A Virtual Tour of Downtown Marietta: A North Atlanta Suburb with a Vibrant Main Street Area and a Variety of New Homes

Downtown Marietta, about 20 miles north of Downtown Atlanta, is anchored by a historic main street square and is a hotbed of new residential development.

Recent efforts by the City of Marietta to attract private investment into the Downtown area have been successful - as evidenced by the vibrant Marietta Square, which boasts more than 40 eateries and 70 retail boutiques, and the numerous condo, townhome, and single-family residential projects that have commenced in the past five years.

Most of the new homes offered in Downtown Marietta today are high quality -  featuring attractive architectural style and a high level of interior finish - and available at a deep discount because they were placed on the market at the start of the downturn in the real estate market.   Low priced homes are a result of projects in foreclosure, and some are a result builders trying to move inventory.  For prospective buyers, this temporary downturn in the market creates an opportunity to buy a superior quality home within walking distance of a vibrant, thriving restaurant and retail district.

Marietta Square:  A mix of casual and full-service restaurants, retail boutiques, cultural assets, and civic spaces

[caption id="attachment_151" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Marietta Square - Rail Road Crossing & Depot Museum"][/caption]

Marietta Square (The Strand Theater)

Marietta Square (Courthouse in Background)

Marietta Square (North Park Bistro, Foreground; The Strand, Background)

[caption id="attachment_148" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Marietta Square"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_150" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Marietta Square - Side Street"][/caption]

Downtown Marietta: Numerous new (or newer) construction home options within walking distance of Marietta Square

Newer Construction Townhomes

Downtown Marietta Townhomes

Meeting Park - New construction townhomes, the first phase of a larger new mixed-use community

Meeting Park Townhomes in Downtown Marietta

Meeting Park Townhomes in Downtown Marietta

Manget - A new mixed-use community by Hedgewood featuring EarthCraft homes

Custom EarthCraft Single-Family Home in Manget in Downtown Marietta

Manget New Home Community in Downtown Marietta

Hunter Walk - A new single-family community featuring EarthCraft Style Homes

Craftsman Style Single-Family Home in Hunter Park in Downtown, Marietta

Craftsman Style Single-Family Home in Hunter Park in Downtown, Marietta

For more information on Downtown Marietta Home Options, please click: http://ericamchampion.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/downtownmarietta/

Downtown Marietta: An Opportunity for Deep Discount New Construction Homes in Suburban Atlanta

Downtown Marietta is a north Atlanta Suburb that offers a vibrant downtown district and exceptional values on variety of high-quality new construction homes, both foreclosure and non-foreclosure.

The City of Marietta, located in Cobb County, is situated west of Interstate 75 approximately 20 miles north of Atlanta’s city center.

Since 2003, the City of Marietta has been aggressively implementing redevelopment and investment strategies to revitalize the city.  Downtown Marietta has been one the City’s major successes, as several formerly underutilized parcels have been redeveloped as new home communities offering a broad range of high quality new construction condo, town, and single-family home options for prospective buyers.  The commercial livelihood of Marietta Square has improved as well, with significant historic storefront space renovations increasing the patronage of treasured downtown assets, such as the Strand Theatre, encouraging new businesses to occupy formerly vacant and/ or dilapidated space. Indeed, there are currently more than 25 eating establishments (www.eatonthesquare.com) and 40 retail boutiques (www.shoponthesquare.com) in the Downtown District.

Many of the new residential development projects in Downtown  Marietta delivered homes just as the real estate market began to sour.  Homes originally expected to be priced at $200,000+ range for studio and one bedroom condos in 2005 – 2007 have been substantially readjusted to start at below $150,000, providing opportunities to prospective buyers seeking to purchase a new home within walking distance to Marietta Square at a significant discount. A sampling of deep discount home purchase opportunities include:

• Manget, a new urbanist Hedgewood development, is currently in partial foreclosure.  Custom single-family and condo homes are being offered at $50,000+ below the original list price.  A four bedroom, 4.5 bath custom single-family originally listed at $475,000 just six months ago is now listed at $424,000.  A two bedroom 2.5 bath condo originally priced at $230,000 is now listed at $179,900 just six months later.


• Frasier Park, a new single-family home development on small lots is currently offering new homes below $200,000. One distressed listing (a short sale) offers three bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and  kitchen with cherry cabinets, stainless appliances, and granite countertops for $144,500.


• Hunter Park, a new single-family home community with craftsman-style architecture has a new four bedroom, 3.5 bedroom listing that has been reduced $150,000 from the original listing price to a current list price of $350,000.  A separate four bedroom, 2.5 bath listing has been reduced $85,000 to current list price of $300,000.

