Crooked Creek’s New Amenities Getting Closer
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Gated Communities, Milton Real Estate
Will it be done in time for all the kids?
As an update to a previous post, I wanted to bring you up to speed on Crooked Creek’s improvements. Started back in September of 2008, the Crooked Creek community in Milton, GA began a $4 million dollar upgrade to their amenities. Originally planned for completion this month, the 2 pools should be done in June 2009 with the remaining updates completed in August 2009.
Without a doubt it will be a fantastic feature for the 640 home community whose old facilities were busting at the seams. The final project will deliver 2 additional tennis courts for a total of 11 courts, and a viewing deck to watch matches. With Atlanta seemingly at the center of the tennis universe, this gives Crooked Creek even more to be proud of. As it is you can’t walk through the neighborhood without bumping into an ALTA member.
Additionally, there will be a new community center and playground, cabana and the two new connected pools. One of the pools will be a zero-entry family pool with a slide and fountain; the other pool will be an adult lap pool.
To lock us in or lock you out?
Along with the amenity improvements, there will be infrastructure additions to accommodate a guard house and gate. There has been much debate within the community about gating the entrances. The reasons for it are 2-fold; one would be to reduce the cut-through traffic on Creek Club Drive between Hwy 9 and Francis Rd. To be sure, it’s a convenient route and may not be a plus for the home owners. However, if we as taxpayers are paying for the road maintenance of Creek Club Drive, why shouldn’t we be able to have the ability to drive on it? I realize that once gated, the Crooked Creek HOA will take over road maintenance responsibility but I also know that the community is still requesting close to $600,000 of our tax dollars to be spent on that road right before they take it over. Wouldn’t we all like some stimulus for our communities?
The other reason for gating would be the perceived property value increase due to living in a gated community. I’m not sure that any property value improvements would really be achieved from that, in fact the better amenities package will go much further in my opinion to increasing the desirability of the community than gating it. Yes, there are some people who want to live in a gated community, but don’t look for your home to appraise for an extra 10% or something after the gates go in. Think of it like having a pool or koi pond. It might be more interesting to some people, but it’s not going to make you money.
In the end, it may not even happen. Currently the city requires 100% acceptance from the community on privatizing roads; and you know as well as I do that getting everyone to agree on something is like…well a snowball comes to mind.
So tell me…would it be a plus to you if your community became gated? Would you pay for it? Is there value to this or is it just community cosmetics?
