Smyrna, Mableton, Vinings (Atlanta, Woodland, Concord: estate, apartment complex, condos)

[kgurl7900]

What is the difference?? I'm considering locating to this part of town because of its close proximity to downtown and midtown however, I am not sure what the difference or advantages of Smyrna, Mableton, or Vinings. Can someone please break it down for me?

[KevK]

Mableton and parts of Symrna are working class to middle class while Vinings is upper middle class to rich. Vinings has newer and larger housing stock overall although Mableton has a lot of townhouses being built on Hiway 78 near the Chattahoochie which used to be an industrial area.

[spacelord75]

I've lived in an apartment in Vinings and own a townhome in Mableton (actually trying to sell it now). I more or less agree with KevK's assessment - Vinings (true Vinings, anyways, ie, the part inside 285 along Paces) used to be just really expensive homes and some older apartment complexes hidden in the trees....now they are mass developing every possible segment and putting insanely overpriced condos and townhomes there and I cannot even imagine was traffic will be like through Vinings Jubilee once all these projects are done (since it is already kind of bad). I love the area along Woodland Brooke, which intersects with W. Paces Ferry...but these houses are all really expensive.

Smyrna is much more affordable and really, to me, offers a lot of what Vinings would except lower prices and more spread out areas. Smyrna Market Village (basically a fake townsquarish mixed use dev't built by John Wieland) is pretty cool with an Atkins Park Tavern and other restaurants. The problem with Smyrna is that houses got hyper-inflated the last several years and, although it used to be a great commute spot to midtown via backroads, it has gotten really congested with all the townhome/single family cluster home dev'ts everywhere. Just getting over 285 can be a chore from any of the main roads leading into town.

Mableton is very much a diamond in the rough, but for some the rough is just too rough right now (although WAY better than it used to be). The commute into Midtown (I work near Ga. Tech) is phenomenal - a 100% consistent 20-30 minutes guaranteed from my townhome in Providence, which is hard to say around here. There are a lot of new developments going in and the biggest negative to the area, Bankhead Courts, is set to be demolished starting in 2009 per the AJC. Mableton is tough to really define because the zip code reaches from the Chattahoochee all the way over to Floyd Rd. at E-W Connector. Both areas have their own negatives in terms of criminal elements, and the commute from further out is getting longer and longer each passing month with all the high density developments. I personally would have loved to stayed in the area and watch my investment grow, but with a new wife and big dog and stumbling across a great deal in D'woody, I could pass it up.

[kagmypts]

I think that the Smyrna, Vinings, and Mableton disctinction has been broken down very well up above so I am not going to address that. We live in Smyrna (off of Cooper Lake Road), and I would completely avoid that part of Smyrna (and Mableton too since it changes from Smyrna to Mableton right around the corner from where we live). It routinely takes me 25 to 30 minutes to get to Atlanta Road and 285 in the morning (I leave my house around 8). We are only about 1 mile from the East-West Connector, but Cooper Lake backs up so much that it usually takes me about 15 for just that one stretch. I think the Smyrna Market Village area is much nicer than where we live.

[KevK]

One thing about the area- you can find it all the time because of that 1000 foot smoke stack over there (think it belongs to Ga Power?)

[netdragon]

The responses above ignore Smyrna's own sense of identity. Yes, land value is higher in Vinings and it has more mansions, but Smyrna has some high-end areas all by itself that aren't outcroppings of Vinings. Smyrna is being redeveloped with a typical "Main Street" style along King Springs and N. Cooper Lake near Concord Rd and Concord Rd as a central business district. Mableton, on the other hand is generally still either an extension of Vinings (in the South) or E-W connector and roads being re-developed from Smyrna inward (in the North). Mableton lacks its own identity presently since it has a "center" but the center is mostly just big box retail outlets and cheap auto centers "downtown". However, in the long term I think Mableton has as much potential as either Vinings or Smyrna since it has many roads leading from the center and a pretty reasonable commute (almost as good as Vinings and Smyrna). Another thing hurting Mableton are those projects in ATL across the border that are still in the process of being removed. Another thing I believe Mableton can benefit from is Bankhead continuing to be revitalized.

