Brian Vanderhoff's North Fulton Real Estate Blog

End your search for the perfect Atlanta real estate! Stonecrest Homes has opened two new communities, Cochran Farms and Pine Grove Estates, in the highly touted Roswell High School district with homes available for move-in just in time for the beginning of the school year.

Cochran Farms is a private enclave of just 14 homes located behind Roswell High School and priced in the low $400,000s.

Pine Grove Estates, a community of eight homes, is within a mile of Roswell’s historic square with prices starting in the high $400,000s.

“These two new home communities offer families the opportunity to move into a fabulous home in an area with award-winning schools. Cochran Farms is on a quiet, private street but is close to main thoroughfares and students can walk to Roswell High School. Pine Grove Estates is in one of the most popular areas of Roswell, just a short distance from shopping, dining and other activities in Roswell’s historic downtown area,” said Joe Gary, sales agent with About Sales, Inc.

Both communities offer elegant two-story traditional homes designed for today’s families. The homes have five or six bedrooms and four to four-and-a-half baths, three-car garages and are on 1/3 to ½-acre lots. The homes are three sides brick, stone or shale and have upscale features such as coffered ceilings, 42-inch cultured stone fireplaces, elegant trim details, luxury master suites and gourmet kitchens with walk-in pantries and islands.

Homes ready for move-in at both communities include the Belmont Plan, a five-bedroom, four-bath home with an open floor plan, two-story foyer with an arched opening leading to a study, two-story family room open to the kitchen and breakfast area, formal dining room and large master suite. The Belmont on a slab with nine-foot ceilings on the main level is priced at $420,000 at Cochran Farms. The same plan on a full basement is priced at $503,900 at Pine Grove Estates and includes numerous upgrades including 10-foot ceilings on the main level and 9-foot ceilings on the upper floor, upgraded appliances and a mahogany stained front door.

The Churchill plan, available in both communities, features a chef’s kitchen with a huge walk-in pantry, a two-story family room, a formal dining room, a study, a large master suite with his-and-her walk-in closets and a three-car garage with an extended bay. The home is available at Cochran Farms for $435,900 and is on a slab with nine-foot ceilings on the main floor. At Pine Grove Estates, the home has a full basement and upgrades that include a mahogany stained front door, upgraded appliances, 10-foot ceilings on the main floor and nine-foot ceilings on the upper floor and is priced at $518,900.

The Saratoga plan is the grandest of all. The master suite is on the main level with a huge walk-in closet with his and hers sections. The secondary bedrooms are enormous with large closets. The butler’s pantry is just off the banquet sized dining room. There is a mud room as you enter from the 3 car garage. The Saratoga is available in Pine Grove with 10” ceilings on the main level and 9’ ceilings on the upper level. The plan boasts aver 4,100 square feet and has a full basement to add to its magnificence. The home will be completed in August at an incredible $534,900.

Labels: Cochran Farms, Pine Grove Estates, Roswell, roswell high school, StoneCrest

High school track and field athletes from all over Georgia will be converging on Roswell High School this weekend for the annual Roswell Rotary Relays.

With them will come hordes of family members, coaches and spectators.

“You get to see some quality athletes up close and personal,” said Rotarian Elwyn Gaissert. “Colleges come to do recruiting. It’s a well-known event throughout the state.”

The Relays are “one of the biggest track meets in the state, “Roswell High School Principal Ed Spurka “We have an eight-lane track and that really brings in top-notch kids.”

Staging and managing an event this size is a significant undertaking. For more than a decade, volunteers from Roswell Rotary have been meeting that challenge.

“[The Relays] really began in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s when the Roswell Jaycees held it,” said Gaissert, who grew up in Roswell and ran track at Roswell High. “When the Jaycees disbanded, it fell by the wayside. Then 13 years ago someone from the school came to the Rotary Club and said if we could have some involvement, they thought they could get the event going again.”

For nine of those 13 years, until this year when he became the club’s president elect, Gaissert coordinated volunteers or headed the event committee. This year, although he will still be one of the volunteers, he turned the reins over to Rotarian Bruce Smith.

Volunteer Amateur Athletic Union officials run the events, but Roswell High service club volunteers and Rotarians assist. Roswell High track and field coach Andy Schultz said the Relays have an excellent reputation because of the volunteers’ contributions.

“Overall, it’s a quality meet because of how well it’s been run over the past years,” Schultz said.

