Brian Vanderhoff's North Fulton Real Estate Blog

Last week Roswell Mayor Jere Wood informed council members he had vetoed the May 11 vote to allow a rezoning of 30 townhouses on Hardscrabble Road.

The 30 townhouses were part of a more comprehensive project that involved 20.5 acres on the northwest corner of the Ga. 92 Highway-Hardscrabble Road intersection. The project received a 5-1 approval at the May 11 meeting.

Coro Development LLC, the applicant in the rezoning, asked at Monday night's meeting and was granted a deferral until Monday, June 29, to give the company the chance to work out a compromise with the Brookfield West community.

At the May 11 meeting, only one representative from Brookfield West attended to voice the community's opposition to the project. This week, around 70 were in attendance.

Wood, who opposed the rezoning but as mayor has no vote except in a tie, said the Parkway Village zoning overlay that governs development along Ga. 92 in Roswell requires no transitional housing between commercial development and the residential areas behind it. Instead the overlay requires a 175-foot buffer.

"This does away with the buffer. Instead we gave [Coro] transitional housing, which I think is a big mistake. It is a fundamental change to the Parkway Village concept," Wood said.

The veto can be overridden by a simple majority of four votes on the seven-member council. Or the council can simply fail to act and the veto will stand with no action taken.

The Brookfield residents object to the 30 townhouses that would be built on the north end of the project along Hardscrabble Road. The 20.5-acre tract is one of the last undeveloped, big corner lots on Ga. 92 in the city.

Brookfield West, the golf-tennis community with homes valued from $300,000 to $1 million, underwent an $8 million renovation in 2001, and residents say they want to protect their property values.

The community has opposed the townhouse portion of the Coro project, saying single-family homes are what are called for.

Wood also opposed the rezoning of the townhouses, saying it broke the Parkway Village zoning overlay for Ga. 92 initiated 14 years ago when the road was widened to six lanes. In it, the city called for assemblages of parcels with a minimum of 7 acres to develop large tracts and require a 175-foot buffer to protect the residential population behind it.

But the developer argued that a private lake and stream on the property make the project unique and in need of special consideration.

The plan that was approved rezoned the 6.8 acres for townhouses to provide buffering for the project because of those water features.

Labels: brookfield west, Georgia, Hwy 92, mayor jere wood, roswell mayor, townhomes, vetoes coro project

One of the last big, corner lots on Ga. 92 will go forward with development after the Roswell City Council approved a plan that places just 20 percent of the land on impervious surfaces.

The 20.5-acre tract on the northeast corner of Ga. 92 and Hardscrabble Road faced some opposition due to the 30 townhomes approved on 6.8 acres on the north side of the project. Coro Development LLC argued successfully that in the changing real estate market, single-family homes — especially upscale homes in the $1 million range — can no longer sell next to retail and office development.

Other townhouse properties nearby had higher home density per acre than Coro asked. The townhouses will sell at a price point somewhere in the high $400,000s to low $500,000s.

The project had gone through several evolutions and several owners. A private lake on the property caused some development problems — as did a creek — and rendered half the property unusable. On the northwest corner is a Target shopping center that generates a lot of traffic.

The plan calls for 43,000 square feet of office and retail along Ga. 92. Turning up Hardscrabble, an 80,000-square-foot assisted living community with 100 units is planned, followed by the townhouses.

Those townhouses were the main sticking point. The rezoning to allow the 30 townhouses had a recommendation for denial by staff, and the Planning Commission also recommended denying them as first presented for 48 units.

Michael Gould, representing the Brookfield West Civic Affairs Committee, spoke for the residents who did not want townhouses.

"The plan looks good on paper, but the residents of Brookfield West believe the best way to preserve the neighborhood look of Hardscrabble is keep single-family homes on the street," Gould said.

Mayor Jere Wood and Councilman Kent Igleheart agreed. They both supported denial of the townhouses.

"The Parkway Village zoning overlay was created with 175 feet of buffer between the commercial development and the residential behind it. That has worked well for the last 14 or 15 years. I don't see any reason to change it. I think it's a big mistake," Wood said.

