Sandy Springs and Roswell Road (Atlanta, Dunwoody: low income, apartments, renters)

[10 feet tall]

I will be relocating to Atlanta soon and last weekend my wife and I were down in ATL looking at potential home options. We looked at a very nice neighborhood called Huntcliff and liked a house there, but there is a road that runs by it called Roswell Road which had a high degree of what appeared to be loitering (I guess?) in the shopping centers and stores just adjacent to Huntcliff (from Pitts Road to Northridge to Hightower Road). It seems like this would be the easiest shopping area to get to from Huntcliff for grocery,etc but it didn't look like a place that many people who live in Huntcliff would shop. Our realtor told us that this type of activity along Roswell Road was hurting resale of homes in Huntcliff and other upscale areas nearby. Is this a relatively new thing? Would this hurt the resale/appreciation value of Huntcliff and surrounding areas? I think we may look in a different area if that is the case.

Thanks, we don't know the area that well so we are just trying to get an idea of the general surroundings.

[CMMom]

Huntcliff is a nice neighborhood, but you are correct in that there is a lot of "foot traffic" on Roswell Road just adjacent. I have several friends who live in Huntcliff and love it, but to be honest, I might hesitate briefly. I would want to check into rates of car break-ins, etc... in the neighborhood. Don't know if you can get that type of info from a realtor. Huntcliff is unique in that it has easy access to a country club (Cherokee Country Club), golf course, and stables (where you can board a horse and/or take lessons) within the neighborhood, so don't rule it completely out. Just do your homework first.

[stvincent]

Originally Posted by 10 feet tall

I will be relocating to Atlanta soon and last weekend my wife and I were down in ATL looking at potential home options. We looked at a very nice neighborhood called Huntcliff and liked a house there, but there is a road that runs by it called Roswell Road which had a high degree of what appeared to be loitering (I guess?) in the shopping centers and stores just adjacent to Huntcliff (from Pitts Road to Northridge to Hightower Road). It seems like this would be the easiest shopping area to get to from Huntcliff for grocery,etc but it didn't look like a place that many people who live in Huntcliff would shop. Our realtor told us that this type of activity along Roswell Road was hurting resale of homes in Huntcliff and other upscale areas nearby. Is this a relatively new thing? Would this hurt the resale/appreciation value of Huntcliff and surrounding areas? I think we may look in a different area if that is the case.

Thanks, we don't know the area that well so we are just trying to get an idea of the general surroundings.

I imagine instead of going to that Kroger plaza at Northridge and Roswell they go to the Publix at Roswell and Dunwoody Pl, the Publix near Trowbridge @ Roswell the Publix at Roswell and Abernathy or the other Kroger(light years nicer) further south on Roswell near Hammond.

There are 2 Sandy Springs. One for the renters and one for the homeowners. There are many many one bedroom apartments around Northridge, Dunwoody Pl. and Roswell Rd. north from Northridge going from about $400-550. It's a low rent area and many of those people don't have vehicles. Because that shopping center is on the route of the main Marta bus that serves the area, many find it convenient to shop there rather than anywhere else in the area, Kroger is cheaper than Publix at Dunwoody Pl. and Roswell Road too. Other shops have located in the Kroger shopping center to cater to that lower income demographic. Example: Little Ceasars and Goodfells(an African American barber shop).

I would imagine that even renters with cars might avoid that shopping center though because it does have a pandhanlding issue, not sure why Sandy Springs Police can't nip that in the butt. I wouldn't say the shopping center is unsafe really, I'm never afraid to go there if in the area for some reason. It just has a rough "look" to it more than anything. Wish I could elaborate on whether there is spillover crime from Dunwoody Pl. to Huntcliff but I can't. I do know on Dunwoody Pl. they have a big drug trade going on and the occasional shooting.

[spacelord75]

stvincent's description is very accurate. Huntcliff is a very nice, huge neighborhood which is sort of secluded in from Roswell Rd. I do not know, but I would imagine they probably hire a patrol and have an active HOA to preserve this insulation from the busy road. The neighborhood seems big enough that you could go for walks and not have to get on Roswell, or have to worry about any kids (or potential kids) venturing out onto it. I definitely would avoid that Kroger if I lived there, for the reasons mentioned above. I know that the people from whom we purchased our house in Dunwoody moved over there, so they must have considered it an upgrade!

[suprascooby22]

Originally Posted by 10 feet tall

I will be relocating to Atlanta soon and last weekend my wife and I were down in ATL looking at potential home options. We looked at a very nice neighborhood called Huntcliff and liked a house there, but there is a road that runs by it called Roswell Road which had a high degree of what appeared to be loitering (I guess?) in the shopping centers and stores just adjacent to Huntcliff (from Pitts Road to Northridge to Hightower Road). It seems like this would be the easiest shopping area to get to from Huntcliff for grocery,etc but it didn't look like a place that many people who live in Huntcliff would shop. Our realtor told us that this type of activity along Roswell Road was hurting resale of homes in Huntcliff and other upscale areas nearby. Is this a relatively new thing? Would this hurt the resale/appreciation value of Huntcliff and surrounding areas? I think we may look in a different area if that is the case.

Thanks, we don't know the area that well so we are just trying to get an idea of the general surroundings.

Others have touched on this but most of the apartments that line Roswell road are very low rent/low income apartments yet most of the subdivisons and homes in the area are solidly middle to upper middle class. For this reason alone a lot of the homeowners in Sandy Springs send their kids to private school because the public schools can get pretty rough. I have never understood why so many low income people were pushed into a nice upper middle class suburb when plenty of metro Atlanta is already filled with low rent apartments but that is a whole other discussion. It definetley impacts the quality of life for some in the neighborhoods that border these older low end apartments because of the crime that they bring.

[10 feet tall]

I just think it is strange and I'm not sure that we feel comfortable buying a home there because of the resale/appreciation value (not so much the "crime") being hurt by the proximity.

Actually, Dunwoody seemed very nice when we were there. We are looking more at Dunwoody now, even though we really liked that house in Huntcliff.

[lastminutemom]

Unless you are looking in the part of Dunwoody that is Fulton, it may be hard to find a similar style house and community in Dunwoody. Huntcliff is pretty unique.

If you can get a good deal, I think you will be ok.

Sandy Springs has strong high schools --and they are getting more popular as DeKalb and the City of Atlanta self destruct.