Today’s AJC talks about a couple that got in WAY over their head in the real estate market craze and now are paying for it in spades.

But the number that caught my eye in the article wasn’t their $419,000 Smyrna home that costs $100,000 less than it did a few years ago.  Suburb declines are well documented at this point.  Personally, I was struck by the condo at “Twelve” Atlantic Station, which was purchased for $387,000 in 2005-6 and is now worth  $150,000 less.

This is the Atlantic Station that everyone (including the AJC) touted as the new wave of smart growth development.  Massive, single developer cities that could do no wrong as long as they threw a bunch of residential and commercial in the same general vicinity.   Atlantic Station was so awesome because it had its own zip code and organized mommy stroller walks.   Yeah well, the economy may have played a part in exacerbating this problem, but a 39% decline in home values is nothing short of damning market critique of this project, which shows that all smart growth (just like everything else) isn’t created equal.  You can’t cut corners, you can’t overestimate demand, and I personally believe you can’t build a town from scratch and expect it to compete with areas that have developed over time.

A 39% decline?  How does anyone that bought one of these properties early on recover from a blow like that?  Maybe some of them can wait it out, but a heck of a lot more of them are going to end up hurting.  And what does Atlantic Station end up looking like 5 years from now?  H&M or no H&M.  Ugh.

Photo Courtesy of the AJC

The AJC reports that this house, which abuts Druid Hills High School property on Westminister Way, has been bought up by the school as it plans a $21 million expansion.  This move has residents understandably worried about the school’s future plans for the site, but the school system isn’t saying much.

And just an item of clarification….The article states that the neighborhood is a National Register district, but that residents are worried that the school system is “exempt” and could tear the house down to build a road or tennis courts.  Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but a National Register district doesn’t physically protect anything in a district.  All it can do is throw up a whole lot of red tape around any project that receives federal funding.  Most often this applies to DOT.  If you want blanket physical protection from anyone, you have to be a local historic district.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this project (regardless of whether it happens or not) prompts the creation of a local district in this neighborhood posthaste.