Friday, October 14, 2016

Developer Proposing 23 New Homes Near Toco Hills

Toco Hills continues to be hotbed for redevelopment

A real estate developer is proposing replacing two single family homes on LaVista Road near Toco Hills with 23 new single family townhomes.  The proposal, by Duluth-based Edge City Properties, seeks to redevelop 2312 and 2320 LaVista Road, together just over 4.5 acres, into 23 "fee simple" townhomes.  

The two existing homes are situated between N. Amanda Circle and the Kenco LaVista Apartments.  

The properties, currently zoned R-100 (Residential Medium Lot) needs to be rezoned as RSM (Small Lot Residential Mix) to allow for the new development.  Proposal materials obtained by ToNeTo Atlanta indicate that the development would include eighteen "duplex" homes and five "detached" homes with all homes measuring at least 1,700 square feet.  I have thus far been unable to obtain information on proposed pricing for the units as it may be too early to procure such  details. 

The properties as they are today with two single family homes 
The same properties as planned with 23 townhomes 
Edge City Properties, led by principal Michael Dye, is responsible for a similar project nearby at the northwest corner of North Druid Hills Road and High Haven Court, adjacent to Still Water United Methodist Church.  This project, today known as Enclave at Druid Hills, which I first wrote about in 2014, represents the redevelopment of four ranch-style homes into 20 townhomes.   

Closer to the LaVista project, Taylor Morrison (former Acadaia Homes & Neighborhoods) is underway with their Townsend at Toco Hills development.  The 26-unit "luxury townhome" development represents the redevelopment of an older apartment complex.  According to a sales flyer for the property, Townsend Toco Hills units will be priced from the "mid 400's." 

While it's not yet publicly clear what Edge City has agreed to pay / paid for the two LaVista properties, below are their 2016 DeKalb county property appraisals.  


2312 LaVista Road - 2.7 acres
Land Value - $144,000
Building Value - $216,000 
Total Value  - $360,000 

2320 LaVista Road - 2 acres
Land Value - $77,600
Building Value - $284,000
Total Value - $361,600


In a brief interview with Mr. Dye earlier this week, he indicated to me that even if all goes well, redevelopment is not likely to begin for 12-13 months.  Additionally, Mr. Dye also confirmed my assertion that he is merely the middle man in the redevelopment process.  Dye negotiates and gets permits for land redevelopments in order to flip them to developers to actually build the project.  

Enclave at Druid Hills is being developed by CalAtlantic Homes (fka The Ryland Group).  CalAtlantic is also developing the 65-unit "Towns at Druid Hills" across the street. 
The Enclave at Druid Hills 
While CalAtlantic may eventually be the developer at the LaVista project, Dye indicated he has yet to confirm one.  

Are you in favor of this additional development in the Toco Hills corridor? If not new townhomes, is there something else you would like to see done to this property? What would you pay for a new townhome near Toco Hills?  

Please share your thoughts below.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

They're walking distance from shul, and should draw plenty of interest, although I'm not sure if there are sidewalks on that part of Lavista. There should be.

~mindspringyahoo

ImAndy said...

These developers really are getting more and more ballsy. In November Taylor Morrison is going before zoning in Doraville for 116 units on 10 acres behind the waffle house. Asking for all kinds of variances including parking and only a 22 feet buffer between buford highway! lol Not a single tree either in the plans (not room) all crepe myrtles, streets that are only 17 feet wide. It really is crazy.

Anonymous said...

I think Toco Hills has a ways to go to becoming a "town center" that can accommodate increased density. That location is so close to Toco Hills and not a single resident could walk there without risking their lives.

Anonymous said...

Last night (10/13) the District 2 Community Council voted to deny Edge City's request to rezone. Residents from the areas most impacted by the proposed development do not wish to have more high density housing crammed in to the neighborhood, as roads like Lavista, N Druid Hills, Briarcliff and Clairmont are clogged during rush hour. The latest plans submitted by the developer show 23 single family homes, potentially in the $650K range, which is what he presented at last night's meeting. The current plans can be found here: http://planningdekalb.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/N1-Z-16-20971-Dist-2-and-6.pdf

Anonymous said...

Everyone who voted against incorporating the City of LaVista Hills to protect the local area against this sort of thing is getting exactly what they asked for. They "didn't want another layer of government" so they will continue to rely on DeKalb County, which will continue its nonsensical approval of these applications without much thought.

