To see the genius of Lowell Wammock, drive around north Atlanta. The developer and his partners are responsible for numerous residential and commercial projects, notably in north DeKalb County.
Their imprint includes Shops of Dunwoody, DunwoodyVillage and re-establishment of the Dunwoody Country Club. Elsewhere, Mr. Wammock built the original Merchant's Walk, an East Cobb commercial node located at the corner of Roswell and Johnson Ferry roads. North Fulton's Horseshoe Bend, which was begun in the early 1970s, overlooks the Chattahoochee River and ranks as a premier neighborhood, also is his creation.
"Horseshoe Bend has matured to one of the most beautiful communities in Atlanta," said Frank Habit, a developer and partner of Mr. Wammock's in Paces Battle Properties. "You see the genius of Lowell Wammock. He took development to a level of nuance that no one else did."
Last Thursday, Samuel Lowell Wammock of Atlanta died from complications of heart failure at St. Joseph's Hospital. He was 76. A memorial service was held Saturday. A.S. Turner & Sons in Decatur handled arrangements.
Mr. Wammock grew up in Decatur and was a 1953 high school graduate. He graduated from Auburn University and embarked on a career in real estate. He became an icon in Atlanta's real estate market, a developer as prominent as Tom Cousins or Charles Frazier.
"He was definitely a pioneer and he had a real eye for quality," said Sam Wammock, a son from Atlanta. "Aesthetics were important to him, and he raised the bar qualitatively in terms of aesthetics and design."
To Mr. Wammock, beauty came in the details. He spent a year touring small Southern towns to capture the architecture for Merchant's Walk. Mr. Habit remembers hour-long debates with Mr. Wammock on what color to use for signs in the Shops of Dunwoody.
For Mr. Wammock, a student of Southern history, it wasn't a simple decision.
"It had to be right," Mr. Habit said. "It wasn't just about the money. Look around Atlanta and you will see commercial and residential projects that were influenced by what Lowell did."
Real estate attorney Ken McCullough considered Mr. Wammock a visionary.
"His original concept for Merchants Walk was 20 years ahead of its time, and it is what Cousins Properties has done successfully with what they call The Avenues, the open-air type malls," Mr. McCullough said. "A number of his properties ended up not being successful economically. He never made a lot of money personally, but his investors came out well."
Mr. Habit said Mr. Wammock was one of the first developers to introduce the Williamsburg style of architecture to Atlanta. He also started the trend of using the clock tower for real estate projects.
"In terms of land use and how real estate works, he was an absolute genius," Mr. Habit said. "He had integrity and he was one of the greats, a salt of the earth guy."
Additional survivors include two grandchildren.
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