Photograph by Fredrik Brauer
We often get lost in Atlanta with or without our GPS.
I enjoy these ‘outings’ as my family calls them. We run into unique areas. One such area we stumbled into was Edgewood’s-La France Walk.
La France Walk is a two-and-a-half-acre parcel. It is located between a Lowe’s and the Edgewood/Candler Park MARTA station. It has the small county town look like Mount Morris, MI has to me. It even has an 1880’s farmhouse in it. La France Walk is Atlanta’s future.
In Edgewood is La France Walk-a 24 home “pocket neighborhood.” It is currently in its final construction phase.
It is more than just a cluster of townhomes. Each townhome includes an attached guest suite. They are used for long-term rentals, Airbnb suites (that can cost up to almost $2,000/month to rent in the Atlanta area), home studios or offices (for the age of Covid-19), or in-law crash pads (close but not too close). Garages are scarce because of these suites.
They have the latest clean initiatives-solar arrays, rainwater barrels, and Tesla battery packs.
There are also some duplexes that come with one-bedroom units and are only 720 square feet.
Three duplexes are exclusively set aside for renters.
I see $200,000 single family home units almost everywhere in the Atlanta area.
Tim Keane, Atlanta’s planning commissioner agrees with this new area due to the projected future of Atlanta which is estimated to triple in the next three decades. You have a mixture of townhomes and duplexes in this area. He feels like Mr. Kronberg that you must have diversity in housing as well as incomes. The architect behind this vision is Eric Kronberg.
Eric Kronberg’s architectural firm is Kronberg Urbanists + Architects. It focuses on zoning, site design, mobility, equity, and redevelopment finance. He tries to use a holistic approach to redevelopment. Mr. Kronberg is known as the ‘zone whisperer’. He is a staunch advocate for walkable communities.
Being a snowbird allows me to enjoy the adventure of our ‘outings’. I hope to further discover more areas that will one day make Atlanta more of the renaissance area that it already.
Original article by Josh Green – Jan. 11, 2021 Atlanta Magazine’s Home Winter Edition 2020.
Kronberg Urbanists + Architects
