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Are Housing Choices Increasing for Metro Atlantans? 
Strolling through West Village.
Atlanta, GA (12/3/2007) - Housing choice for a new home in metro Atlanta once meant your choice of siding, stucco, or brick on the outside of your detached single-family home. Three new developments recognized recently by the Livable Communities Coalition and the Atlanta Regional Commission show how much – and how fast – the meaning of housing choice is changing in metro Atlanta. All three developments are already far along in construction. All were winners earlier this month of Developments of Excellence Awards given by ARC and co-sponsored by the Coalition. If you threw a dart at the center of a map of downtown Atlanta, the tip of the dart might hit the site of Twelve Centennial Park, a hotel and 39-story condominium building adjacent to MARTA's Civic Center rail stop. Proximity to MARTA rail and the effect that it will have on reducing car trips for Twelve residents made Twelve Centennial Park a development of excellence. In wooded, far south Fulton County, the much-acclaimed Serenbe community continues to take shape. Built on the hamlet/conservation-subdivision model, Serenbe's master plan surrounds 175,000 square feet of commercial space, 40 live-work units and 376 other housing units with abundant green space, much of it wooded. Across town, West Village is taking shape near Atlanta Road just north of the I-285 Perimeter. There, residents have their choice of buying single-family homes, town houses, and condominiums. Or they can rent condos and town houses. In either case, the homes are efficiently clustered near shops, parks, a community center and a retail village and town square. Amid the hand-wringing over metro Atlanta's future, the Developments of Excellence Awards celebrate new progressive developments scarcely imaginable a decade ago. They remind us to give Atlanta developers, planners, financiers and home buyers their due. Somehow, in a metro area famous for sprawl and mind-numbing commutes, exciting change is happening. That's key because, while there's no one formula for all developments, the right mix of housing allows people of different incomes, needs, and lifestyles to be part of the same community. Quality growth means housing for everyone. And when the mix is a right, the result is a vibrant community. We've come a long way from the time when the only real question facing an Atlanta area homebuyer was, "Would you like that in stucco, brick, or siding?" - Livable Communities Coalition  |
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