By Carolyn Crist
For the AJC
For more than two years, John and Ellyn Casazza considered moving from Canton to Marietta to reduce the sometimes hour-long commute to St. Joseph Catholic School, where their daughters, Callie, 11 and Emma, 6, attend. As traffic on I-575 worsened, they began looking for a home.
The priority
The Casazzas moved in 2006 from New York to Atlanta, where Ellyn grew up and wanted her daughters to attend top-performing schools. Although the family enjoyed their Canton golf community, it didn’t make sense for Ellyn, 41, a risk management consultant, to fight traffic on I-575 each morning to reach Buckhead and for John, 48, a technical operations director, to drive to Marietta for work. They wanted to build another new home in a swim and tennis community in the Pope High School district. “Although our community had everything we wanted for the family, we didn’t have the time to enjoy it when we were stuck in the car,” Ellyn said. “We realized that it was important to have time together.”
The search
A family friend told them about Mabry Manor, which has homes from the low $600,000s to $1 million. They checked out the model home, talked to two builders and chose Edward Andrews Homes. The five-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bath home, which has 6,000 square feet and a basement, was finished last summer. “When we built the Canton house, it was not a good experience, but here, they took care of the big things and little things,” Ellyn said. “When you’re spending this kind of money, you appreciate that they go out of their way to help you.”
The home
Ellyn appreciates the extra touches in the home, including the guest bedroom on the main floor, stone fireplace on the back deck, butler’s pantry in the kitchen and built-in bookcases in the living room. The family finished half of the basement to create an exercise room and playroom for the girls, which features souvenirs from their trips to Disney World. They also placed a double cast iron sink from their Canton home in the upstairs laundry room as a reminder of the past. “It was more work than we anticipated to get it out of the old space,” she said. “The girls recorded us taking it out with a car jack, and we all laughed afterward. I think it will become a family heirloom.”
The lifestyle
The Casazzas enjoy being able to swim and play tennis in the neighborhood. They also appreciate the community camaraderie that allows Callie and Emma to make friends before entering public high school. “On July 4, a few families walked to the neighborhood’s open area with swings and benches to shoot fireworks, and by the end of the evening, about 100 people were there with food,” Ellyn said. “It shows you how anxious people are to socialize.”
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