Intown East Atlanta (east of I-75) (Decatur, Glenwood: insurance, crime, buying a house)

[Figment 07]

I was thinking about the pockets of new Arts & Crafts/Craftsmen bungalow-style homes being built to blend with existing neighborhoods. Some blend better than others.

Hawthorn Park in Kirkwood for example:

http://tinyurl.com/2feh4k

Beautiful houses, started around $320,000 and the development sold out in record speed due to the quality and beauty of the homes, not to mention convenient intown location and mature trees. (I hate to see a clear-cut site, no matter how nice the houses.) You might catch a resale.

Look at Parkhill Commons in the city of Decatur. It's new and within easy walking distance of Decatur's town square ($280s and up) but looks like only a couple of the smallest 2-story houses remain available.

Some are a little larger than pocket developments. If you are willing to venture south of I-20 downtown, you might want to keep an eye on something new I've heard about called The Preserve at East Atlanta ($280 to $360s).

The Preserve East Atlanta is DeKalb’s first “Conservation-Zoned” neighborhood boasting 131 distinctive Craftsman Style homes nestled on 53 acres that includes an unprecedented 18 acres of undisturbed green-space. The Preserve East Atlanta is an exceptional new neighborhood being developed within its own nature preserve, all within grasp of the city. Enjoy hiking along Sugar Creek to discover a new species of wildlife in the afternoon, and still meet your friends for an evening on the town.

thepreserveeastatlanta.com

The Preserve East sounds interesting enough that I'm going out this weekend to take a look. I can't exactly picture my parents there yet, but they don't want a retirement-type community and this is for all ages. If I like how it looks, the plan is to investigate the surroundings and evaluate shopping accessibility and traffic patterns over the next few weeks. If that checks out and my folks also like the development, it's just a matter of reserving a site that accommodates level garage entry to the house.

It’s pretty close to Ormewood Park. How's that gentrification thing coming along?

So what else is new –- but designed to look old (or at least blend with old) in East or Southeast Atlanta at prices between $280,000 and $400,000?

[LLD]

sounds great! Please report back what you find!

[Figment 07]

Will do.

Just out of curiosity, I also want to check out Eastland Woods bungalows (low to mid $300s).

Eastland Woods is not a new subdivision as such but a cluster of new homes amid older homes in an established neighborhood with lots of old growth trees and friendly neighbors, both old and new.

[Figment 07]

Anyone familiar with Summer Creek Park ($300s) near Grant Park?

Worth seeing?

active urban living, best of Atlanta's in-town lifestyle. When completed, Summer Creek Park will consist of just 32 new homes. Currently, the 13 homes of Phase One are ready. Phase Two will soon follow with 19 additional homes.... minutes from Atlanta's Downtown and Midtown districts, 3 miles from Turner Field, walking distance to Atlanta Zoo.

Wish I'd known about it three weeks ago when I was at the zoo. I'd have driven by.

At the corner on Cherokee I noticed a mini police precinct. Why does that always send mixed signals to me?

Like, "Don't worry, we are here to protect you. (Because this place is really not very safe.)"

[jjordan]

Glenwood Park.

glenwoodpark.com

[Figment 07]

That's quite a development, jjordan. Practically a whole new town.

You're right, though. It's a bit steep! Nice, anyway, and I'd like to see it.

[jjordan]

That it is. My parents are in the process of buying a house or a townhouse over there. The whole development is filling in wonderfully and the retail is finally starting to hit its stride. The architecture is authentic and the quality of the homes is top-notch (hence the prices). It doesn't feel generic suburban at all, but like, as you said, a small town with its semi-grid design and central and pocket parks. Even better, when the Beltline gets rolling it will go right in front of Glenwood Park.

[Figment 07]

Originally Posted by LLD

sounds great! Please report back what you find!

Sorry, I have not forgotten this, but I was away for a few days and my visit to The Preserve East Atlanta had to be rescheduled. I'm catching up on work this week, but soon I hope to have something to report here.

[sprtsluvr8]

I think a mini police precinct would be a positive aspect to a community. Instead of indicating a crime problem, to me it indicates extra safety insurance. Whatever the reason is for the precinct locating there, I would like it in my area.

[LLD]

No worries Figment. I was actually looking at this thread this week and I checked out several of the neighborhoods (online that is) you mentioned. Glenwood Park looks great but out of my price range I think. Also I want a one story house. It is just so much easier not to have to go up and down stairs constantly or to haul the laundry up and down etc.

I saw an advertisement in the AJC yesterday for a builder that is doing several in town neighborhoods. Sometimes 8-10 houses, sometimes 100 houses. I think it was Brock Builders or something like that. And they advertises from $200K to $600K. I can't believe I didn't save the link!

I was also reading about these two women in Kirkwood that remodeled their own house, then decided to go in the remodeling business. The story was great. They use reclaimed materials and try to maintain all the historic and architectural features and will refuse a job if the owners want to get rid of architecutural stuff and make something modern. Something in Kirkwood is at the top of my list right now. I also like Candler Park. But if there are new intown neighborhoods or additions to existing intown neighborhoods I'm going to look at those too. Seems to be a real revival of Craftsmman style going on.