It’s two! Two! Two homes in one! ...Wow. Sorry about that. We went a little infomercial there for a second. Jingle aside, however, this place is actually really exciting, for a number of reasons. First off, it’s located in close-in Grant Park, which is one of the fastest-growing neighborhoods in the city. Second, it nails the “classical Southern charm” element inside and out — it’s hard to find a nook of this place that’s not steeped in (lovingly maintained) history. Third? As we alluded a moment ago, it’s actually two separate units: the top floor is the main, three-bedroom living space; downstairs, a self-sufficient mother-in-law apartment (with its own entrance) serves to provide ample guest space, or, for a savvy entrepreneur, some extra $$$ in the form of an Airbnb rental that’ll earn you a five-star rating in no time.
Trying to buy just the right home in Grant Park is a challenge. Downright frustrating in many cases. Those reports of over a "thousand people a month" moving Intown are true, and housing inventory is at an all-time low. Many buyers are left with the feeling they will have to snap up almost anything that pops up or be left behind. If you've had the discipline to wait for the ideal home to appear, your patience may be rewarded here.
First things first, and that’s the curb appeal this place has. No pressure, but we’ll be straight with you — for years now, folks have been scooping up Atlanta’s Victorian architecture faster than listings like this one can be written. There are a few reasons, and they all tend to come together at the intersection of “original wooden floors” and “they just don’t make them like this anymore.” Sometimes, however, homes like this come at a price: there’s the mortgage, and in addition, the stacks of cash you need to keep for the renovations.
Not so with 369 Oakland. One walk through the high-ceilinged halls of this property will give you the firm impression that a series of owners spared no expense in keeping this place modernized and spit-polished enough to invite the newest generation of unstressed owner (click here for a list of recent maintenance and renovations). In other words, this house eats well and gets its cardio in on a daily basis.
Which is why this home is so exciting: often, a new Victorian has to be viewed through the lens of, “This bathroom will be so cute once we knock out the turquoise tile and avocado-colored toilet.” In 369 Oakland’s case, that conversation turns to ones about how the original molding and vintage lighting accents the high ceilings, of perfectly preserved fireplaces (five of them!), an utterly up-to-date chef’s kitchen, and a color palate that pulls the whole place together (admit it — the mint green exterior is pretty much the most adorable thing ever).
We’re going to talk about the upstairs for a minute (we’ll tackle the separate downstairs suite in a sec). The moment you walk in from the quaint, covered front porch, you’ll get the impression that the 2,200 square feet of this home seems to flow, easily, from one room to the next: bedrooms are connected with heavy wooden doors; the ceilings are very high; the original hardwood, dating back to when the home was first constructed, is unbroken from space to space. There’s a nuance that feels very… Southern home-meets-English manor house. Which is what Victorian is all about.
Of the three bedrooms in this home (each one has a fireplace), one can be perfectly utilized as a home office with ample room for a sitting space. We recommend the one in the front of the house, overlooking the front porch and only accessible from one of the other bedrooms (the kind of layout that encourages you to refer to it as something more stately… how does “my study” sound?). If part of your commute involves working from home, say goodbye to the kitchen nook.
There are some charms in vintage houses that don’t really need updating. A dining room, for instance, can serve the same use, in roughly the same form, in the 21st century as it could in the 19th (bonus points for built-in bookcases, though). This fact, however, is not true when it comes to spaces like... kitchens and bathrooms. Trends change, and the world moves fast.
No such worries here. The kitchen has seen a remodel that includes stainless appliances, an island that grants plenty of room for maneuvering (and for guests just standing around), some tilework, and rustic-chic white cabinetry.
The bathrooms, meanwhile (especially the master bath), more than fit the bill. Think stone-colored tiles, a glass shower, and a giant garden tub, complete with some really top-notch granite countertops.
Oh, and there’s a huge deck in the back, right off the den. Bring the Big Green Egg, do up an intimate sitting space, and you’re set with room leftover for an outdoor table.
In the end, the home hits a hard balance: the past has been unmistakably preserved, but in an homage sort of way, where the recent amenities fill the blanks of modern necessity, seamlessly.
369 Oakland is built on a bit of a hill. From the front, the sweeping lawn and charming brick footpath lead directly into the main house. As it runs along the side of the house, however, the driveway grades downward on its way to the covered two-car port (complete with adjacent storage room). As a result, the backyard is one floor lower than the front.
With that image in your head, you’re equipped to envision the “basement.” Despite being partially underground, there’s still plenty of natural light that comes in through the mid-wall-height windows, and since the basement occupies some of the footprint of the main home, it’s pretty huge — just a hair over 1,200 square feet.
There are two ways to get downstairs. One is via a staircase in the upstairs den (which can easily be closed off at the bottom), and the other is through the separate entrance in the back, just off the driveway. Everyone gets their privacy.
Once inside, the tone is slightly different from the one struck upstairs — though no less tasteful. An abundance of exposed brick lends a trendy, loft-like aesthetic to the wide-open space and un-cramped kitchen that’s just a bit too large to have “efficiency” as part of the species name. Off to the side, an oversized bedroom gives more than enough room for a comfortable amount of furniture.
How you use the space is up to you. Periodic guests who come into town will be thrilled that they have their own corner of the home to spend mornings making breakfast in their boxers; an older child who’s heading off to college in a couple of years can have a sweet home base to invite friends over; particularly entrepreneurial owners who want to comp their mortgage on the quick (or just make some extra bucks in general) can rent out the space on the short (Airbnb) or long term. Or, you can just get greedy and make the best game room ever (pool table and in-home movie theater, here we come).
You’re in Grant Park. You know that much. But if you Google this address (in case you haven’t already), you’ll notice that you’re right in the middle of a lot. Memorial Drive runs east-to-west about one block north, and I-20 access is super close, which from here is only a few minutes’ drive the the Connector. Getting where you need to go is a breeze.
But we’d be remiss not to mention the foot traffic that’s available in this hip borough. One block to the north will land out at Oakland Cemetery District — lovely enough by itself — which contains a bustling restaurant district all its own. Tin Lizzy’s, Six Feet Under, and Octane Coffee are about a five-minute walk from your front door. And let's not forget The Larkin: a new mixed-use development sprouting up along the Memorial Drive corridor that will bring a variety of dining, shopping and entertainment venues including a neighborhood food and wine market and great new restaurants like Taqueria del Sol and Ramen Station.
Head in the opposite direction and the tree-lined streets will lead you to Grant Park itself, one of Atlanta’s oldest and largest patches of green space. All of this in a really friendly part of town — there are so many families here that the neighborhood took it upon itself to set up a capable, passionate neighborhood watch program that runs like a Swiss clock.
For years, Grant Park was a forgotten corner of Atlanta that was in some dire need of TLC. Those days are gone — there’s no doubt that this neighborhood is one of the most desirable places in the city to live nowadays. But it’s also, in its own way, very new — property values are only continuing to increase as the last of the inventory disappears from the market. If an example of well-maintained Victorian architecture at a still-competitive price is where you’ve been looking to set up shop, let us know. We’d love to show you 369 Oakland Ave.
What are you waiting for? If you're in the market (or know someone who is), get to this home right way because prices in Grant Park are up the last 38 months in a row. This home won't last long.
The seller is represented by The Keen Brothers, Ben & Joshua Keen.
Call today for a private showing: 404-538-5356
Please, serious inquiries only.