This beautifully renovated 1 bedroom, 1 bath gem is in an unbeatable location! Set right in the heart of Sandy Springs, this gated community is surrounded by great restaurants and shopping. Residents also enjoy a very short drive to both I-285 and GA 400, major hospitals and medical buildings, Chastain Park and Buckhead!
The open concept gives this condo a spacious feel, and the slick renovation makes it a perfect jewel box. The walls are freshly painted light and bright, the flooring is sleek, and the kitchen features updated white cabinetry, stainless steel appliances, solid surface counters, and custom tile backsplash. The bedroom boasts a large walk-in closet and the gorgeous contemporary bath is finished in a cool black and white color scheme with custom tile and an oversized shower with glass doors. A double-sided fireplace in the great room and bedroom puts the perfect cozy touch into this pristine home. The covered deck outside has pretty views with trees. A community pool and onsite gym complete this perfect package!
Sure, Sandy Springs is known for its frenetic traffic and ever-sprouting development, but it is also heralded for its devotion to its environment.
For the 13th year – of the city’s 18 – Sandy Springs will be among the dozens of areas throughout the Chattahoochee River watershed engulfed by volunteers who want to keep the areas trash-free. On Saturday, March 25, the annual Sweep the Hooch trash cleanup day will be held at several areas in Sandy Springs: Morgan Falls Overlook Park, Powers Island and Island Ford Walking Site.
Last year, more than 2,300 volunteers collected nearly 60 tons of trash across the Chattahoochee. In partnership with the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, volunteers will spread out at more than 50 sites. Volunteers can choose to be walkers, waders or paddlers, but they must register in advance because there’s a limit at each site.
Walkers are land-based volunteers who will pick up trash in and around the river. Wearing wading boots, waders will collect trash from shallow water areas and along the river banks. Paddlers may use kayaks, canoes or stand-up paddleboards and, according to the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper website, will travel three to five miles while picking up litter. Individuals as well as teams of volunteers can sign up. (Contact tbates@chatahoochee.org with questions.)
Keeping river areas clean, however, is not the only example of how Sandy Springs residents show their appreciation for nature. Sandy Springs is one of several cities in the metro Atlanta area that encourage more greenery in residential areas.
Until the end of March planting season, homeowners can request to have up to three canopy trees planted in their yard, free. There is no application fee. The only requirements are for the resident to agree to water, care for, and maintain the trees planted in their yard, and they must be planted in the front yard. According to Trees Atlanta, in general, 10 gallons of water should be applied every other week during the tree’s first growing season which is April to October. “This encourages roots to expect infrequent but deep waterings…Watering should be focused where the roots are, which for one- to two-year-old trees is right around the base.”
Why canopy trees? They provide shade, notably cooling the temperature directly under a tree by 20 to 45 degrees. Canopy trees can come in many forms, but in this climate, the only trees available are tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) and sycamore (Platanus occidentalis).
Sandy Springs, along with the cities of Atlanta, Brookhaven, Decatur, Doraville, Dunwoody and unincorporated DeKalb County all require an application form to be filled out. Once a form has been submitted, a Trees Atlanta Coordinator will contact the applicant. Click HERE for the Trees Atlanta application.
As spring has sprung on Sandy Springs, residents who are brave enough to battle the pollen are probably ready to investigate the progress of the Sandy Springs Master Trail whose ground was officially broken in December. The 1.88 mile segment includes a scenic boardwalk across Orkin Lake, and will enhance access to the Chattahoochee River, connecting Morgan Falls Overlook Park to Roswell Road at Cimarron Parkway.
The city council adopted the Trail Master Plan in 2019. That plan identified 31.4 miles of proposed greenway trails, side paths, and neighborhood greenways, connecting to 12 schools, 15 parks, and several green spaces. The 10-year implementation plan includes seven miles of trails. The plan was developed along with the Sandy Springs Conservancy and the Path Foundation.
This is not an inexpensive venture. The city council approved a $7.8 million bid from GHC Corp. for the first segment. The council also accepted a $3 million grant from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to help fund the project, which reportedly will cover 38.5 percent of the trail’s construction cost.The plans called for the trail to be completed by the end of this year.
Sandy Springs native Dr. Scott Leibowitz, a sleep specialist with Laureate Medical Group, said his practice of diagnosing and treating sleeping disorders has been booming, and not only because there is a greater percentage of an aging population in Sandy Springs.
“As we age, there is a higher prevalence of sleep disorders and I have watched this community age,” said Leibowitz who has lived in Sandy Springs nearly all his life, other than when he went to college and then for medical training.
