West Midtown or Midtown West? (Atlanta, Marietta: apartment complex, homes, neighborhoods)

[aries4118]

With permission from my brother K-Saw Dude, I have decided to post this thread/poll. Before casting a vote, please consider and read through the following information.

The area west of Midtown, or on the "Westside," has been called various names--Westside, West Midtown, Midtown West, etc. What many do not realize is that this area is already officially a part of certain neighborhoods and is therefore not "an officially nameless no man's land."

However, I do think a new official neighborhood can be established and defined without destroying the integrity and status of the official neighborhoods already there.

An official West Midtown/Midtown West neighborhood would be good for the city.




So, consider these areas as being within the neighborhood boundaries of the "soon to be official" neighborhood of West Midtown/Midtown West:


1. All of the Marietta Street Artery neighborhood (poorly named).
http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/planning/npu%20system/maps/npu_e.pdf (broken link)


2. The part of Home Park west of Northside Drive (most people do not realize that this area is even considered a part of Home Park).
http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/planning/npu%20system/maps/npu_e.pdf (broken link)


3. The northern triangle of the English Avenue neighborhood (north of Bedford Street).
http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/planning/npu%20system/maps/npu_l.pdf (broken link)


4. The extreme southern part of Berkeley Park (around Bishop Place, 17th Street, Hoke Street, Green Street, etc.)
http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/planning/npu%20system/maps/npu_d.pdf (broken link)


5. The small strip of Underwood Hills wedged between Berkeley Park and Blandtown.
http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/planning/npu%20system/maps/npu_d.pdf (broken link)


6. Blandtown is really only a collection of streets off of and around Huff Road (English Street, Booth Avenue, Fairmount Avenue, Boyd Avenue, Mabbett Street, etc.). http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/planning/npu%20system/maps/npu_d.pdf (broken link)

Blandtown is a historic African-American community and would retain a separate identity as "Historic Blandtown" in the same way that Atkins Park does with Virginia-Highland. http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/planning/npu%20system/maps/npu_f.pdf (broken link)

The rest of the Blandtown "area" would become a part of West Midtown/Midtown West.
http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/planning/npu%20system/maps/npu_d.pdf (broken link)


7. The southern tenth or fifth of Hills Park.
http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/planning/npu%20system/maps/npu_d.pdf (broken link)


8. Georgia Tech can be seen as a separate neighborhood (a bridge) or officially designated as a part of the Midtown neighborhood or the West Midtown/Midtown West neighborhood.
http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/planning/npu%20system/maps/npu_e.pdf (broken link)


9. The Midtown neighborhood itself: http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/planning/npu%20system/maps/npu_e.pdf (broken link)


10. Here is some other helpful information:
WEST MIDTOWN DESIGN DISTRICT


11. Now cast a vote. Which is the better name: West Midtown or Midtown West?

Feel free to add commentary, opinions, thoughts, and reasoning.

[oakhurstlauren]

I've just always heard West Midtown, and thought of it more as West of Midtown=West Midtown. Midtown West seems like someone is trying too hard to make people think it's part of Midtown.

[BringBackCobain]

I agree West Midtown is a better name, but it seems like Midtown West or Westside sees more use. Out of the media in the city (all 3 of them), none really use West Midtown. AJC and the Business Chronicle use Midtown West and CL uses Westside. Why wasn't Westside put on the poll?

West Midtown should be equivalent to and separate from Midtown and Buckhead though, just like they include smaller neighborhoods. Also, I don't think English Avenue (that's its own thing and too far south), Home Park (Midtown), or Georgia Tech (also in Midtown) should be included, but I do think Knight Park/Howell Station should.

One thing about West Midtown compared to Midtown and the East Side is that there are relatively few single family homes (East Side) and no high-rises (Midtown). The contrast is what will make it unique - it will be a mid-rise district in between the low-rise East Side and the high-rise Midtown. I just wish they weren't building so many apartment buildings. Some brownstones would be cool over there. There also needs to be a defined commercial center, but I'm sure that will emerge with time.

I wonder how the name will ultimately be decided though. They need to form an association like the West Midtown Alliance or build a West Midtown library or MARTA station.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by BringBackCobain

I agree West Midtown is a better name, but it seems like Midtown West or Westside sees more use. Out of the media in the city (all 3 of them), none really use West Midtown. AJC and the Business Chronicle use Midtown West and CL uses Westside. Why wasn't Westside put on the poll?

West Midtown should be equivalent to and separate from Midtown and Buckhead though, just like they include smaller neighborhoods. Also, I don't think English Avenue (that's its own thing and too far south), Home Park (Midtown), or Georgia Tech (also in Midtown) should be included, but I do think Knight Park/Howell Station should.

One thing about West Midtown compared to Midtown and the East Side is that there are relatively few single family homes (East Side) and no high-rises (Midtown). The contrast is what will make it unique - it will be a mid-rise district in between the low-rise East Side and the high-rise Midtown. I just wish they weren't building so many apartment buildings. Some brownstones would be cool over there. There also needs to be a defined commercial center, but I'm sure that will emerge with time.

I wonder how the name will ultimately be decided though. They need to form an association like the West Midtown Alliance or build a West Midtown library or MARTA station.

Good points--especially about the contrast making it unique.

