Resurgence of Neighborhoods

[Andrea]

Many of Atlanta's older neighborhoods on the north and northeast side of town have remained solid through the last century or so. Brookhaven, Ridgedale, Buckhead, Peachtree Heights, Garden Hills, Tuxedo Park, Haynes Manor, Brookwood Hills, Morningside, Ansley, etc., have been pretty steady. VA-Highland, St. Charles, Candler Park, Poncey-Highland, and even parts of Druid Hills had some rough spots but they recovered and were thriving again by the 70's. Grant Park, Midtown, Cascade Heights and Inman Park had their battles, but now they are again among the city's crown jewels.

Some of the hardest hit areas, however, are now coming back as well. Many of these are on the south side of town, although many neighborhoods in northwest Atlanta got hammered, too. I'm personally really excited about this. The housing stock, the patterns of subdivision, the transportation corridors and public areas in many of these districts are absolutely terrific. As I've said before, I don't think Atlanta can afford to leave any of its neighborhoods behind and I am increasingly optimistic that we won't.

So what do y'all see happening in areas like Mechanicsville, Bedford-Pine, Howell Station, Cabbage Town, Adair Park, Vine City, Reynoldstown, Kirkwood, Capitol View, Oakhurst, Grady Homes, Sylvan Hills, etc? I feel a new sense of vibrancy. In many of these areas, a great deal has already been done and there's hardly a vacant lot anywhere that isn't under construction.

What's up and coming in your view? What's the next hot area? How will projects like the Beltline affect these neighborhoods? What do you think about the impact of gentrification? What about the schools and parks?

[Lady Celeste]

I would say definitely the Bolton Rd/Holloway Pkwy area is going to become a hot market. I'm surprised that Vine City has not quite become the new "Grant Park." I definitely feel that it's location will eventually be discovered in earnest and it will take off.

[teshadoh]

South of downtown is already starting to blossom - Capital Park, Adair Park, Pittsburgh, so those are pretty sure bets. And this is really an incredible thing - for the past 20 years Grant Park was considered a bit of an anamoly for being a gentrified neighborhood so far south, now it's surrounded by gentrified / ing neighborhoods, as Summer Hill isn't the slum it was 10 years ago. So the south is rising again - West End is relatively stable - now the new center for the Black intelligentsia with the colleges nearby. Cascade area will only improve more & become a 'Black' Virginia Highlands / Morningside with shops & etc. The west side is the big questionmark, but with houses so cheap directly surrounding a massive new park & the Beltline - don't expect it to last long. In 10 years I think we'll be hearing English Avenue & Vine City as being the new top neighborhoods.

[Martinman]

This is something that I am very happy about and I was compiling a list of SOME of the many projects in the intown neighborhoods. Of course there are many that don't have slick websites and fancy renderings and the most common redevelopment is the single family home.

As for the westside, I think its almost a total blank slate so it can develop in a lot of ways. Given the industrial nature of the area I think there will likely be a greater concentration of lowrise-midrise mutlifamily residential than there is on the eastside.

[Andrea]

As for the westside, I think its almost a total blank slate so it can develop in a lot of ways. Given the industrial nature of the area I think there will likely be a greater concentration of lowrise-midrise mutlifamily residential than there is on the eastside.

Martinman, not to quibble but I don't think the west side is a total blank slate. There are already the older neighborhoods, like Whittier Mill Village, Scott's Crossing and Underwood Hills. Plus a number of developers (Brock Built, etc.) have been building new subdivisions around there like crazy for several years. I've heard that other big players snagged sizeable chunks of land out that way some years ago as well.

There's definitely more developable land in that part of town and the opportunity exists to do some very cool things. It's already a happening area and I believe there will much more going on in the near future.

[Martinman]

Martinman, not to quibble but I don't think the west side is a total blank slate. There are already the older neighborhoods, like Whittier Mill Village, Scott's Crossing and Underwood Hills. Plus a number of developers (Brock Built, etc.) have been building new subdivisions around there like crazy for several years. I've heard that other big players snagged sizeable chunks of land out that way some years ago as well.

There's definitely more developable land in that part of town and the opportunity exists to do some very cool things. It's already a happening area and I believe there will much more going on in the near future.

Well I did say almost. I've never heard of any of those neighborhoods but my knowledge of historical Atlanta neighborhoods is admittedly lacking. I was recently looking at one of the Brock Built neighborhoods and the area adjacent to it is wide open fields. For me its hard to believe this is in still Atlanta and so close to the city core.

I'm curious about the Bolton road area where there are what looks like old retail buildings. Is this one of those neighborhoods? I really like this area.

[Andrea]

Well I did say almost. I've never heard of any of those neighborhoods but my knowledge of historical Atlanta neighborhoods is admittedly lacking. I was recently looking at one of the Brock Built neighborhoods and the area adjacent to it is wide open fields. For me its hard to believe this is in still Atlanta and so close to the city core.

I'm curious about the Bolton road area where there are what looks like old retail buildings. Is this one of those neighborhoods? I really like this area.

Yeah, the Bolton area goes pretty far back. I don't know that much about it either but I do know there were lots of very mature (to put it kindly) neighborhoods there back in the 1960's, so I'm assuming it predates that by many decades. There were undoubtedly other ferries south of Pace's Ferry back in earlier days, as well as mills and mill villages. You've still got Whittier Mill Village, for instance, which goes back to the 1800's and was housing for the Whittier Cotton Mill. Big places like Chattahoochee Brick are still very much in business, of course, and there's also the giant Georgia Power plant which seems to have been under construction my entire life. You still see farmhouses scattered about in that area, too.

I imagine the big fields you were looking at are where Perry Homes was until recently. It was one of Atlanta's more notorious housing projects. Back in the Hartsfield/Allen era there was pressure to create new housing for blacks, but the powers that be didn't want to put it in town so they moved the housing projects out that way.

About five years ago the City got a grant to tear down Perry Homes -- which they did, leaving those big open fields that are currently being redeveloped. It's problematical because although Perry Homes had become a very rundown area and probably needed to be demolished, it's not exactly clear how the people who were living there are going to afford the $400,000 Brock Builts which are replacing them.

You might find this interesting, too...Bolton Village Center.

[teshadoh]

Oddly enough that the Riverside / Chattahoochee / Bolton mill village area was the intended site for Atlanta after Decatur nixed the idea of becoming a rail hub. I forgot why it wasn't picked, which then was the only inhabited location with Peachtree Fort, but it may have had something to do with the future West Point railraod & the ridge being a better location to build.