Twelve Centennial Park (rentals, condos, how much)

[electricmayhem]

Hi, all,

I know there's a lot of condo talk on here. We recently viewed condos at Twelve CP and really liked them. Anyone have any recent feedback, advice or experience on the building, location, HOA, or anything else?

We're not so worried about the property as an investment; it's more about the lifestyle and location.

Thanks!

[BobKovacs]

Good thing you're not looking at them as an investment...lol

I work a block from TCP, and it wouldn't be my first choice unless you're willing to wait 5+ years for all of the area amenities to be built. The idea of intown living is to have convenient access to everything you need, so you don't need to drive everywhere, yet there's not a supermarket, drug store, or many other amenities withing walking distance of TCP, and the area is pretty much a ghost town outside of M-F business hours. Sure, you can always walk over to Peachtree Center, but even that's pretty vacant on the off hours.

[reet4587]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

...there's not a supermarket, drug store, or many other amenities withing walking distance of TCP

Ditto what Bob said about the lack of a grocery store/drug store in the area. I know this aspect of the area would keep me from living here versus where I do in Midtown. I really hope someone puts a grocery store in this spot soon.

However -- I will note that this building is right beside the Civic Center MARTA station and that can be taken a few stops north to get to the Publix near the Midtown MARTA station. So if you're a train-transit kinda person, that would not be too bad of a scenario.

I disagree with Bob about the area being a ghost town after 5pm M-F. This certainly used to be true, but it is much less so now. I spend one weekday evening each week in this area for a downtown photo stroll and dinner and I have really enjoyed seeing the increase in activity -- mostly due to the restaurants around here. Social, Max Lager, Mellow Mushroom, FAB and other restaurants (plus the bar at the W) have helped take much of the ghost-town feel away from this area at night. It's still not a level of night time activity like you would find in Midtown, but it's improving nicely.

[Mishap]

I hung out down there for lunch at Mellow Mushroom (why no lunch specials?) after trying to visit the IRS next door. It seems a nice enough area but there is only moderate foot traffic and I now how hard it can be for restaurants to keep business given how much rent is.

The building is pretty cheap now (1bdr's at 150k) and I briefly considered renting there but it was too far from GT to make it worthwhile. Two of my former coworkers bought 2 1bdr units as rentals at 240-250k each and they've had a rough time keeping them rented especially given how cheap they've gotten. I wound up renting and then buying in Midtown since it's a little more proven and a better fit for my needs.

[ATLHRLGUY]

I agree with all the comments. Until Allen Plaza ( Allen Plaza )is up and going the area will pretty much remain the same.

[J2rescue]

Originally Posted by reet4587

Ditto what Bob said about the lack of a grocery store/drug store in the area. I know this aspect of the area would keep me from living here versus where I do in Midtown. I really hope someone puts a grocery store in this spot soon.

However -- I will note that this building is right beside the Civic Center MARTA station and that can be taken a few stops north to get to the Publix near the Midtown MARTA station. So if you're a train-transit kinda person, that would not be too bad of a scenario.

I disagree with Bob about the area being a ghost town after 5pm M-F. This certainly used to be true, but it is much less so now. I spend one weekday evening each week in this area for a downtown photo stroll and dinner and I have really enjoyed seeing the increase in activity -- mostly due to the restaurants around here. Social, Max Lager, Mellow Mushroom, FAB and other restaurants (plus the bar at the W) have helped take much of the ghost-town feel away from this area at night. It's still not a level of night time activity like you would find in Midtown, but it's improving nicely.

I would even say that the Piedmont Publix (and Walgreens) IS within walking distance. It wouldn't be a very pleasant walk but it is about a ten minute walk. I know people that occasionally walk to the Midtown Publix from Downtown. You're right though, having the Marta station a few steps away essentially puts a lot more within walking distance.

[electricmayhem]

Great advice, everyone. I was thinking of using the Civic Center MARTA Station to go up to the Midtown Publix. I sure which we could get an express market in the area, like Tesco Express (I heard these are coming to the US). I wonder if there are any of those sundries shops that sometimes have fruit or other grocery products nearby--I see a lot of these down towards Fairlie Poplar.

I do like how close it is to Centennial Park, which I really like to stroll around. A quick walk over there takes you to other eating establishments as well (like Stats). The other midtown condos up towards Piedmont Park get steadily more expensive as you get closer. We checked out Viewpoint yesterday, and it was quite nice and smack in the middle of midtown, but the price was about 40K up from TCP. A lot of factors to weigh!

[tonygeorgia]

area is nice, especially in 3+ years once Allen Plaza is built out


Allen Plaza

[reet4587]

Originally Posted by electricmayhem

The other midtown condos up towards Piedmont Park get steadily more expensive as you get closer. We checked out Viewpoint yesterday, and it was quite nice and smack in the middle of midtown, but the price was about 40K up from TCP. A lot of factors to weigh!

Good luck with your decision. My wife and I are looking to move out of our Midtown rental and buy a condo and I'm also weighing Midtown (Peachtree corridor, where we now live) vs. this same Downtown area. I agree about the prices -- I've definitely found better deals listed downtown.

It's a nice walk in the evening from Ivan Allen Blvd area to Centennial Park, and the park is really beautiful at night. There are occasional panhandlers as you see in any big city, but I've always felt safe in central downtown.

As of now there are no convenience stores like you mention near Twelve that I know of. I hope that changes soon. The closest one I can think of is not particularly nearby -- it's at the corner of Luckie and Cone in Fairlie Poplar (probably the same one you've seen).

[electricmayhem]

I was thinking that SunTrust Plaza is nearby, and there is a lot of stuff there, too: SunTrust Plaza (http://www.suntrustplaza.com/Frames/Framesets/SP_Frameset.html - broken link). I'm curious what are in the Tower shops...