But the increase in number of people complaining about their sleeping issues cannot necessarily be blamed on age or the last three years of the stressful Covid pandemic, believes Leibowitz and other sleep specialists at the many clinics in Sandy Springs. Dr. Abu Matin at Sleep Disorders Center of Georgia suggests that the awareness of sleep disorders has skyrocketed since the 1980s partly because people are more educated about sleeping disorders and because primary care physicians are asking patients about their sleeping behavior.
“Physicians are screening for it more,” said Leibowitz, including cardiologists and neurologists as well as primary care physicians. “There’s an awareness of widespread consequences that include affects on cognitive thinking and the cardiovascular system.”
Matin points to consequences of sleep disorders such as heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure.
Sleep disorders, which encompass more than 50 types, will receive special recognition the week of March 12-18, during Sleep Awareness Week. During that week, the National Sleep Foundation will promote education and awareness of the disorder which impacts directly, according to Matin, 10 percent of the population. Indirectly, of course, family members – especially spouses – are also affected.
The National Sleep Foundation was founded in 1990 to improve health and well-being through sleep education and advocacy. The organization notes on its website that sleep science and insight are increasingly being incorporated into accessible health products and services.
Diagnosis of sleep disorders generally entails actual sleep monitoring either in sleep labs or with in-home machines. Children, said Matin, must be monitored within a lab. Children with sleep disorders often will be treated by having their tonsils removed, but with adults, the treatment is different. Since 80 percent of the patients he sees have sleep apnea, they can generally be treated with breathing machines, known as CPAP, which have been continually improved over the years.
A second option requires a dental device and a third option calls for surgery, but Matin said it’s not as effective. Treatment also entails lifestyle changes such as losing weight and cessation of smoking or drinking alcohol.
Although there have been significant changes in medication for sleep disorders, Leibowitz said there is not one single medicine that will work for everyone.
The best-known symptom of sleep apnea is loud snoring, followed by episodes in which the patient stops breathing during sleep. Both of these are generally reported by other people. Other symptoms include gasping for air during sleep, awakening with a dry mouth, morning headaches, difficulty staying asleep, known as insomnia, and excessive daytime sleepiness, known as hypersomnia.
Matin notes that sleep apnea is generally more apparent in males. “Females snore less and don’t complain of daytime tiredness, so it’s easier to miss,” he said. For both genders, age has an impact. An increase in weight occurs more often in males, but women experience sleep apnea more after menopause.
Sleep problems usually occur in clusters, said Leibowitz, but “sleep is different for everybody. People are told that it is due to bad choices, but you have to think of it as a biological process that is unique to your biological design.” For everyone, though, he stresses, sleep is not a luxury, but a necessity.
Matin said sleep disorders are known as a “slow killer,” because they involve a lack of oxygen. “Some people might brush off snoring. They think, so what? But it is a serious disease.”Partly due to the education surrounding sleep issues, many people have invested in gadgets that tell them how much they are sleeping and how deeply they are sleeping. “Sleep trackers,” said Leibowitz, “are more helpful to measure degrees of change after treatment. They are designed for sleepers, not for those with sleep disorders. I caution people not to focus on that.”
The 23rd annual Atlanta Jewish Film Festival opens Feb. 8 and closes Feb. 21 with blockbuster films screening at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center. Tickets are already selling for the 60 films, originating in more than a dozen countries, that will include full-length narratives, documentaries and short films.
Opening night will feature the Atlanta premiere of a sweet Israeli film, Karaoke, which received 14 Israeli Academy Award nominations, including for Best Film. The closing night film, Killing Me Softly With His Songs, tells the story of the life and iconic works of lyricist-composer Charles Fox. Nearly three dozen screenings will be held at the Sandy Springs center during the festival with free parking available, and open to the entire Atlanta community.
Among those films will be the world premiere of the documentary, Israel Swings for Gold, which is a sequel to a 2017 film and follows Israel’s baseball team as it competes in the 2020 Summer Olympics. Filmmakers and members of the Atlanta Braves team will provide special appearances.
Other notable screenings include the North American premiere of The Devil’s Confession: The Lost Eichmann Tapes, the world premiere of Musical Tales of the Venetian Jewish Ghetto and the Southeastern premiere of Remember This, a one-man theatrical performance by award-winning stage and screen actor David Strathairn. He portrays Jan Karski, a Polish diplomat who tried in vain to warn Western leaders of the mass killings of Jews.
All four of these premieres will have screenings at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center.
