RECLAIMED NEIGHBORHOODS

Celebrating 20 years of community renewal

By Kathy Dean

Since the first issue of Atlanta INtown hit the streets 20 years ago, the paper has gone through some notable changes. And so have the streets where we deliver those papers.

The last two decades have seen growth and regeneration in many Intown neighborhoods, particularly Downtown, East Atlanta, the Old Fourth Ward, Cabbagetown, West Midtown and Castleberry Hill.

Each community has its own special flavors and textures, and each has seen its renewal play out in specific ways. All these neighborhoods, however, share a similar history that’s led to their current popularity among homebuyers.

And they are popular!

“Well-priced homes in good condition and in good locations often receive multiple offers,” said Anne Miller, associate managing broker, Midtown Office of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices|Georgia Properties. “I suggest that Intown buyers be prequalified by a reputable lender before they begin their home searches. That way they’ll be ready to move quickly with a strong offer and win the deal when they find the right home.”

Miller said that a number of factors have affected the regeneration of communities like East Atlanta and Castleberry Hill, including high gas prices and the stress of fighting rushhour traffic twice a day.

“Intown neighborhoods that gained popularity in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s – Virginia-Highland, Morningside, Peachtree Hills, Garden Hills – have become too pricey for most first or even second-time homebuyers to consider, so these buyers have reached out into surrounding, less ‘gentrified’ areas for more affordable, yet convenient, places to live,” explained Miller.

The neighborhood regenerations have generally been successful. Businesses have opened to serve new residents and are thriving. Area schools have dramatically improved as young parents move into the neighborhoods and take active roles volunteering in and supporting the schools.

As these communities have revitalized, bars, restaurants and shops have opened, increasing the neighborhoods’ walkability and further increasing their popularity. Buyers can live close to galleries, theaters, and music and sports venues. The Atlanta Beltline development, and its proximity to the Intown neighborhoods, has also greatly added to the business and home sale boom in these areas, Miller added.

Melissa Wakamo, broker/owner of Red Robin Group Real Estate said that just like people, each Intown neighborhood has its own personality. When purchasing a home, it’s not just the house, but also the community that a buyer is purchasing, so homebuyers should do their research and work with an agent who understands the neighborhoods.

“Before making a decision, spend a little time shopping, dining or walking in the community,” Wakamo advised.

“Go to a neighborhood association meeting. Get to know a few people in the area and ask them what they like about it. Most buyers can get a really good feel for the community before making a home purchase.”

She pointed out that while the regenerating Intown neighborhoods are attractive to homeowners, it’s important to recognize that some homebuyers have a more pioneering spirit than others. Some people are comfortable in a neighborhood that is revitalizing and feel exhilarated as they watch their community grow.

“Others, however, desire a community that’s a little more stable, where much of the neighborhood’s personality and amenities are already established,” Wakamo said. “I believe one of the most important services that an agent can provide is knowing their client and knowing each neighborhood to find a great fit. It’s sort of like being a matchmaker.”

Bill Adams, president of Adams Realtors in Grant Park, listed reasons Intown communities are so popular, including the impressive housing stock and impossible-to-beat location – in the center of the Atlanta metro area with quick access to the airport and shopping. “But the people are the most interesting and exciting aspect of living here,” he stressed.

Adams was one of the early Atlanta urban pioneers, and he shared what it took to lay the groundwork for the more recent resurgence. “The neighborhood renovations actually began in the late 1960s and early 1970s,” he said. “At that time, people were moving into an area that spanned all the way from where Freedom Parkway is now to where Ga. 400 ends at I-85, including VirginiaHighland and Morningside.”

Residents in those communities came together to actively fight the highways cutting through, he explained, and that activism led to the preservation movement that grew to include Inman Park and Grant Park.

There were lots of obstacles, though. Intown housing was hard to finance since banks wouldn’t loan money to homebuyers in neighborhoods like Grant Park. Adams mentioned a specific savings and loan association that wouldn’t lend money to buyers in Virginia-Highland and surrounding areas, even though two of its top branches were located there.

“We had to work to convince the banks that we were worth their while. They’d written off the Intown neighborhoods,” he said.

Still, many of the homebuyers bought with financing from the sellers or using the “Bank of Mom & Dad.” They’d move in and renovate one room at a time, or they’d run up charges on their credit cards, sell the house, pay off the cards and start all over again. This meant that the renovation of the neighborhoods happened in a piecemeal fashion.

Financing wasn’t the only problem. There were zoning issues, too, especially in Grant Park and Midtown, which were zoned then for apartments.

“Apartments aren’t good for the fabric of those neighborhoods,” Adams said. “The area couldn’t revitalize unless the zoning changed, and in 1975 and 1976, we orchestrated a large rezoning for the area from apartments to family housing –and that laid the groundwork.”

Adams recalled that, in the mid1960s, he saw beautiful two- and threestory grand Victorian houses in Inman Park and Grant Park that were divided up and used as rooming houses. The lawns were patches of dirt and the front porches had six to eight mailboxes, Coke machines and couches with men sleeping on them.

The houses still retained a lot of their charm, though. Adams said, “When a person from the suburbs who grew up in 1950s and 1960s ranches went into these older homes, they saw high ceilings, stained glass windows, huge rooms and potentially beautiful pine floors.”

It’s not surprising that the houses in those sections of Atlanta were very affordable back then. In the last decades of the 20th century, houses in VirginiaHighland were available for around $25,000, and in Grant Park for $5,000. Adams found a nice corner lot with a 1,800-square-foot house that had been boarded up for 10 years, and was able to buy it for $7,500. In comparison, his friends who were buying homes in the suburbs were paying $80,000 to $100,000.

“The Intown homes were fixer-uppers, of course, but they were attractive to the baby boomers largely because of the prices, but also because they weren’t so conformist,” Adams said. “A lot of the boomers grew up in the suburbs and they were tired of all the houses and people looking like one another.”

There were drawbacks to Intown living in the 1970s; the schools were rather poor and there was very little choice in retail or dining. Residents had to drive a while just to buy groceries. While it was challenging, Adams said that the diversity made it a lot of fun.

“On your block, neighbors could include a lawyer, plumber, GSU professor and social worker,” he said. “On Saturday afternoon, everyone would be outside fixing up their houses, and they’d all work together – it was kind of like an old-time barn-raising. I helped neighbors and friends by putting roofs on their homes. It was not only building, it was community building.”

Over the last 20 years, Adams has seen a lot of neighborhoods bloom, from Reynoldstown and Grant Park to the Old

Fourth Ward and Castleberry Hill. It’s mostly singles and young marrieds who move into the areas. In the past, they’d head to the suburbs, like Alpharetta, once they had kids to take advantage of the better school systems.

Now, Morningside and Inman Park boast good elementary and middle schools. Two charter schools have sprung up in Grant Park, and Maynard Jackson High School just had a $30,000,000 renovation. Adams credited activist parents for the changes, and said that the improvements are bringing in even more families.

“Atlanta’s not unique in the urban revitalization movement,” Adams said. “It was happening all over the nation. But it’s a slow process. It happens house-byhouse, neighborhood-by-neighborhood, until it reaches a tipping point. A lot of dedication and hard work went into the neighborhoods to bring them to that point, and there were times we didn’t know if we’d succeed.”

SCAD Takeover

The students in Christopher Bundy’s graduate writing class at Savannah College of Art & Design created all the content for our memorable July 2011 issue. The students worked with the INtown staff for months planning the issue, which also featured the striking cover art by Caleb Morris.