Anonymous said...

Just what the area needs. More pricey homes squeezed in like sardines, with an entrance in the middle of a nasty curve.

DeKalb County is letting development run amok. A city would have been able to plan this growth. Maybe Atlanta will annex Toco soon.

Stop crying said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Stop crying said...

Everyone is always opposed to any development. Good thing all those dairy farmers who sold in the 50-60s didn't feel the same way or all the Dekalb residents would be living somewhere else.

Ham said...

I agree to some extent that this area might be better off as the City of Lavista Hills than they are now. I suppose we can all go back and second guess there strategies, but I suspect they should have focused more on this area and less on their claim to the Tucker area. The proposed city was simply too large and I’m not sure all the residents had the same concerns.

Unknown said...

LaVista at that point under this plan will be an accident factory. To accomodate 23 residents (approximately 40 vehicles) will likely require widening to 5 lanes past Fern Creek. Pricey!!! Residents of Fama will suffer a quality of life issue having almost half the homes looming over their back yards. And while it is a short walk to Toco Hill from the entrance, sidewalks are not extant along the route on that side of the street. The "town home infill" model is fallacious. A more modest proposal is required, one that requires sidewalks to be provided, lower density, fewer autos and a lot more respect of nearby residents. And to those that complain that Dekalb won't look out for the residents....if you want Atlanta government, then move there, we won't stop you.

Anonymous said...

Ha, those that think incorporating will reduce "a layer of gu'bment" haven't followed Brookhaven. They've proposed developments that is driving neighbors crazy and have increased density more than what DeKalb had on the books. You've gotta pay the piper if you want to be a city.

Anonymous said...

'Stop crying' is right---if you live in a neighborhood carved out of former pastureland, and you're moaning just because someone else wants to develop valuable ITP land, you're a huge hypocrite.

It does show dedicated right and left turn lanes in front of the development, as well as a proposed sidewalk (although Dekalb would need to continue it westward to NDH.

My folks had property on Lavista behind them developed and it really didn't damage their life or harm their property value one iota.

Houses on small properties are quite common in many countries and 23 houses will hardly affect neighborhood traffic.

gw said...

I cry because the new construction replaces mature woods and a great canopy with asphalt, concrete and manicured grass. It's so cool to have owls, coyote, deer, woodpeckers and wild turkey between our homes, this close to downtown. Can we zone this area to have continuous regions of mature woods so that wildlife can still traverse the area? It would be just too bland without the wildlife.

Anonymous said...

Yes it's cool to have coyotes killing our pets.

AJ said...

The issue is more infrastructure. I'm all for BUILD BUILD BUILD, but only if the infrastructure can handle it. Dekalb has stopped some projects because of sewer issues. I'd love to see them stop projects because of traffic issues. One can argue, oh it's only a net increase of 21 homes - how will that effect traffic. But those roads have been clogged for years and years with no change in site. Lavista is 1 lane each way over there and yet is used as a major thoroughfare. Infrastructure improvements are needed. The same can be said for the hundreds/thousands of new apartments/condos being built. Yay for development, boo for lack of infrastructure.

Anonymous said...

I grew up right around the corner. I'm sorry; but, LaVista Road needs to be widened from Lindbergh to Northlake. The traffic in that area is already ridiculous.

Anonymous said...

More property taxe$$$ are needed for more infrastructure to be built. Single family homes bring in more property taxes and fewer number of people of burden. Meanwhile multifamily units don't bring in the RE taxes and the property values will lower with the addition to a plethora of transient people.

Coolio said...

All of you people crying because of "over-development" need to take a trip to a REAL city, that being one of the big cities up north. Even from the plane, you see so many houses, as far as the eye can see. In Atlanta you see trees and a few houses here and there.

If you want Atlanta to be world class and maybe stand a chance of getting better transit, you need more people. And if you get more people, they need somewhere to stay, hence the development. Either stop having kids or stop advertising that Atlanta is a place that welcomes people from all over. You can't have it both ways.

If you don't want the development, sell your house and move to the country.
The city is for city folk, not country people masquerading as city folk.

chinasinpepas said...

What about, take another route. Why to continue buil built , kill the wildlife to make your stupid commute better?

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