Fifteen years ago, moving to a neighborhood tucked between I-75 and Chattahoochee Avenue was a pioneering idea. The area was dotted with lessthan-desirable commercial property and homes in poor condition.
In Underwood Hills, on the northwest side of Atlanta, that pride has helped shape a pedestrian community where cottages and bungalows from the 1920s stand beside contemporary infill houses. With immediate access to the interstate and within walking distance of restaurants and shops, the area has made a comeback
The Underwood Hills area was conceived as a neighborhood as early as 1902,when it was dubbed Northside Park, but construction in this area --- on the edge of the city didn't pick up steam until the 1920s. Many residents then were employed by the nearby Seaboard Coastline Railroad. Their brick and frame cottages and bungalows reflected modest lifestyles.
Building in the neighborhood continued through the post-World War II boom. But construction of I-75 removed some houses and turned the area into a residential island surrounded by the highway and major commercial corridors.
In the 1970s and 1980s, residents fought numerous rezoning battles to contain an explosion of high-density projects along DeFoor Avenue and Collier Road. The 1990s brought a resurgence of new single-family homes as buyers sought close in property.
