Snellville Good Bet For the Future? (Lawrenceville, Suwanee: real estate market, apartments, new home)

[wilful]

Wife and I are considering a relocation from Suwanee to Snellville as we are downsizing and found an active adult community with a brand new ranch style home that we are looking for. The price is also in the range we prefer and can't be found in the area or areas we are currently nearby. The community is gated and located north of 78 and about 2 miles east of Scenic Highway, off Ridgedale Road.

In addition, the surrounding area is quiet and suburban. Lastly, the home is in the Grayson school cluster. Since this is a 55+ community schools might not be as big a factor but I have always felt that school clusters do matter.

We are leaning to the new home as we are both retired and want to stay away from costly capital repairs for the immediate future and we also like the features that come with a new build. Our main concern,however, is the Snellville area and whether it will hold up well in terms of future price appreciation and overall livability.

Based on my own due diligence it is my take that while Snellville is not quite as nice as Suwanee and might not perform as well as Suwanee in terms of future appreciation and livability, but I also don't think Snellville will be a bad choice for us.

So would appreciate any insights from those with knowledge of Snellville to help us make a more informed decision, in terms of a possible move to Snellville.

Thanks for any input!

[Tarzanman]

Appreciation? I'd be surprised. Snellville is an exurb with only close/fast access to Lawrenceville. Seeing as how the job market and school quality typically drive the real estate market then you'd have to bank on the schools being excellent and the area being close enough for a commute to major employment centers.

No one can see the future, but looking at the traditional factors that affect home prices, you'd have to hang on to it for quite a while for it to appreciate.

[jeoff]

Originally Posted by Tarzanman

Appreciation? I'd be surprised. Snellville is an exurb with only close/fast access to Lawrenceville. Seeing as how the job market and school quality typically drive the real estate market then you'd have to bank on the schools being excellent and the area being close enough for a commute to major employment centers.

No one can see the future, but looking at the traditional factors that affect home prices, you'd have to hang on to it for quite a while for it to appreciate.

I would not describe Snellville (at least the Brookwood HS school zone part) as an exurb. Once you leave the Intown area, it is one of the top choices for for folks looking for a reasonable commute into the Emory-CDC area. Unless Dekalb County schools have a resurgence, I don’t see that changing any time soon.
That said, I have no idea how the market for over 55 communities works. New stuff doesn’t stay new for long, and the price differences between a lot of new and not new stuff seems kind of crazy to me.

[Born 2 Roll]

Snellville’s Downtown Development Authority has acquired the former U.S. Post Office building on Oak Road, making it the final piece of property needed in what will become the large “The Grove at Towne Center” mixed-use development in Snellville’s planned downtown village area.

City officials said the nearly 40-year-old building, located at the corner of Oak and North roads, will be demolished to make way for 250 multi-family luxury apartments and a 749-space parking deck later this year...

... The Grove at Towne Center will be a large scale, mixed-use town center property, comprising 18 acres between Oak Road, Wisteria Drive, North Road and Clower Street, in downtown Snellville. The Grove at Towne Center’s first phase will include over 50,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, office, and entertainment space, and approximately 250 multi-family luxury apartments.

City of Snellville buys former Post Office building, making way for The Grove at Towne Center development (Gwinnett Daily Post)

[PKCorey]

I still don't see why they approved that carwash on 124 right behind this future complex. Who thought that was a good idea?!?

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by PKCorey

I still don't see why they approved that carwash on 124 right behind this future complex. Who thought that was a good idea?!?

While I personally don’t like how the GA-124 Scenic Highway corridor has been developed and built up over the last several years and past few decades (particularly in terms of permitting/over-permitting tons of development/overdevelopment along and so physically close to a five-lane roadway that the road cannot be expanded to accommodate the increased traffic generated by the overdeveloped corridor), and while I admittedly have not always been a big defender of a Snellville municipal government that has often been notably dysfunctional in the past, I can at least see why the City of Snellville may have permitted the carwash at the site.

That is because the site that new carwash was built on used to be the site of a Chevron gas station/food mart with a drive-through car wash bay in the back.

The site of the new carwash also is located at an intersection (GA-124 Scenic Highway and Oak Road) with 2 existing gas stations (including a small Shell gas station on the southeast corner of the intersection and a larger RaceTrac gas station on the southwest corner of the intersection).

So a car wash seems to be consistent with the development that existed at the site previously and the other development that still exists at that particular intersection.

[ATLTJL]

I wonder if the OP moved.

You don't see too many people getting overly concerned about resale values of the homes they buy to run out the clock.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

I wonder if the OP moved.

You don't see too many people getting overly concerned about resale values of the homes they buy to run out the clock.

I don’t know.

If I had to guess, I might would guess that they probably did not move from Suwanee to Snellville.

Snellville (particularly north of US-78, and especially in the Brookwood High School cluster) is and would be a really good choice for many, if not most people to choose to relocate to.

But when compared to Suwanee (which is more affluent, is close to Lake Lanier, has a town center area that has already been developed and is closer to the mountains), Snellville potentially might seem like a step down for some.

Though I can’t express enough that Snellville generally is and would be a really good choice for most people.

[PKCorey]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

That is because the site that new carwash was built on used to be the site of a Chevron gas station/food mart with a drive-through car wash bay in the back.

The site of the new carwash also is located at an intersection (GA-124 Scenic Highway and Oak Road) with 2 existing gas stations (including a small Shell gas station on the southeast corner of the intersection and a larger RaceTrac gas station on the southwest corner of the intersection).

So a car wash seems to be consistent with the development that existed at the site previously and the other development that still exists at that particular intersection.

I don't recall the Chevron station there (I'll check Google Streetview later).

If you are making a walkable downtown, I don't see how the car wash workers. I would have preferred more greenspace to be adjacent to the small shopping center.

Either way, too late to complain now.

I'm wondering the plans for the abandoned Denny's as well and I wish, they would prohibit left turns from 124 SB to Wisteria Drive as well.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by PKCorey

I don't recall the Chevron station there (I'll check Google Streetview later).

Here is a link to a Google street view shot of the Chevron gas station and car wash that used to be at that location:

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.8603...2!8i6656?hl=en