Somewhat like you said, I think West Midtown proper needs an official neighborhood boundary like Midtown proper has (see maps above).
Then there can be "affiliated" West Midtown neighborhoods (Berkeley Park, Knight Park/Howell Station, English Avenue {should be renamed English Hill}, Underwood Hills, Hills Park {should be renamed--various options}, etc.)--just like there are "affiliated" Midtown neighborhoods (Ansley Park, Sherwood Forest, Virginia-Highland, Piedmont Heights, etc.).


Westside was not an option since it is too broad--and should and can be used for all of western Atlanta (just like eastside {which you used above}, northside, and southside are used for their respective citywide quadrants).

[K-SawDude]

In my (limited, biased) experience, I probably say and hear "Westside" the most, with "West Midtown" the second most.

Something feels odd about "Midtown West." It could be that it sounds like an individual development, like a particular apartment complex, rather than the name of a region.

The maps aries posted in the OP are really, really useful--a great primer for anyone moving to the area.

If West Midtown is a subset of "Westside," then what are the bounds of Westside? I'm assuming it goes further south and west than the boundaries of West Midtown?

[stvincent]

Originally Posted by aries4118

Good points--especially about the contrast making it unique.

Somewhat like you said, I think West Midtown proper needs an official neighborhood boundary like Midtown proper has (see maps above).
Then there can be "affiliated" West Midtown neighborhoods (Berkeley Park, Knight Park/Howell Station, English Avenue {should be renamed English Hill}, Underwood Hills, Hills Park {should be renamed--various options}, etc.)--just like there are "affiliated" Midtown neighborhoods (Ansley Park, Sherwood Forest, Virginia-Highland, Piedmont Heights, etc.).


Westside was not an option since it is too broad--and should and can be used for all of western Atlanta (just like eastside {which you used above}, northside, and southside are used for their respective citywide quadrants).

I agree with the westside label being too wide. I voted for West Midtown and that's how I refer to the area. I also do not think English Ave should be included. It has nothing in common with the other neighborhoods listed. While in the general area, this area has a long way to go in the gentrification deparment. It would be more adequately grouped with the West End and Vine City. Along Northside Drive I would set the boundry of West Midtown to be north of Hollowell and just accross the railroad tracks.

Post recession I hope the continued development in West Midtown will impact new development in other "Westside" neighborhoods. Buying in one of the West Midtown neighborhoods I think would be an excellent investment. Just 5 years from now I think home prices will have risen dramatically. Homes in neighborhoods like Home Park and Underwood Hills are dirt cheap considering the proximity to so much Atlanta has to offer.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by stvincent

I agree with the westside label being too wide. I voted for West Midtown and that's how I refer to the area. I also do not think English Ave should be included. It has nothing in common with the other neighborhoods listed. While in the general area, this area has a long way to go in the gentrification deparment. It would be more adequately grouped with the West End and Vine City. Along Northside Drive I would set the boundry of West Midtown to be north of Hollowell and just accross the railroad tracks.

Post recession I hope the continued development in West Midtown will impact new development in other "Westside" neighborhoods. Buying in one of the West Midtown neighborhoods I think would be an excellent investment. Just 5 years from now I think home prices will have risen dramatically. Homes in neighborhoods like Home Park and Underwood Hills are dirt cheap considering the proximity to so much Atlanta has to offer.

If you read the first post, the idea is to official create a West Midtown neighborhood boundaries--not "include" already existing neighborhoods.

The idea includes taking the northern part of the English Avenue neighborhood (the triangle north of Bennett Avenue) as a part of West Midtown. That part of the English Avenue neighborhood is "English Avenue" in name only--it really looks "West Midtown-ish."

There are many areas of Atlanta that do not seem like the neighborhood they are officially a part of--people often do not know the official boundaries and are then surprised. Prime examples are Home Park west of Northside Drive, Blandtown, etc.

The southern boundary you set for West Midtown (Hollowell) is actually further south in the English Avenue neighborhood than the boundary I set. Some people seem to only think of the Vine City-esque part of English Avenue.

Great points about post-recession and investment, stvincent!

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by K-SawDude

...
If West Midtown is a subset of "Westside," then what are the bounds of Westside? I'm assuming it goes further south and west than the boundaries of West Midtown?

In essence, "Westside" can really be the entire westside of Atlanta.

However, when saying "Westside" it has come to mean West Midtown and other nearby neighborhoods (Blandtown, Berkeley Park, Home Park, Hills Park, Underwood Hills, Knight Park/Howell Station, etc.)--plus neighborhoods further west and northwest: West Highlands, Bolton, Riverside, and Whittier Mill Village.


Some more helpful maps:

http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/planning/npu%20system/maps/npu_g.pdf (broken link)

http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/planning/npu%20system/maps/npu_d.pdf (broken link)



*I think eventually, "Westside" will come to include neighborhoods further to the south--in the same way that happened on the "Eastside."

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by oakhurstlauren

I've just always heard West Midtown, and thought of it more as West of Midtown=West Midtown. Midtown West seems like someone is trying too hard to make people think it's part of Midtown.

Interesting--someone else said something similar as well--he/she left me a rep comment (reveal yourself!) stating how "Midtown West" is trying to be too posh and encourage gentrification.

[oakhurstlauren]

Originally Posted by aries4118

Interesting--someone else said something similar as well--he/she left me a rep comment (reveal yourself!) stating how "Midtown West" is trying to be too posh and encourage gentrification.

It wasn't me lol, in any event I have never heard a local call it Midtown West, it just sounds like a Realtor's press release idea that got picked up by the newspapers to me. I used to live off Rice St and then on Collier, but it's been a good 10 years since I lived on that side of town.