Where to rent in Atlanta Midtown ? (Reynolds: apartment complex, rental, lofts)

[Chris Bird]

I have done some research on apartments (buy or sell). My situation is that I will need a second home in Atlanta for in general a couple of days a week. I believe this will be the case at least for 2 -3 years. As I will work in the BoA buidling I would like to be in walking distance / Marta distance to avoid having car. Safety and sport opportunities (running, lap swimming, and maybe cycling at the sivlver trail) are important for me to have it close by (did not find a public, LA sports, or YMCA pool in midtown).

I liek the Metropolis, the Biltmore, the Mayfair, and the post Parkside, but I find the rent realtively high 1300, compared to the appartment 1BR prices of around 180k ? Any suggestions, which of the four have the best package (safety, privacy, sport) would be helfpul for me to make a final call. Thanks a lot to everybody in advance.

Chris

[stoddaro]

Hi, I own/live exactly in this area, at a different condo building. I used to work at BoA so I completely understand wanting to walk to work; it was great (except when it rained)!

There's an excellent LA Fitness that my wife uses at 5th and Spring St, just 2 blocks west of Peachtree St.

Here are my thoughts:
Metropolis - modern high-rise, newer units, hip crowd. 2 towers = lots of units/people. Amenities are among the best in terms of workouts. I will say that the fire alarms go off once in a while, often late at night or early morning (3am on Saturdays is typical). I can hear it from my place. But it still seems nice. It's a little over 1 mile to walk to BoA from here.

Biltmore - older but proud historic building; much fewer units/people than Metropolis, but has almost no amenities. If you're away a lot you'll also miss a concierge here because they don't have one.

Mayfair - great location near Piedmont Park. Lots of units/people here. There are 2 towers; the older building has very low ceilings/cramped units and many homeowners are bitter that the 2nd newer tower blocked their views. The 2nd tower is a bit nicer. Note that this is not close (not walking distance) to BoA Tower and not too convenient to Marta.

Post Parkside - if you mean the one at 10th & Piedmont, it has nice spacious units, lots of dogs here, etc. Not sure of amenities as it's an apartment complex vs. condo complex. It's also not close to BoA or MARTA.

You may also want to consider renting at 2 other places within a few blocks of Metropolis - Cornerstone Village and Peachtree Lofts. Cornerstone is closest to BoA and LA Fitness, Peachtree Lofts is only 2 blocks further north but also within walking distance to Publix grocery store.

Here's a good descripton of some of the amenities at Peachtree Lofts:
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/rfs/596165083.html (broken link)

You can likely find a similar list of amenities for Cornerstone Village.

And, as an example, here's of a unit for rent there ($1150) <in the spirit of full disclosure, I own this rental unit at Peachtree Lofts>:
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/apa/588664632.html (broken link)

Good luck, and please let us know what you decide so we can understand the mentality from an "outsider's" perspective.

[noah]

Not sure what all your priorities are but you may want to consider the Windsor over Peachtree as it is right across the street from BOA and has workout facilities, pool and such and rents will probably be more around $1,000 as opposed to the 1300 you mentioned. I live in the neighborhood and wish I was lucky enough to work at BOA or somewhere close by. There is also a new complex called the Reynolds across peachtree from BOA and some condos/apartments (not highrises however) to the east which would be within walking distance. Hope you find what you are looking for.

[lastminutemom]

Be leary of buying right now, if you know you need to sell in a few years. As of a month or two ago, there is a two year supply of condos in Midtown.