Supercharger - Austell, GA

[ChrisC]

Marco found a site on the west side of Atlanta: The Weekly Supercharger: 64 - TeslaNorth.com

"In total, 64 Supercharger stalls and 24 Level 2 Wall Connectors are set to be built in the southern parking area of the center."

135 Riverside Pkwy
Austell, GA 30168

This is the Riverside Epicenter complex, and is at the second exit on I-20 west of I-285. I believe this is in unincorporated Cobb County, and definitely not Mableton city limits, unless Google's map data is ... outdated.

This site has had a solitary Georgia Power DCFC station (and Level 2 station) across the parking lot for nearly a decade: Riverside EpiCenter | Mableton, GA | EV Station

That parking lot has been closed off after midnight. I expect that Tesla's "hardcore" legal team will correct that and now it'll be 24/7.

 

[Toasty]

polo

 

[JulienW]

Interesting since the 24 L2 would be good for 6 Flags visitors. Seems like an excessive number of Superchargers for what would likely to be the least used EV corridor in/out of ATL, especially with a 12 stall just a few miles west.

Also at only 2 pull throughs for up to 64 is kinda small amount, especially with the Cybertruck/EV truck/traller imminent. And adding the west side of town is more industrial and likely to have a higher percentage of truck/trailers.

 

[Jeremy3292]

Is this that busy or an area to warrant 64 superchargers??? I’ve always been in the camp of “No such thing as too many superchargers” but this seems weird to me.

 

[AtlantaMCR]

Can’t have enough superchargers IMO.

 

[JP350]

As someone who frequents this area, because of Six Flags right next door. This location is a membership-only gym, and got their charge point cpe250, and level 2 charger around Late 2016 to Early 2017 if I'm remembering correctly. I'm glad they're paving the undeveloped area in the corner of the parking lot, because about 100 charging stations added to the existing parking lot would be taking up a considerable amount of the parking lot. I do agree with the posts above about this not being in the best location. I would think the 75/85 north corridor coming out of Atlanta through the battery would be a much better location for a supercharger, mostly because of the increased flow of traffic out to that area, and the fact that the Marietta GA (Rly Cumberland) supercharger is frequently on a wait. I will check with the Epicenter management about if non-members can use the amenities, mainly the restaurants in the gym, because there isn't really anything else in walking distance. I imagine that this site will look and follow the construction of the Morrow GA site, but on a larger scale if its a prefab install, and and If its a custom install the Kettleman City - Bernard Dr, CA install comes to mind as similar. I should be able to have eyes on this site fairly frequently, as I visit this area somewhat often. Again just my 2 cents , and I'm more than excited for this install, and extremely grateful for this coming to Georgia.

P.S. - I know it's wishful thinking, but maybe we could get a lounge, like Kettleman City!

 

[ChrisC]

I stopped by to get a first look at the site and check for progress. The planned location has curbing but no asphalt and is covered by neatly mowed weeds. There were no surveyor marks or any signs of work start, but the site's existing curbing does precisely match the plan shown in the TeslaNorth article linked above, so they'll have that head start.

This is a (Cobb) county entertainment complex, with a performing arts center, conference center, basketball court (I think) and then a number of private businesses including the fitness club mentioned above. As you can see in the last photo, there are THREE eating options right there in the building -- a Subway, an ice cream shop (presumably offering coffee and snacks), and a burgers-etc place ("Mr. Ag's"). There is also a Wendy's a little further away, across a busy street to the north.

On the way into the parking lot there is signage for "no Six Flags parking", and you'd have a pretty decent walk from here anyway. Perhaps the policy will change with the advent of the Level 2 charging, but for now it's officially not allowed.

I should have been more clear in my summary in the first post above -- this site is initally being built out with 40 supercharging pedestals (and thus 10 SC power conversion cabinets); a future phase could add another 24 SC pedestals (and 6 cabinets). As Marco said in his article, if and when all 64 stations go in it would be the largest SC site east of the Mississippi, but that's now and by the time this site is that far built out it might not be the largest anymore.

For now people here can just do a quick drivethrough to see if any construction has started, typically starting with fencing going up.

 

[ShaheedMalik]

As someone who frequents this area, because of Six Flags right next door. This location is a membership-only gym, and got their charge point cpe250, and level 2 charger around Late 2016 to Early 2017 if I'm remembering correctly. I'm glad they're paving the undeveloped area in the corner of the parking lot, because about 100 charging stations added to the existing parking lot would be taking up a considerable amount of the parking lot. I do agree with the posts above about this not being in the best location. I would think the 75/85 north corridor coming out of Atlanta through the battery would be a much better location for a supercharger, mostly because of the increased flow of traffic out to that area, and the fact that the Marietta GA (Rly Cumberland) supercharger is frequently on a wait. I will check with the Epicenter management about if non-members can use the amenities, mainly the restaurants in the gym, because there isn't really anything else in walking distance. I imagine that this site will look and follow the construction of the Morrow GA site, but on a larger scale if its a prefab install, and and If its a custom install the Kettleman City - Bernard Dr, CA install comes to mind as similar. I should be able to have eyes on this site fairly frequently, as I visit this area somewhat often. Again just my 2 cents , and I'm more than excited for this install, and extremely grateful for this coming to Georgia.

P.S. - I know it's wishful thinking, but maybe we could get a lounge, like Kettleman City!

This one is needed as there isn't a supercharger close that I-20 in that area. They can make a higher stall one in Cumberland later.

 

[ChrisC]

Stopped by, no change.

 

[ChrisC]

I continue to stop by once or twice a month, including today, and will report if there's a change.

 

[AtlantaMCR]

I’m hearing February.

 

[ChrisC]

February construction start?

 

[David99]

If you have the space, there is little reason not to put in a lot of stalls. The additional cost of building more is small compared to the overall cost. Tesla's sales number are constantly going up and with the other manufacturers joining NACS, demand for charging will increase on top of that.

I have driven over 500k miles in Teslas over the last 10 years and visited thousands of superchargers all over the US. Seeing the development over the years and looking ahead, I think these large sites are the only way to keep up with demand.

 

[ChrisC]

Stopped by, no change.

 

[ChrisC]

No change. Per @AtlantaMCR above this should be starting this month.

 

[ChrisC]

No change. @AtlantaMCR could you follow up with your contact to find out what the latest is? If I don't hear back here, I'll message you.

 

[AtlantaMCR]

I’ve been told it’s moving along.

 

[ChrisC]

No change as of today.

I'll be back through here on March 30th.

 

[ChrisC]

I stopped by. There's no change on the site itself, but there are surveyor marks along the road, which I think were actually here two weeks ago but I forgot to note that. But now there are also traffic cones staged stacked along the road. There is a digger staged about 500 ft north of the property where I think they will be tapping into the three phase power from the utility. There is an active trenching site just south of this property at the Six Flags entrance but I don't think that is related to this project. Anyway this may start showing some actual activity in a week, based solely on the staging of the traffic cones.

 

[Dan Colestock]

Thanks for posting these updates. This convenient 6 Flags site will nicely compliment the new Douglasville site, good for I-20 travelers, overdue.