The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) presented its 18th annual Developments of Excellence awards at its State of the Region breakfast on October 28, recognizing quality developments and places that keep the 10-county Atlanta region a desirable place to live and work. Halpern Enterprises took home the award for “Exceptional Merit for Suburban Retrofit” award for its mixed-use development, Belmont.
Originally called “Belmont Hills,” the 48-acre site at the corner of Atlanta Road and Windy Hill Road was developed in the early 1950s and became one of the largest shopping centers in the Southeast. Halpern turned the aging strip shopping center into a walkable, mixed-use community. The new Belmont development features a mix of single-family attached homes, apartments, retail, office and a public elementary school, with a design that accommodates people of all ages.
“In the future, the Atlanta region will witness the development of many more pedestrian-friendly retail centers where people can walk to shop and dine in their communities and leave their cars at home,” said Jack Halpern, chairman of Halpern Enterprises. “Belmont is a great example of what can be accomplished, and we’re humbled by this recognition from ARC.”
Belmont features a collection of restaurants and retail stores called The Shops at Belmont; a 153-home single-family residential subdivision by David Weekley Homes (Village of Belmont); and a 274-unit luxury apartment community (400 Belmont). The site is also the location of Smyrna Elementary School, which has more than 900 students.
The center is adjacent to Cobb County’s Campbell High School and is connected to the nearby Smyrna Market Village, the Chattahoochee River and Kennesaw Mountain by the surrounding network of streets, trails and sidewalks.