Apartment Complex Stands as Marietta's Northern Outpost

       On a map, it sticks up like a stubby submarine telescope, the northernmost neighborhood within Marietta’s city limits.

      Through an entrance off Bells Ferry Road, four cul-de-sacs wind through 66 acres that back up to the Rockridge Wildlife Preserve and Laura Lake. The connecting roads are all called Rider’s Trial NE.  Sounds like it could be a small community for the horsey set.

     It is no such thing.

     This northern tip of the city is home to about 1,100 people who live in the 720 homes that make up Laurel Hills Preserve, one of the largest apartment complexes in Marietta.

     Built in 1986, the 44-building complex is about a half mile north of I-75 on Bells Ferry. It’s only about a mile south of Kennesaw and the Town Center Mall area. 

     JRK Residential bought the property in 2009 and just finished a two-year, $5 million renovation, said Community Manager Becky Smart.

     Fay Ellis moved here from Albany two years ago when her daughter started at Kennesaw State University. “It’s a nice, quiet complex, and it’s only six miles from campus,” Ellis said.

      Smart said the variety of floor plans at Laurel Hills, some with two bedrooms and two baths, has helped draw KSU students and families into the complex.

     Ellis is sold on the place as more than just a fancy dorm for her and her daughter. 

“We’re here for good,” she said when asked it they would move out when her daughter graduates in two years. “There is good shopping nearby and the mountain (Kennesaw Mountain) is just down the road. We’re fine.”

     “And,” Ellis said with a laugh, “they provide doggie bags and disposals for people walking their dogs. We don’t have a dog, but that’s nice.”

      Kevin and Maria Cunningham have lived at Laurel Hills for more than five years and just signed another two-year lease in a newly renovated apartment.

      “It’s a very tranquil, laid-back place to live,” Kevin Cunningham said.  “It’s very progressive.

      “We have three kids, so we go to the mall an awful lot. It’s a nice neighborhood and we have nice neighbors. There are kids all around, and almost all of them are well behaved.”

      Cunningham is also a fan of the three pools in the complex. “If one is crowded you can go to another,” he said.  “I’m a swimmer, and with three kids we use the pools a lot.  I’ve seen complexes with 500 units and one pool.  It’s not easy to sit and relax.”

      Cunningham and others in the neighborhood said maintenance issues are handled promptly, and they appreciated the landscape work. “It’s nice when you come up the hill [at the gated entrance] and see all the plants and flowers,” he said.

     Smart, the community manager, said the apartments are about 95 percent full, and hit about 97 percent last summer.  Both numbers, Smart said, “are excellent.”  

       The complex was called the Falls of Bells Ferry for many years. JRK Residential owns about 180 apartment properties in 23 states, including seven in metro Atlanta, according to information on the company’s Web site.

      Rents now run from $545 to $780. Smart said rents for some one-bedroom apartments were recently lowered because of the economy. They are seeing more people looking for apartments who have lost their homes in foreclosures.

             “We have drawn more people in the recession,” Smart said. “Price range is the biggest concern for residents.”

        From this northern outpost, Marietta’s city limits dip across Bells Ferry Road and run east below Mark Avenue. The border pops up again (but not as high as Laurel Hills), and continues to the Canton Road Plaza Shopping Center, where it heads south.

        Edward Muhammad moved to Laurel Hills about a year ago, but price wasn’t the driving factor. He moved to be with his fiancée, who has lived in the neighborhood for five years.

     “I lived in Chicago for 49 years,” Muhammad said. “Coming out of the concrete jungle, this is really nice. I love me some Georgia.

      “People take pride in their homes,” he said. “When you need something fixed, they are on top of it. If you have a problem they try to get to it the same day or the next day.

      “And the codes are much tougher here,” Muhammad said.  “Marietta won’t accept a nasty property.  Marietta and Cobb County stay on top of their codes.”