Anyone who has been tormented by Atlanta’s traffic may have wished for the option of ditching the car, if at least for the evening or weekend. Yet the metro area’s sprawl often means going for a gallon of milk or out to a movie means getting back behind the wheel.
The dependency on vehicles that sprawl has created is a habit many homebuyers are looking to break, even if it’s for some part of their day. The ability to walk to dinner, stroll to a coffee house or hike to the grocery store is gaining favor and bringing newcomers to many of the area’s small town centers.
Case in point: the historic downtown of Alpharetta. The North Fulton city has worked to create a destination district of restaurants, shops and services that has drawn developers ready to build homes for buyers who want to be close by. The Providence Group is making that happen with several new-home projects of townhouses and single-family residences. At its East of Main project, 83 new houses from the $500,000s are drawing buyers ready to scale back not just on size, but on time spent in the car.
“The majority of our buyers lived in big homes and in country-club settings, but they love the idea of having a low-maintenance community where they can walk over to downtown Alpharetta or even over to Avalon if they wanted,” said Kelly Fink, The Providence Group’s vice president of marketing. “They’re also close to the farmers market and the Publix on Haynes Bridge Road, and we’re just a block down Academy Street from Alpharetta’s historic center, so it’s an easy walk to great restaurants and shops.”
The mix of single-family designs, three townhouses and courtyard homes, including some that face Academy Street, is built around an historic home that the company renovated as a sales center. After the project is completed, Fink sees the house remaining as part of the community. Meanwhile, The Providence Group is also working on new homes nearby at Chelsea Walk, 49 townhouses a half mile from Avalon and its array of restaurants and retail shops; single-family homes at the Rowes on Haynes Bridge Road; and townhouse projects near downtown Decatur and Woodstock. In all four cases, the company has zeroed in on infill lots to link to a town center.
“We know this is a lifestyle people want; the majority of them don’t want to sit in their cars any more than they have to,” said Fink. “If we see there’s land available that provides that lifestyle, we’re interested.”
Dina Gundersen, director of marketing for Monte Hewett Homes, sees the same buyers driving projects around the metro area. “Walkability is one of the first things we look at; it’s a big deal,” she said.
Hewett’s Oak Crossing and The Park at Historic Roswell just two examples. Both are going up within walking distance of Roswell’s downtown district that stretches from the square on Atlanta Street up to the city hall on Hill Street and takes in the restaurants and shops along Mimosa Boulevard and Canton Street.
“These developments bookend downtown Roswell and offer access to all the activities going on there,” said Gundersen. “Anyone who’s been to the city’s restaurant district will be happy to know they don’t have to worry about parking – they can just walk.
While many trend experts say the push toward walkable communities is due to millennial buyers who want alternative transportation options, older buyers can also share some of the credit.
“The age range is wider than you’d think,” said Gundersen. “We are seeing a lot of move-down interest, but it this lifestyle also appeals to people who still have kids. They just want to be in a place that doesn’t require their driving everywhere. It’s not that they want to get rid of the car entirely, but it’s nice to be able to park it for the weekend.”
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