After a hiatus during the pandemic which forced the film festival to exhibit its movies via streaming, this year the public will be welcomed to in-theatre screenings (as well as some films still shown virtually). The in-person presentations are often followed by panel discussions with filmmakers, actors and other experts.
During its more than two decades, the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival has burgeoned from welcoming fewer than 2,000 film-goers to making history by becoming the largest Jewish film festival in the world. Attracting more than 18,600 moviegoers before the pandemic pause.
According to Kenny Blank, executive and artistic director of the AJFF, the festival would not have become Atlanta’s largest film festival without the hundreds of volunteers who contribute their time to the endeavor. “Volunteers are the backbone of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival,” he said. “Without their tireless dedication and enthusiasm, the festival would not be able to reach its full potential. They provide vital skills and perspectives, such as fundraising, community outreach, film evaluation, strategic planning, and serving as ambassadors. Their dedication and passion make the festival a success and ensure its ongoing growth.” [Full disclosure, this writer has served as a volunteer.]
This year alone, the more than 100 volunteer members of the AJFF film evaluation committee reviewed 584 film submissions, curating it down to 60 total titles for the 2023 lineup. Since 2000, the AJFF has offered more than 1,200 films. (All the titles can be found at AJFFrecommends.org) More than 350 volunteers serve on committees to evaluate films, provide suggestions for guest programming, and offer their expertise on finance, governance, communications, community engagement and steering committees. This year the AJFF will also be launching an inaugural education committee. The festival seeks to engage new, younger audiences and next generation film lovers.
The annual festival was launched by the Atlanta regional office of the American Jewish Committee, a global advocacy organization whose focus is the Jewish community and Israel. Although the festival still partners with the AJC, it is now an independent non-profit arts organization. Prior to the pandemic, it had offices at the Macquarium building on Peachtree Road. Today, the 13 full-time staff all work remotely. This year’s festival will be its first-ever hybrid, with more than 100 screenings at five metro Atlanta venues. Twenty-two titles will be streamed in what the Festival calls its Virtual Cinema. Tickets are available at AJFF.org
Our community saw a very steady rise in the number of home sales month-over-month through May of 2022. After the crescendo of 87 homes sold in May, the numbers began to drop at almost the exact rate they had risen. This comes as no big surprise as 30- year fixed mortgage rates more than doubled from an average 3.22% in January to 6.7% by the end of September.
The good news for buyers is that we are finally starting to see sale prices in Sandy Springs falter, and even drop, in the high end of the market. While the highest priced home to sell in Sandy Springs this quarter was over $5 Million, the prices for the next 9 sales fell a bit from Q2. Last quarter we saw all 10 top sales at $3 Million or more, while Q3 saw only 4 sales above $3 Million. Moving forward, we expect to see inventory improve while prices adjust to a more reasonable level.
| Month | Number of Sales | Average Close Price |
|---|---|---|
| January | 52 | $953,008 |
| February | 55 | $1,064,302 |
| March | 66 | $1,197,725 |
| April | 69 | $1,074,433 |
| May | 87 | $1,074,997 |
| June | 68 | $1,294,836 |
| July | 65 | $1,051,942 |
| August | 54 | $1,073,675 |
| September | 52 | $1,118,206 |
Attached housing for 3rd quarter, 2022 shows the same basic trajectory as single family housing, illustrating that prices across the board have been affected by the mortgage rate hikes. Steady increases have transitioned into price fluctuations in Q3. Further correction in prices should continue as inventory will hopefully increase making this a good market for buyers again.
| Month | Number of Sales | Average Close Price |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69 | $315,544 |
| February | 69 | $292,659 |
| March | 78 | $341,959 |
| April | 82 | $354,669 |
| May | 103 | $415,504 |
| June | 73 | $412,615 |
| July | 56 | $309,262 |
| August | 86 | $362,443 |
| September | 66 | $350,767 |
As inventory rises, bidding wars begin to go by the wayside, and home prices start to drop, we will see our seller’s market begin to transition into a buyer’s market for the first time in several years.
Sandy Springs is a vibrant and growing city just north of Atlanta, Georgia. It’s where beautiful residential neighborhoods meet world-class amenities, and all within a short drive from downtown. If you’re looking for high-end shopping, you’re a foodie looking for your next culinary treat, or even an outdoor adventurer looking for a great place to get away in the woods, Sandy Springs has got you covered!
Sandy Springs offers plenty of community activities to go along with its quiet neighborhoods and beautiful homes. The Performing Arts Center and live music on the City Green at City Springs are just the beginning. There is a lot going on for residents and visitors alike.