But the council evidently thought the plusses outweighed the minuses in the case of this difficult piece of property. It is a high-end development with a company, Coro, that is well-thought of in the development community.

And as one observer put it, "They aren't likely to see a better plan at such a density."

Coro will have to provide a 360-foot median on Hardscrabble to deter left-turns into and out of the Target. However, Coro will receive a tax credit for three-fourths of the cost of building it, the need for the median was deemed a "system improvement."

System improvements are either made by the city or borne by all of the developers in the area affected. Project improvements such as turn lanes and traffic signals are usually paid by the developer.

In other business, the City Council allowed the deferral of a 140-foot cell tower application at 10930 Crabapple Road. The City deferred the application a second time to June 8. The mayor said the deferral was to allow the applicant more time to find another location.

Labels: development, Hardscrabble Road, Hwy 92, Roswell, townhomes

Roswell city officials agreed Monday to distribute $100,000 in federal funds to Habitat for Humanity, allowing the non-profit organization to purchase a townhouse and make it available to a deserving family.

The money will come from the federal department of Housing and Urban Development, through Fulton County.

The property under contract is at 243 Mill Creek Place, in a townhome community off Holcomb Bridge Road. The closing is scheduled for Dec. 15, said Russell Hayes, chief executive officer of Habitat’s North Central Georgia chapter.

The organization also hopes to acquire a home this year on Teal Court in the Martin’s Landing neighborhood, to make available as an affordable rental, Hayes said. The Roswell City Council is expected to consider contributing $100,000 for that property in its meeting next week.

Labels: habitat for humanity, hud, martins landing, Roswell, townhomes

Four more families got to work on their dreams Saturday, hitting the "first nails" of their new homes being built by volunteers with Habitat for Humanity.

Each family must pay back a mortgage on their home, and put in 300 hours of "sweat equity" into Habitat builds, including 100 hours on their own homes.

Seven members of the Franklin family share a two-bedroom apartment in Alpharetta, but in November they should be able to move into their own townhome at Centennial Village in Milton. Anthony, a security officer in metro Atlanta, shares the apartment with his wife, Soila, and five children. The oldest children attend Centennial High, with another brother and sister attending River Eves Elementary. The youngest child is a toddler.

When not grocery shopping, playing card games and bingo or watching television, the family enjoys worshipping together.

Next door to the Farnklins will be the Petit family, another couple who share their home with five children. Husband and father Darren Petit works in a glass company's warehouse, while mother Tykeesha works at Sweet Apple Elementary School. The children range from daycare to high school, attending North Springs High, Dunwoody Springs Elementary and daycare at the North Fulton Child Development Center in Roswell.

The family attends church at Sharon Community Church in Sandy Springs. The Petits say they look forward to moving out of an unsafe neighborhood into their new home.

Kim Gilmore left an abusive situation to raise her four children in safety. Like all the Habitat parents, she said the reason she applied for a Habitat home was to provide a better life for her children. A customer service representative in Alpharetta, she has one son in college, one at Norcross High, one in Summour Middle School and the youngest in school at Stripling Elementary. The new home will cut her commute time from Norcross. Her commitment includes volunteering for 300 hours, including 200 hours working on other Habitat homes.

Mold, rodents and unruly neighbors make the Bouanani family's one-bedroom Sandy Springs apartment unbearable. That makes being approved for a Habitat home all the better for the family of four –Kahlid, Ikram and their 6-year-old and 2-month-old sons. Khalid works at a local Publix Super Market. Their eldest son attends Sandy Springs Elementary School.

Labels: city of milton, Georgia, habitate for humanity, townhomes

Brand new foreclosure listed in the Spring Valley neighborhood, located in Alpharetta. Great townhome with 4 bedrooms and 3 full baths, family room with marble fireplace, open kitchen with bar overlooks family room. Kitchen also open to a private outdoor patio area. Single car garage as well. This home is priced at $145,000 and you can view pictures of this property in our Featured Listings section. If you want to schedule a time to view this home please give us a call at (770) 331-1206.