Manget Single-Family Home $325,000

[caption id="attachment_133" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Manget Single-Family Foreclosure Home $425,000"][/caption]

Frasier Park Single-Family Short Sale $145,000

[caption id="attachment_135" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Hunters Walk Single-Family Home $350,000"][/caption]

For a virtual tour of Downtown Marietta, including Marietta Square, please click: http://ericamchampion.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/downtownmariettavirtualtour/

Glenwood Park - Green, New Urbanist New Home Community in Atlanta, Georgia

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Glenwood Park was designed as a new urbanist community. For those unfamiliar with the term, new urbanist communities are new developments that establish a place by incorporating the best elements of older urban neighborhoods (see http://www.newurbannews.com/AboutNewUrbanism.html).

Features making Glenwood Park a bastion of new urban design and a truly appealing place to call home for professional urbanites include:

• Sidewalks and connected streets to encourage pedestrian activity, reducing car traffic which, in turn, creates a safer environment with cleaner, healthier air;


• EarthCraft Homes (www.earthcrafthouse.com) with no detail overlooked, all built on smaller lots and featuring front porches to promote social interaction among neighbors;


• A variety of housing types (condos, townhomes, and a wide range of single-family sizes) to attract a diversity of residents relative to life stage (e.g., single, couple without children, young families, empty nesters) and income levels;


• A vibrant town center with a coffee shop, fitness center, restaurants, and other retail boutiques and services that serve as a gathering place for residents;


• Access to a variety of transportation types, including MARTA; and


• Thoughtful and attractive architectural vernacular that blends effortlessly with surrounding neighborhoods comprised of early 20th century bungalows and craftsman-style homes.

The community design and construction is perhaps the best early example of green development in Atlanta. According to developer Green Street Properties, the development’s eco-friendly features have the potential to save the enough energy to power 81 homes! (For more GP’s green features: http://glenwoodpark.com/core/item/page.aspx?s=49678.0.78.6078)

Condos start at $132,000, townhomes start at $430,000 and single-family homes start at $499,000. Limited deal opportunities on short sale and REO listings may exist due to some foreclosure activity at Glenwood Park.

Click on the following link for a visual tour of Glenwood Park: http://ericamchampion.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/glenwoodparkvisualtour

Glenwood Park successfully reinvents the best elements of urban living to create a gem of a green-built new community that you would never know is just minutes – two miles - from downtown Atlanta.

Situated on 28 acres directly off of Interstate 20 east of the Downtown Connector (Interstate 75 & 85) Glenwood Park is the redevelopment of an old concrete plant that will be home to nearly 350 condos, townhomes, and single-family homes at build-out. Since its inception in 2003, it has been the recipient of numerous awards for its environmentally-sensitive features and innovative community design – including a revered Development of the Year award from the Urban Land Institute’s Atlanta District. However, even most Atlantans are unaware of the many appealing qualities that Glenwood Park offers.

Vickery: A Visual Tour of a Traditional Neighborhood Development New Home Community In Forsyth County, a North Atlanta Suburb

Vickery is a Traditional Neighborhood Development in Forsyth County, Georgia, a northern Atlanta suburb  and the fifth fastest growing county in the country. As a traditional neighborhood development, Vickery is pedestrian friendly, boasts a variety of home types (condos, townhomes, cottage homes, and estate homes) with front porches, abundant park space, and a town center totaling 200,000 of restaurants, boutique retailers, professional services, and the flagship YMCA for Forsyth County.

Hedgewood - the builder and developer of Vickery - began constructing homes at the new development in 2002. Hedgewood has built a strong reputation in Atlanta for superior home construction quality, green construction (EarthCraft certified homes), and delivering each home with a unique architectural personality - the anti-cookie-cutter builder. At build-out, homes at Vickery will total approximately 600 units.

Vickery Single-Family Homes:  From quaint cottages to larger estates

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Vickery Large Cottage

Vickery Mid-Sized Home

Vickery Mid-Sized Home

Vickery Estate Home

True to Traditional Neighborhood Development, Vickery's homes are mostly alley-loaded, meaning that the garage is detached from the home and accessed from the rear.

Vickery's Alley-Loaded Homes

Vickery's Alley-Loaded Homes

Vickery Town Center:  Forsyth County YMCA, Professional Offices, Restaurants, and Boutique Retailers

[caption id="attachment_109" align="alignnone" width="224" caption="Vickery Town Center"][/caption]

Vickery Town Center

Vickery Town Center

Vickery's More Rural Location Illustrated by Horse Farm Across the Street

[caption id="attachment_99" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Vickery's Neighbor Across the Street: A Horse Farm"][/caption]

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