Sandy Springs vs Johns Creek vs Vinings (Atlanta, Columbus: homes, cities)

[netdragon]

Originally Posted by SSPD53

Has anyone seen Netdragon?? I have some new information.

I've been in Europe for most of the month so I didn't have much of a chance to check the boards for a while.

Ok, thanks for the clarification. It looks like Sandy Springs has been growing faster than Roswell lately.

Cumberland/Vinings/Smyrna still has more people and office space in about the same area as Sandy Springs.

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Some parts of Smyrna (and Mableton) are trying really hard to be Vinings, and while I think The Village Green just off Atlanta Road is pretty cool, I also find it annoying that builders seem to be taking the Vinings name in vain all over the place.

Smyrna center definately has its own urban character distinct from Vinings. Both Mableton and Smyrna have real urban centers with street grids (if you look beyond Market Village, which is kind of a copy of Vinings center). Plus, Smyrna also has Market Village which is just as nice as Vinings Center. Smyrna is also adding medians to roads and doing more linear parks (like one on Concord Rd) and streetscape projects all over the city, which will further set it apart from Vinings, which has much smaller roads that don't lend well to adding medians.

Builders have spread Vinings-ish develops into Smyrna and Mableton, granted, but I wouldn't say they are "trying" to be Vinings just because some Smyrna developments look very similar. In fact, I wouldn't say Mableton is trying to be anything, since the only body with any type of influence is the Mableton Improvement Coalition. Additionally, Mableton has some aspects that Vinings could never have, such as five major roads all leading from an urbanized center. If there's anything for Mableton to emulate, it's Smyrna, since Smyrna also has an urbanized center and Mableton really needs to spruce up its downtown area like Smyrna did since it has a lot of potential. Sadly, a potential TAD project to redevelop Mableton center was put on hold indefinately.

Furthermore, builders in Smyrna and Mableton are doing some house designs that are more urban (like 2 story craftsman-style homes -- not sure how to describe them) and don't look anything like in Vinings -- they look more like the stuff going up in midtown. Take a look down Kings Springs from Concord Rd in Smyrna, the road next to the Publix at the beginning of the E/W connector in Smyrna, and on the beginning of the Mableton end of Buckner Rd off Veteran's Memorial to see what I'm talking about.

Finally, Vinings has no Silver Comet Trail, which is a big consideration when choosing a Smyrna or Mableton home ("how close is it to the trail?").

Of course, when it comes to driving up housing prices, yes, they are all trying to be like Vinings

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by netdragon

Builders have spread Vinings-ish develops into Smyrna and Mableton, granted, but I wouldn't say they are "trying" to be Vinings just because some Smyrna developments look very similar. In fact, I wouldn't say Mableton is trying to be anything, since the only body with any type of influence is the Mableton Improvement Coalition.

I don't mind the subdivisions at all ... I think they're a vast improvement in most cases over what was there. My focus was actually on the fact that so many subdivisions in southern Smyrna and Mableton are using "Vinings" in their names as a marketing ploy, but their nature otherwise is just fine.

Additionally, Mableton has some aspects that Vinings could never have, such as five major roads all leading from an urbanized center.

The roads in the Mableton area are actually very well organized, and the main roads are well-placed, but you're quite right about the relative lack of centralized organization. Such is the nature of most unincorporated areas.

I wish that the former town of Mableton would re-incorporate again sometime. Maybe at the centennial of its demise (August 17, 2016)?

Of course, when it comes to driving up housing prices, yes, they are all trying to be like Vinings

As long as it continues to positively impact my own properly value in the long term, I'm all for it.

[nrgpill]

Originally Posted by netdragon

Cumberland/Vinings/Smyrna still has more people and office space in about the same area as Sandy Springs.

Nope - you are wrong on this. Perimeter job center is the biggest employment center in the metro area. I can even give you the available sq footage for each job center. I understand the boosterism in all of us but facts are facts. Having said that, there is nothing wrong with Cumberland/Smyning area. I am only calling out on beliefs not backed by numbers. Feel free to PM me if you want numbers

[netdragon]

I was talking about Sandy Springs, not the Central Perimeter Job Center, which lies 2% within the City of Atlanta, 6% in unincorporated Cobb County, 24% in unincorporated DeKalb County (Dunwoody), and 68% in Sandy Springs. That's not just Sandy Springs. I PMed you with more info.

[SSPD53]

The City of Sandy Springs curently has 18,276,826 sqare feet of office space located in the city limits and GROWING. The City of Sandy Springs will see just as much development over the next few years as we are seeing in Buckhead. As the second largest metro city and 6th largest in the State, Sandy Springs is growing by leaps and bounds! The entire metro area is growing fast.

[wxjay]

Originally Posted by SSPD53

As the second largest metro city and 6th largest in the State, Sandy Springs is growing by leaps and bounds! The entire metro area is growing fast.

Roswell has a slightly larger population than Sandy Springs, or at least as of the last estimated census (2006).

[netdragon]

I think all the cities in this list are growing quickly. For instance, Vinings has some additional mixed-use communities and developments going up and so do the areas around it (Smyrna, Cumberland, Mableton, Bolton, etc). Vinings is small, and an interesting mix of high-density luxury townhomes, condos and apartments and very low density homes with a lot of land, and not much in-between. Cumberland (where a developer recently paid $8 million for 3 acres of land) has a lot of planned condo and office development, and Riverwood 200 is a mixed-use community already in progress. Smyrna is fully developed, and nearly finished infrastructure improvements and therefore continually redeveloping either denser neighborhoods by tearing down old neighborhoods and developments, or larger homes over existing lots. Mableton is going through its initial build of higher price homes, much like Smyrna starting over a decade ago. Bolton is having initial infrastructure improvements and some office building and new homes on older lots in Bolton village.

[nrgpill]

Actually, the recent year-to-year population growth has been higher for Sandy Springs. But I am quite okay with the city not being the most dense because we already have a healthy tax base and budget outlook looks good.

Originally Posted by wxjay

Roswell has a slightly larger population than Sandy Springs, or at least as of the last estimated census (2006).

[netdragon]

Keep in mind that if you're comparing population only, Roswell is more of a bedroom community than Sandy Springs and business population is also important as well. I made the 2006 census estimate argument as well, but I believe nrgpill is right that Sandy Springs has a larger ytd estimate. Additionally, with what's going on along Abernathy, and the generally dense developments I see going up in Sandy Springs, I believe it will be larger in population when the next official census happens.

[SSPD53]

Originally Posted by wxjay

Roswell has a slightly larger population than Sandy Springs, or at least as of the last estimated census (2006).

Negative: Sandy Springs is just over 98,000 6th largest City in GA
Roswell is just under 88,000 7th largest City in GA