Labels: Alpharetta, foreclosure, spring valley, spring view court, townhomes

In its most simple form, the process of buying a home is little more than a series of decisions--a sort of Real Estate "what, where, when and how." One of the first decisions (and usually one of the easiest) is the "what." Housing falls into several different categories, most notably: Single family homes, townhouses, or condominiums. Each brings its own set of advantages and disadvantages. One type may be much better suited to your budget and lifestyle than another. Depending on your location, you may find more choices of one particular type of home than others.

Single Family Homes
Your ownership includes the house and extends to the limits of the property lines.
By far the most common form of housing in North America is the single family detached home--ranging from 600 square foot bungalows to 6000 (or more) square foot sprawling mansions. The most important distinguishing factors that determine a single family dwelling are that it sits on its own piece of land (which is sold part and parcel with the home) and it is not attached to anyone else's residence. With single family homes, your home pretty much is your castle. Subject to neighborhood and subdivision regulations and ordinances, you can do with it as you wish. Want a different exterior color? Usually you can accomplish that (taking into account the fact that the neighbors may not be receptive to a purple house with ecru trim). Need more room and want to add on? Subject to the codes of your jurisdiction, you may be able to expand your living space.

You will probably have a yard of some sort--from "postage stamp" size up through multiple acres, and your ownership will include all of it. In effect, when you buy a single family home your purchase will be of a parcel of land (your lot) on which sits a structure (your house).

Townhouses
Your ownership includes the lot on which your house sits as well as the entire structure. Townhouses often can make an excellent "middle ground" between a detached single family home and a full fledged condominium because, to some degree, they offer attributes of both.

For purposes of definition, we will describe a townhouse as a home that is attached to one or more other houses, but which sits directly on a parcel of land that you also own (if you don't own the land, it is a condominium). For this discussion, townhouses can ranges from duplexes and triplexes all the way through huge townhouse communities consisting of hundreds of similar homes.

There is a good degree of variance in the way townhouse communities are structured. It may be a simple agreement (as is often the case of duplexes and triplexes) that each parcel of land and the home that sits on it is separately owned. In the case of larger townhouse communities, you will generally have an additional shared ownership in the common areas of the complex as well as any amenities such as swimming pools, park areas, etc. This ownership you will share jointly with all other townhouse owners in the complex.

In any townhouse purchase that involves an Homeowners' Association, it is vitally important to get as much information as you can, since the association can have a considerable impact on your ownership experience!

Condominiums
Your ownership is limited to a single unit and a shared interest in of all of the common areas.
The easiest way to understand the concept of condominium ownership is to see at as an apartment you own (in fact, many condominiums are apartments that have been converted over the years). Your ownership extends inward from your interior walls, floors and ceilings. In addition, you are a partner, with all of the other owners in the complex, of the exterior structure (the foundation, exterior walls and roof) as well as any common areas and amenities (for example, swimming pools, clubhouses, tennis courts, play areas, etc.)

One of the requirements of condominium ownership is the payment of a monthly condo fee, which covers general repairs and maintenance to the common areas of the complex as well as (hopefully) build up a cash reserve for future needs. In general, all exterior maintenance and repairs are the responsibility of the condominium association, although you will be charged for them, either through your association dues or a special assessment (a one time charge assessed to all owners for, as an example, a new roof). The normal day-to-day maintenance of the grounds (some examples are cutting the grass, shoveling snow and maintaining the pool) are also the responsibility of the association. Interior maintenance and repairs (for example, replacing a dishwasher) are the responsibility of the individual owner.

In some areas, a condominium may be the only consideration that fits within your budget. The reason for this is simple. In general, the same square footage will cost less in a condo setting than it will in a single family home or townhouse, due mainly to land cost--you can build many more condos than you can single family homes on the same amount of land.

Labels: Alpharetta, condos, Cumming, Fulton County, milton, Roswell, single family, townhomes, types of homes, Woodstock