It takes 75 to 80 volunteers to manage the event, Gaissert said. “We do announcements, monitor lane changes and baton changes, help run the broad jump, high jump and triple jump, discus and all other field events, and provide water for the athletes,” Gaissert said.

Around a dozen volunteers also man the hospitality suite for coaches, AAU officials and volunteers. Food and drink is provided by Rotarians with connections to restaurants and food and beverage suppliers.

“If you asked some of the coaches, I wouldn’t be surprised if the hospitality suite didn’t help us draw teams because the coaches really like it,” Spurka said with a chuckle.

Rotarians provide the sweat equity needed to hold the meet, but Roswell High School gets the net proceeds from gate receipts and refreshment sales. “The money collected goes back into scholarship dollars for seniors and for some of the projects sponsored by the track and football programs,” Spurka said.

Last year the school realized between $8,000 and $10,000 from the event, the principal said.

Labels: relays, roswell high school, roswell rotary

Don't forget Thursday night's (11/13/08) redistricting meeting - 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Milton High School Milton Center.

Check out this website: http://www.fultonschools.org/redistricting/bham.htm . It gives information about the 1st school redistricting meeting (Round 1) and there is a video explaining the process.

Round Two - November 13th
Staff will present alternative proposals for new attendance zones.
Community members will offer comments on strengths and weaknesses of each plan in facilitated small-group discussions.
Prior to the next community forum, staff will condense the number of attendance zone alternatives based on public input.

Round Three - December 10th
Community members will review and provide input on revised attendance zone draft plans in facilitated small-group discussions.
Staff will use comments to develop a final attendance zone recommendation for Board consideration.

The Fulton County Board of Education will be reviewing the new attendance zone recommendations during their meetings. Final action is planned for February 2009. Changes in the attendance zones will go into effect in August 2009 with the opening of the new elementary school.

Labels: Crabapple Crossing Elementary, fulton county schools, Milton High School, northwestern middle, oxford lakes, Redistricting, roswell high school, summit hill elementary, sweet apple elementary, waterside

The storied Roswell High School varsity football program, currently in transition under a new regime, paid homage to three of its most respected architects before the Campbell game.

The names Tim McFarlin, Ray Manus and Jim Broadway carry a lot of weight in gridiron circles throughout the Peach State. Here in North Fulton, their contributions to the generations of Hornets teams add a special kind of luster to that particular lore.

The ties that bind them – colored in white and green -- are steeped in said tradition.

McFarlin, who stepped down from his post as head coach after last season, led Roswell to a share of the 2006 GHSA Class 5-A championship to cap off his illustrious three-decade long career there. His fellow honorees were on staff for that magical ride and the vaunted class of ’08 that helped power that engine.

Included in that class was Broadway’s son and namesake, who handled the kicking duties for the Hornets. The younger Broadway was one of several ’08 graduates to sign with Division I schools; the elder Broadway was a member of the University of Georgia’s 1980 national championship team.

Manus, perhaps the glue that holds all the aforementioned together, is likely thought of as the godfather of Roswell football coaches.

The stadium where the team fielded this year -- and for generations to come -- plays bears his name. Call it a fitting tribute, much like last Friday night was for both him and his successor-turned colleagues.

Labels: hornets coaches honored, jim broadway, ray manus, roswell high school, tim mcfarlin, varsity football

Show your patriotism by celebrating our Country’s Independence Day in Roswell with entertainment and a breathtaking fireworks display. This year’s July 4th Fireworks Extravaganza will take place at Roswell High School, located on King Road off of SR 92.

Activities begin at 4:30 p.m. with a carnival and inflatables and also include the following performances:

Clark King, Teen Roswell Rocks 2007 Winners at 4:30 p.m.
Wichita at 5:30 p.m.
Big Biscuit Band at 6:30 p.m.
Banks & Shane at 7:30 p.m.
Moby, a popular local radio personality, will emcee the event. At dark, a beautiful 40-minute fireworks display will be the highlight of the evening.

Bring your chairs, blankets and picnics for an old fashion family outing. Concessions will be available from Miller’s Ale House and Restaurant, not to mention cotton candy, snow cones and much more.

This year's sponsors include Regency Centers, Roswell Crossing Shopping Center, North Fulton Regional Hospital, Roswell Rotary, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and the Roswell Neighbor.

For more information, call 770.594.6406. Roswell High School is a drug, alcohol and tobacco free zone.

Labels: City of Roswell, fireworks, july 4th, roswell high school