Pencil Factory (Should I rent here)? (Atlanta, Marietta: apartments, rentals, lofts)

[Strawberry1814]

I am out of state, planning a move to Atlanta due to a new job in the downtown area.

I am presently looking at various apartments. Please let me know if the Pencil Factory area is generally good.

The Address is:
349 Decatur Street
Atlanta GA 30312


Specifically, I'm trying to figure out if it's close to shops, eateries, etc and of course (low in crime).

I'm wondering if I should just look at apartments in the midtown area?

Please offer your suggestions, but Note that I'm looking to be within walking distance to the Marta Train (for now).

Thanks!

[reet4587]

Before the recession hit I would have called the area around the Pencil Factory building 'up and coming'. But now I would not go that far -- development around there has stalled. The big plus is that it's next to a MARTA station and you could easily take the train to, say, Decatur where there are shops and restaurants and also to downtown for your job.

There are a few restaurants not too far south of here (Six Feet Under and Ria's are both very popular local places), but it really isn't a great area to be walking around and I get the sense that this is not the best area to live if avoiding crime is a major goal.

You could do better in Midtown if what you want is to live in walking distance to nice places to hang out and be around single folks. Plus, if you lived near, say, the Midtown MARTA station on 10th street you could take that to work downtown.

[gumboula]

Ditto reet's response. Drive by it every day on the way to work. I am afraid it will fail miserably unless it is priced to attract Georgia State students. Either way (failur or student-central), probably not the best place to be right now. That said, new businesses keep popping up on Edgewood, within walking distance from there. But I am afraid it wouldn't be the most pleasant walk.

[mmenomen]

You should look at loft rentals in Castleberry Hill, which is near Marietta Street in downtown where SW starts. A few streets in that area are: Mitchell Street, Peters Street and Walker Street. Castleberry Hill is near enough to Downtown not to be that "iffy" as many of the Lofts are condos. The majority of those addresses are SW Atlanta, but try to stay in 30303 zipcode. You could rent probably from a condo owner. Definitely check the areas / apartments out in person before deciding. Most of the Castleberry area is MARTA accessible (somewhat close to the MARTA - Garnett Station).

There are also apartment rentals just north of there, too on Marietta Street in Downtown, but I don't think that area is Castleberry Hill. Five Points and Peachtree Center are the closest MARTA stations there. GA State University is in that Downtown area, so apartments can be found, but not plentiful.

[JPD]

I just drove by the Pencil Factory Lofts this morning. They look REALLY flimsy. This building is going to look like a rats nest in five years. You could proabbly put a crack in the siding with a soft toss of a tennis ball.

There is active construction going on across the street, so I would expect the area to be more active in coming years, but for now, not so much.

[gumboula]

JPD, you are right! They must have had trouble with financing, because construction seemed to stop for quite a while.

[RZaakir]

I agree that the Pencil factory area probably needs 18 months or so before it is ready for prime time. There are a lot of really cool hang out places in .5 mile proximity to it for pretty much any taste though: Lenny's, 97 Estoria, Corner Tavern, Dynamic Dish, Cafe Circa, Noni's, Cenote (formerly The Bureau), Harlem Bar, Sweet Auburn Bistro, Over Da Edge, Danneman's. The new GSU freshman dorms will probably attract even more stuff.