Horsham, Pennsylvania-based Toll Brothers Apartment Living, a subsidiary of the parent company that bills itself as “the nation’s leading builder of luxury homes,” is planning a second Atlanta area apartment community not far from its first. The new development, slated for the corner of Clifton and Briarcliff Roads, would replace nine single family homes with a new multi-family, "student housing" apartment development.
The development was referred to as "student housing," but is not being developed in partnership with nearby Emory University, nor will it be limited to student tenants. The new, as yet unnamed, development, would replace primarily mid-century homes located at 946, 948, 949, 952, 953, 956, 957, 960, and 961 Milledge Place, a small cul-de-sac just off Briarcliff Road.
The first of multiple planned community meetings was held Wednesday evening. Developers revealed at the meeting that they intend to construct a five story mid-rise apartment building that would include 374 new 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units. Plans presented indicate that the building would have two entrances, one off Briarcliff Road, and the other off Biltmore Drive. The subject homes currently on the property presently have only one vehicular access point, this off of Briarcliff Road across from the newly rebuilt QuikTrip.
Those in attendance report that they were provided very little information about issues such as watershed, environmental impact and most importantly to some, added traffic on Briarcliff Road, Clifton Road, and cut-through traffic on Biltmore Drive. Many fear that the development , which could easily add between 800 and 1000 new vehicles to the area, will significantly negatively impact the already congested traffic on Lavista Road, Houston Mill Road, Briarcliff Road, Clifton Road and Shepherds Lane.
The plan to purchase the nine homes is contingent upon the developer receiving all necessary zoning approvals which they have yet to do, so the "deal" is far from "done." A follow-up community meeting is slated for early August, for which notices are expected to be up soon.
Some homes are in better shape than others.
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If the development does come to fruition, it would be the second large scale student housing oriented development in the area in recent years. Atlanta-based Gables Residential operates a 750 unit mid-rise apartment community at Emory Point across from the CDC on Clifton Road. The development opened in phases starting in 2012.
According to DeKalb County property records, the residential portion of the assemblage is 2.8 acres in total area.
Address Year Built Acreage 2018 County valuation
946 Milledge Place - 1961 - .3 acres - $312,800
948 Milledge Place - 1960 - .3 acres - $321,800
949 Milledge Place - 1958 - .5 acres - $300,700
952 Milledge Place - 1958 - .5 acres - $308,100
953 Milledge Place - 1961 - .3 acres - $321,700
956 Milledge Place - 1956 - .2 acres - $307,400
957 Milledge Place - 1956 - .2 acres - $299,000
960 Milledge Place - 1980 - .2 acres - $302,100
961 Milledge Place - 1956 - .3 acres - $297,600
In late March, Toll Bothers Apartment Living broke ground on Oleander, a Brookhaven apartment community on Executive Park West. Planted on Emory University’s 60-acre Executive Park campus, the new residential development will be nestled next to Emory's new Sports Medicine and Atlanta Hawks training facility complex, and could be available for rent as soon as next summer, according to a March press release.
Oleander is Toll Brothers’s second attempt at building in Atlanta, after plans for other apartments at the ill-fated Peachtree-Dunwoody Pavilion redevelopment stalled, according to Reporter Newspapers.
Do you think the Toll Brothers proposal should be approved? Would a development of half the size be better or are any apartments on this site a bad idea for the community? Do you currently own a home or rent an apartment?
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