News Archives -

COVID-19 The Lockdown in Numbers

September 13, 2020 by Thom Abbott

I was cleaning my desk up and found an article I had meant to put into a blog post.

Then I thought, well, it’s still some interesting numbers, so why not still share it. The article was in the July issue of (I think maybe Atlanta Magazine?) and has various stats about what the COVID-19 impacts have been, and The Lockdown in Numbers.

Some interesting points :

Game Downloads and streaming usage increased 35% from March 1 to May 1 (I was certainly online, but it was not gaming!)
A 40% drop in congestion on state roads and our freeways March to May! If you were out and about as I was (although it was pretty minimal in March and April….grocery trips and even those were few and far between as I did some major stocking up when it all “hit” about March 15th) the freeways were more than empty. It was like something from the Walking Dead…..seriously!
The stat that I really liked was the huge increase in the number of fosters and adoptions of four-legged family members. In March, 2019 the number was 233,573…..in March 2020, it was a staggering 792,813!!! It just warms my heart to think of all those animals that found loving homes and families versus what the other future was. And no, I was not one of them…..
And as one can imagine, a 75% reduction in riders on MARTA…I mean, who was going to work?

We are still struggling to get back to “normal” and you have to wonder what that will actually be. To see the airports bustling…hotels filled with vacationers or business people at conventions. It must come soon, right?

City Of Doraville Gets New Residential Sanitation Service

January 29, 2020 by Thom Abbott

City Of Doraville Gets New Residential Sanitation Service

The residents of the City of Doraville will have a major change in their garbage service, beginning February 5, 2020.

In late 2019, the City Council voted to move the city’s garbage collection from Advance Disposal to the Dekalb County Sanitation Division. Cost savings may have not been the determining factor, since the new service will cost City Residents an additional $100 per year for the garbage collection. But, we looked at what is included in the new service, which is aimed at cleaning up the city, especially with regard to bulky items that have often remained on the curb of homes for days or weeks before being picked up.

The new garbage service includes:

Unlimited curbside garbage pickup
Unlimited recycling pickup (subject to restricted items)
Weekly pickup of yard trimmings
Weekly pickup of bulky items…think couches, mattresses, toilets and televisions .. to name a few!

Special collections for items like dead domestic animals, auto tires, construction materials and tree limbs cut by professional companies will require an extra fee, although literature provided to residents did not offer up what those fees may be.

For curbside recycling, the list of what is picked up vs. what is NOT picked up is about equally as long on either side. Stand out items that ARE UNACCEPTABLE include glass, waked paper, aluminum or tin foil, foam rubber or packing material, polystyrene cups and to go trays and more…..

Residents have already been provided a 95-gallon roll cart for household garbage. These are the same size as previous containers, but are numbered and assigned to an address. At a later point, residents will receive a 65-gallon recycling roll cart.

What will prove interesting is the pick-up schedule. The once-a-week collection day is on Wednesday. This means…a single home could have lawn bags, a bulky item, and both their recycling and garbage roll carts at the curb. One presumes it’s going in multiple trucks. One for garbage/bulky items, One for the recycle items and yet another for the lawn debris that should be going to a composting area somewhere in the County. The first service is on Wednesday, February 5th…so we shall see.

You can find all of the information that was included with the delivery packet and the green roll cart here on our website.

Doraville Georgia Newsletter August 9, 2019

August 10, 2019 by Thom Abbott

Doraville Georgia Newsletter August 9, 2019

Doraville is what we like to call the “sleeper cell” in real estate. It’s time is coming, and if you want to capture a part of it now’s the time to do it. You’ll find a link below to reach out to me! Let’s find you a part of the next amazing city to live in!

That all said, we like to keep you up-to-date on happenings in the Doraville area. That’s easier with the Doraville Georgia Newsletter for August 9th, 2019. Here is a recap of what’s enclosed:

August Qualifying Dates for November General and Special Election

This will be a pretty important election in Doraville politics. Joseph Geierman was on the City Council for 1.5 years and decided to step down from that position to run for Mayor. That now opens up BOTH seats from that District for election this year. Not something you see very often. Additionally, there are two other Council Seats up for election.

Redevelopment of Tilly Mill Crossing

If you have lived in or around Doraville, you may know this location more as Friday’s Plaza. Once upon a time it was a bustling shopping center, but voices claim the introduction of the Peachtree Industrial Blvd limited access sent this shopping center to its demise. Maybe it was just bad management…hey Dunwoody is just over the way there. But that is all about to change as 70% or so of the shopping center will be torn down to make way for 30o new apartments!! This is GREAT news for Doraville that has seen no new apartment construction in…..forever! A portion of the shopping center will remain, including the ever popular PawStand. But let’s hope they get creative with the remaining space. This really could be a “mini-destination” with some coffee shop, restaurant and some small local shops. Time will tell.

New Flooring in Fleming Arena

Not much to say here. Not sure how many residents use this facility, but it needed a new floor.

Tilly Mill Sidewalks Complete — Well Part of them

Doraville Public Works completed installing new sidewalks from Harper Vally Drive to Mill Court. You can’t do all of the sidewalks all at once, but good to see the city making progress on this.

There is more in the Newsletter and you can find a copy of it HERE!

Baby Boomers are Not Moving

June 25, 2019 by Thom Abbott

Were you born between 1946 and 1964? Then you are a Baby Boomer and Baby Boomers are Not Moving!

