Kid-Friendly Living
Randall and Yvonne Dragon decided to leave Atlanta and move to Decatur so their children -- 4-year-old Ava Mary, and 1 ½-year-old Davis -- could attend class in the local school district.
The priority
The couple desired to purchase in a walkable community with top schools and wanted to remain close to Randall’s job at commercial real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle and Yvonne’s job at Georgia State University's Small Business Development Center in downtown Atlanta. They wanted their daughter to be settled in a school system when she started pre-kindergarten in fall 2011.
“Even if you have children under the age of 2 or 3, you have to look at the schools because you will blink and they will be school age. Or if you have one child and are planning on expanding your family, you have to think about that expansion down the road,” said Yvonne, 38.
The search
The couple talked to friends who live in Decatur and have had young children in the school system. “Out of all the people we knew, or people who knew somebody, we never heard any bad comments,” Yvonne said.
Some of the bungalow options in Decatur didn’t offer the space they desired -- at least three bedrooms and more than one bath. As a result, the couple considered townhomes and found new construction in Oakhurst.
The home
A four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath townhome in the Oakhurst Place Townhomes development on Oakview Road in Decatur. “The fact that we have three levels, we can spread out and we’re not cramped,” Yvonne said.
The townhome was new, but some of the features, such as the lighting fixtures and molding, featured the architecture style of an older Decatur home. “The developer did a great job with the finishes and features. It’s modern, but they have Craftsman-style touches throughout the home,” Yvonne said.
As the first buyers, they bought the completed model for $290,000. “We took a risk that the remaining units will not be built out immediately, but the fundamentals of the city of Decatur, with the schools, are good,” said Randall, 36.
The lifestyle
Even before closing on the townhome in May, the couple was impressed with the focus on education while touring the City Schools of Decatur pre-k facility. “The tour, typically, it’s supposed to last 30 minutes. Our tour guide was really nice, and there were a lot of inquisitive mothers in our bunch. Our tour took an hour and a half,” Yvonne said.
The townhome also is across from the City Schools of Decatur’s 4/5 Academy at Fifth Avenue, which opened this fall as the first new school built in Decatur since 1972. The location also provided the pedestrian-friendly setting they were seeking.
The family can walk to the Oakhurst Community Garden and a city pool, and meet up with neighbors and friends at free concerts and events in Oakhurst Village, near Agnes Scott College. The townhome is within walking distance to restaurants such as MoJo Pizza N’ Pub and Universal Joint.
RESOURCES
Oakhurst Place Townhomes
www.oakhurstplacetownhomes.com
City Schools of Decatur
www.csdecatur.net
Oakhurst Neighborhood Association
oakhurstga.org
Oakhurst Community Garden Project
www.oakhurstgarden.org
About the Author
