Real Vinings | Buckhead

I just happened to be looking at yahoo.com and the number #1 trending item was that Tyler Perry is now the highest paid man in the entertainment industry.

That got me thinking about all the famous people that live around metro Atlanta.

Of course Tyler is a neighbor and can be spotted at Canoe Restaurant regularly.  I’ve been told that Janet Jackson stays at his home now versus her former residence on Mt. Paran that she had with Germaine Dupree.

As many of you know I’ve had Jane Fonda’s Atlanta residence listed and its currently leased but we’ll be putting it on the market again in the next few months.  We’ve had the opportunity to show it to many famous people and their “front” people when they were filming here.  Seems they all arrive with an entourage.  Queen Latifah is one of the nicest that I’ve met.

We also have our share of professional athletes in the area with Hines Ward building his new house off of Riverside Drive and his ex-wife Simone and their son Jayden just purchased a townhouse at The Battery down behind Avignon and the Aberdeen in Vinings.  I showed a house to Will Allen, a Safety with the Pittsburgh Steelers last week and he apparently has a contract on a home in Buckhead right now as well.

These instances of famous people and their recent real estate purchases in Buckhead made me take a look at how many homes over $4M traded in Atlanta this year….and the profile of the buyers and sellers.  There have been only three homes sold over $4M in Atlanta in 2011 YTD:

One of the most expensive homes sold in Atlanta in 2011, 330 Argonne Drive in Buckhead is now home to author Emily Giffin Blaha.

330 Argonne Drive:  This home was purchased by the author Emily Giffin  (married name Blaha).  Her previous home in Brookhaven is still for sale if you’re interested!  She purchased her house for just under $5M in June of this year.  Check out her most recent book, The Heart of the Matter.

1325 Monte Carlo in Buckhead was sold in 2011, in a property transfer/sale worth almost $7 million.

1325 Monte Carlo: This home was purchased via a swap with the owner’s previous home on Regency Court which is still on the market as well.  The purchaser was a Darrell J. Mays and I can only find a Telecommunications Company which is foreign registration associated with him name on the internet.  He paid almost $7M for the house including the trade value.

981 Davis Drive:  This is the largest sale so far in 2011 at $9M.  The previous owners of this home were Amanda and Walter Reames.  Yahoo shows him as an investor and partner in Atlanta Capital Management.

The most expensive home sold in Atlanta year to date, 981 Davis Drive, former home to Walter Reames, now home to Texas oil family, Erin and Al Hill III. Click on the image for an interactive map of the property.

“Mr. Walter Fred Reames Jr. is a Managing Partner and Member of Executive Committee at Atlanta Capital Management Company, LLC. His responsibilities include oversight of the marketing and sales as well as the finance and technology functions. Before joining Atlanta Capital in 1978, Mr. Reames was a Vice President at the Citizens & Southern National Bank, serving as a Manager of its National Division East. He was responsible for the bank’s relationships with major corporate clients headquartered in 17 eastern states and Canada. Mr. Reames was also a Business Advisor at The White Oak Group, Inc. He has received his Bachelor’s degree from Yale University and completed the Graduate School of Credit and Financial Management program from the Harvard Business School.”

More interesting to me is the purchaser.  My son had a new girl in his class at Westminster at the beginning of the year and she hadn’t been on the new student list that was published a couple of weeks before, so now in hindsight I think it was a last minute addition based on the closing of this property.  Turns out the new little girl now lives in this house!

The new family in Buckhead is the Hill Family. Pictured here are the father, Al Hill Jr., left, a grandson of billionaire H. L. Hunt, and his son (current Atlanta resident), Al III, right, known in Dallas as “Al Three.” Photographs by Danny Turner.

At first I didn’t make the connection, but upon receiving an email a week or so ago it dawned on me who the family was: Erin Nance Hill and Al Hill III.

Many years ago in the 1980’s I worked for Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh and my territory was Dallas, TX, so I became aware of many things “Dallas” and when I lived in Washington, D.C. in the early 90’s I was friends with T. Boone Pickens’ daughter there and knew of many of the oil families in Texas.

The Hunt family in Texas is one of the wealthiest families in America .

Erin Nance Hill is from Calhoun, GA and has family here and was 1993 Miss Georgia, so it’s not a surprise that she wants to raise her children here as well.  Atlanta is a great town for many reasons and we are thrilled to welcome The Hill Family to Atlanta and to Westminster!  Erin was a well-known socialite in Dallas and was single-handedly responsible for raising almost $1 million for charity during her time there.

Additional photos of the Atlanta mansion at 981 Davis Drive purchased by the Hill family….it will take your breath away!