What does that mean? In an article that appeared in Housingwire, and according to the Chicago Tribune, these Baby Boomers are a stick in the spokes of the homeowner cycle. And that clog equals some 1.6 million homes that are NOT coming on the market because they have chosen to “age in place” vs. selling and moving to a retirement community or some other community. As a result, these homes are not coming to market for those first time home buyers that are currently looking in the market. It is a form of housing gridlock if you will.

Baby Boomers Not Moving

In January, Chase released a study which found that 76% of Baby Boomers own their own homes. Some 66% of those homeowners think that home values will soon rise and an even greater 88% of them have renovation plans within the next 3 years! And while Baby Boomers think their home is “just right,” a Millennial might look at an older home as a place to throw money as systems, and more, need updating.

Consider Resale When Remodeling

And as the Boomers make changes to their home, the need to keep resale in mind for the future. You can affect the market appeal of your home with weird changes you make make, to fit your lifestyle. You may be looking at “undoing” some of those changes when you do look to place your home on the market. That wheelchair ramp from the carport, or a retro-fitted bathroom with grab bars may not be quite what today’s buyer is looking for! But hey….if you have historic details…be sure to keep them and not remove! Millennials will get into history and such and overlook the functional issues a home may have.

But you also have to think long term in the upkeep and if you can afford it…or afford someone to clean house and mow the lawn. Sure, you might enjoy it when you are 55, but when you are 65, or even 70 it could be a real challenge. At least at the homes where you have a large yard to take care of, or lots of space to air condition that you don’t really need…or can’t physically take care of.

If you have been thinking about “aging in place” or maybe downsizing to a smaller home or even a condominium, why not give us a call and we’d be happy to sit down with you and talk about some of your options.

StreetLights Residential Proposes 26-story Tower at Juniper and 5th

June 12, 2019 by Thom Abbott

Another corner of Midtown seems to be headed to the winds of change…..StreetLights Residential Proposes 26-story Tower at Juniper and 5th!!

First, to give you your bearings as to where we are talking about, take a look at the map to the right….

There may be one house in the blue square (at the bottom) that may not be part of the site.

This building will rise up some 299 “market-rate” residential units (would this mean a potential change to For Sale inventory would be possible?) over a seven-level parking deck to house some 568 parking spaces. It’s worthy to note that 150 spaces will be assigned to the adjacent St. Mark Church. There will also be a very modest 4,000 sq. ft of retail space.

The project went through the Midtown Alliance’s Midtown Development Review Committee this week. The DRC has some recommendations…

Moving the retail space to the corner of Juniper and 5th to take advantage of the pedestrian traffic along 5th Street
“strengthening the exterior design features” and work with the Atlanta City Design Studio due to the size of the building and the location next to the church.

Here is the initial drawing of the building….(dwarfs the church for sure!)

Currently on the site you will find….

The DRC report indicates the applicant will be back for another review after the above items have been addressed.

Stay tuned!

You can read the Midtown DRC report HERE!

Anthem to take Second Midtown Tower

April 19, 2019 by Thom Abbott

The kinda-giant in health insurance, Anthem, Inc. is going to occupy a bigger part of the Midtown Atlanta office landscape.

Anthem to take Second Midtown Tower

740 West Peachtree is currently under construction for the company, next to the almost complete Coda mixed use development. The addition of 712 West Peachtree and the creation of the Anthem Technology Center mean hundreds of Anthem workers will call Midtown Atlanta home by 2021. The second building is expected to start construction in a few weeks.

In an email quoted in the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Anthem confirmed this expansion:

“We have announced some future changes to our Atlanta-area office locations that will enable us to provide improved worked environments for our employees and enhance our strong collaborative culture, as we focus on creating a better healthcare experience for the communities and customers we serve. We have recently agreed to lease a tower as part of the new Portman Holdings development in Midtown Atlanta at 712 West Peachtree, and plan to consolidate our offices currently in Buckhead and downtown Atlanta to this new location when construction is completed in 2021.”

As stated above, this consolidation of offices in Midtown and Buckhead may, or may not mean additional new people looking to move into Midtown Atlanta to be closer to the new offices. But there are certainly many choices for just that. Just 4 (or so) blocks away, the new conversion, Harper on Piedmont will offer new condominium residences. Headed North from the site you will find buildings like Cornerstone Village, Viewpoint Midtown, Spire and MidCity Lofts. All of these buildings are an easy walk to the new Center. And these are just a few of the many options! The stars on the map below indicate the location of these buildings.

Anthem employees needing to travel are just a couple blocks from the North Avenue MARTA station for easy access to Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The location of the new building to MARTA, would also open up areas like Assembly Doraville and Chamblee with transit access to work.

We look forward to helping Anthem, Inc. employees call Midtown Atlanta HOME! For more information on the living options available in Midtown Atlanta, just contact us at 770.713.1505 or complete the form below!

City Of Doraville Gets New Residential Sanitation Service

Doraville Georgia Newsletter August 9, 2019

August Qualifying Dates for November General and Special Election

Redevelopment of Tilly Mill Crossing

New Flooring in Fleming Arena

Tilly Mill Sidewalks Complete — Well Part of them

Baby Boomers Not Moving

Consider Resale When Remodeling

Anthem to take Second Midtown Tower

PalmerHouse Properties