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.
Located in the fabulous swim/tennis Princeton Square neighborhood, this 2-story storybook house is on a quiet cul-de-sac with a gorgeous, wooded backyard that offers lots of peace and privacy.
Open the front door, and step into a charming foyer with brick floor. To your right is a gracious, light-filled living room which opens into an open-concept dining room. The renovated chef’s kitchen features gorgeous European-style soapstone counters and sink, high-end stainless steel appliances, including a gas 6-burner cooktop, double ovens, wine refrigerator and more! The cozy breakfast room has a French door which opens to a huge deck with a beautiful wooded view. An oversized, bright, light family room with fireplace, wet bar, and bay window completes the main level.
The primary bedroom is located upstairs and features hardwood floors, a large walk-in closet, and an amazing bathroom with double vanity, oversized shower, whirlpool tub and plenty of windows for lots of light and a great view. The rest of the 2nd floor boasts brand new gorgeous pile carpet. Two secondary bedrooms utilize a light, bright hall bath, and the 4th bedroom has its own en-suite bathroom!
The garage has been freshly painted and has great work/storage areas! Beyond the garage is a great room that can either remain a huge storage area or be freshened up as a great playroom/gameroom for children.
Princeton Square is that sought-after Gem of a neighborhood that all families are searching for. In addition to the pool, tennis courts, and children’s play area, the HOA offers neighborhood holiday parties and events, clubs and more!
Shh! This is a quiet reminder that the Sandy Springs Library at 395 Mt. Vernon Highway NE is back in business.
Like other public libraries in Georgia and across the country, the Sandy Springs Library had to close its doors during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. But now, something that we have taken for granted for decades has reopened.
This can’t be easily dismissed. Even before the pandemic, it must be remembered that Generation Z, even more than the Millennial generation before them, grew up with the Internet at their fingertips. “To Google” is now a verb. So, who needs a public library? Just the Baby Boomers who recall doing their homework research at the library, poring through microfilm or microfiche, and trying to understand the Dewey Decimal System?
Absolutely not, say librarians. The new and improved public libraries are now more like community centers for the brain. There are no gymnasiums, yoga classes or swimming pools. But there are meeting and study rooms, GED classes – at least at the Central Library branch – through a partnership with the Atlanta Public Schools System Adult Education Program, computers and free Internet.
Depending on which Internet source one uses, the first free modern public library was opened in 1833 in New Hampshire. It was the first institution funded by a municipality with the specific goal of establishing a free library open to everyone in the community. According to another source, the first public library supported by taxes in this country was the Boston Public Library, established in 1848 but not open to the public until 1854.
The current Fulton County Library System – in which the Sandy Springs Library is located – began in 1902 as the Carnegie Library of Atlanta, one of the first public libraries in the country. Thirty-three years later, the City of Atlanta and the Fulton County Board of Commissioners signed a contract that extended library service throughout the county. In the early 1980s, responsibility for the library system was transferred from Atlanta to Fulton County and it was renamed the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library.
Although the new Atlanta central library was opened in 1980, a major renovation was completed in 2002 in honor of the centennial of when library service was first offered to the public. Two years later, the library system introduced Sirsi’s Unicorn, a state-of-the-art library automation system that includes iBistro, a virtual portal to resources at the library and throughout the world via the Internet.
The Sandy Springs Library is one of the county’s largest. In 2017, it underwent a huge renovation that included modernization with a new layout, technology and furniture. Meeting spaces were improved and study rooms added, along with a teen center, according to Claudia Strange, marketing director for the Fulton County Library System.
Following the renovation funded by a Library Bond Program, the Sandy Springs Library “reopened to the public in the summer of 2019 with a lot of excitement from the community. Unfortunately, six months later, Covid struck and doors were closed for nearly a year. While staff did return to provide curbside service in the summer of 2020, a full reopening would not take place until June 2021,” Strange said.
She acknowledged that while the return to the library for in-person services was slow at first, “the Sandy Springs Library continues to serve large numbers of patrons every week.” Those patrons have access not only to books, but eBooks, e-Audiobooks, DVDs, CDs, books on CD, books on MP3 as well as videos. Cardholders may check out as many as 50 items at a time.
For those wondering, there are still free library cards! Visit the Sandy Springs Library (or one of the other 33 branches in the Fulton County Library System), complete an application, show identification with current name and address and shazam, you can get a card immediately. Or, you can apply online as well.
There are library cards for children, library cards for teachers, even library cards if you own a business or property in the county. Fines for overdue books are 10 cents a day or a maximum of $5. But if you steal any library property, you will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
As part of the Fulton County system, Sandy Springs patrons can use the Interlibrary Loan (or ILL). This is a process that allows the library system to borrow items from other libraries around the country. And it can be done online.
Unlike the “old days,” don’t think of a library as an insulated, quiet, tomb-like facility. Special passes with discounts can get patrons into Zoo Atlanta, the Center for Puppetry Arts, the Chattahoochee Nature Center, Emory University’s Michael C. Carlos Museum, the William Breman Jewish Museum, the Georgia Aquarium, Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites, and, if you are adventurous, even the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Macon or the Go Fish Education Center in Perry.
Truly, nowadays, a simple library card can open the world to you and your family.
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.
