openings closely and are happy to share what we're seeing.