Originally Posted by kagmypts

We are only about 1 mile from the East-West Connector, but Cooper Lake backs up so much that it usually takes me about 15 for just that one stretch. I think the Smyrna Market Village area is much nicer than where we live.

I would consider Cooper Lake nicer in a different way. The Market Village area is more urbanized and shop/live but Cooper Lake has some more attractive homes around it and closer access to the silver comet trail. How are you going? I live in a neighborhood off Camp Highland and it only takes me about 5 minutes to get to Atlanta Rd.

[SmyrnaVinings]

Vinings has always been the more affluent and more expensive area. Everyone wanted to capture the poshness of Vinings, so many neighborhoods in Smyrna and Mableton have Vinings in their name. Vinings, itself, is really a very small area sandwiched between Cobb Parkway, Chattahoochee River, the railroad tracks and Log Cabin Road off of Atlanta Road. Housing certainly isn't cheap in Vinings and while living there is theoretically convenient, traffic really backs up due to Paces Ferry going down to one lane and the railroad crossings.

One attraction to Vinings has been the ability to walk to local shops and restaurants at the Vinings Jubilee. That has since been replicated in the Smyrna area. First with the Market Village, which has spurred a lot of new housing around it. Recently, One Ivy Walk and West Village have taken the concept a step further. West Village in particular offers a variety of housing options. However, in all three cases for these Smyrna developments, there are a lot of other neighborhoods close by in different price points.

I think most people when thinking of Mableton in connection with Smyrna and Vinings are talking more about the northwestern portion of Mableton, which is farther from the more run down industrial area and closer to the East West Connector and the Silver Comet Trail. Vinings Estates is clearly an example of the new Mableton.

In terms of getting to Midtown and Downtown, while the commute certainly has gotten worse, this is still a great area to commute from. You can access from 75 or 285 and 20 or you can go down on Atlanta Road. This is a great way to get in town and a couple big improvements are coming. First, the bridge over the Chattahoochee River which has been a big bottleneck is currently in the process of being replaced and widened. Second will be the bridge on Atlanta Road over I-285. This is also a bottleneck, but is slated to be replaced and widened in 2010.

A great resource to learn more about the area is http://www.smyrnavinings.com

[kagmypts]

Duplicate post.... sorry!

[kagmypts]

Originally Posted by SmyrnaVinings

Vinings Estates is clearly an example of the new Mableton.

I just wanted to add that Vinings Estates is not in Mableton. It is in Smyrna city limits.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by kagmypts

I think that the Smyrna, Vinings, and Mableton disctinction has been broken down very well up above so I am not going to address that. We live in Smyrna (off of Cooper Lake Road), and I would completely avoid that part of Smyrna (and Mableton too since it changes from Smyrna to Mableton right around the corner from where we live). It routinely takes me 25 to 30 minutes to get to Atlanta Road and 285 in the morning (I leave my house around 8). We are only about 1 mile from the East-West Connector, but Cooper Lake backs up so much that it usually takes me about 15 for just that one stretch. I think the Smyrna Market Village area is much nicer than where we live.

Wow. We live south of the E/W Connector on Cooper Lake Roadjust south of the Smyrna border, and I encounter no traffic at all in the morning to speak of either on Cooper Lake or on the Connector/Cumberland Pkwy all the way east to the mall, but I don't leave for work until 9:40 or so. I get to work by 10:00 like clockwork, and my commute is 7.8 miles and 15 minutes.

The commute time is the key. If you can avoid driving at certain times, the traffic is a nonfactor, but there are times around 7am and 8am when it can be rather rough (while being much lighter at times in between).

In your case, why don't you take Cooper Lake to Atlanta Road directly? Or is that worse at that time of the morning?