Dunwoody, Georgia
Encyclopedia
Dunwoody is a city located in DeKalb County
, Georgia
, United States
. It is a northern suburb of Atlanta. Dunwoody became incorporated as a city on December 1, 2008. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population
of 46,267.
One of Dunwoody's most historic buildings dates from 1829. The Ebenezer Primitive Baptist Church, at the corner of Roberts Drive and Spalding Drive
, is still active to this date and is also the home to one of the city's oldest cemeteries, where many of the founding fathers of Dunwoody are buried. The first public school, Dunwoody Elementary, first stood near the city center at the intersection of Chamblee-Dunwoody Road and Mount Vernon Road. It was in continuous operation from 1911 to 1986. A fire destroyed the school's cafeteria in 1966, which was on the corner of Womack Road and Chamblee-Dunwoody Road. On that site today, the Dunwoody branch of the Dekalb County Public Library now operates along with the North Dekalb Cultural Arts Center. In 1881, the Roswell Railroad
opened and ran along what is now Chamblee-Dunwoody Road north to the Chatahoochee River. It operated for 40 years, and in 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt
made a campaign whistle stop in Dunwoody along the way to Roswell, Georgia
.
of the University of Georgia
, to determine how feasible it would be to incorporate Dunwoody as a city
. Critics claimed that incorporation of Dunwoody, as in the incorporation of Sandy Springs in 2005, would take away a great deal of tax revenue from the rest of the county, leading to shortages of services, tax increases, or both for everyone else in the county, as has happened in Fulton. Citizens for Dunwoody, Inc. was the non-profit advocacy group begun by Senator Dan Weber to promote the effort.
The bill for incorporation was withdrawn from the Georgia General Assembly
for further study in 2006 and passed only the lower house in 2007. In 2008, the bill of incorporation was re-introduced by Senator Weber, and due to increased pressure, it passed in the senate as well as the house. Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue
signed the bill allowing the residents to vote for a city of Dunwoody on March 25. The referendum for cityhood, which took place on July 15, was approved by an overwhelming majority of voters.
The Dunwoody City Charter was later ratified by the Georgia General Assembly, and on December 1, 2008, after a three-year movement, Dunwoody officially became a city.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the CDP had a total area of 12.1 square miles (31.3 km²), of which, 12.1 square miles (31.3 km²) of it was land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) of it (0.33%) was water.
Dunwoody lies at the northern tip of DeKalb County, bounded by the Fulton County
line on the north and west, Interstate 285
on the south, Peachtree Industrial Boulevard
on the southeast, and Peachtree Corners
(in Gwinnett County
) on the northeast. Officially, the city limit extends only to the DeKalb County
line in the north. However, the name Dunwoody was previously used as far west as GA-400
and north to the Chattahoochee River
. To this end, the Dunwoody name is present in the narrow Sandy Spring panhandle's many apartment complexes, roads and shopping centers (such as the Dunwoody Place Shopping Center). This narrow strip was originally part of DeKalb, but was then ceded to Milton County
, which later merged into Fulton.
Perimeter Mall
and approximately 40 percent of the Perimeter Community Improvement District
, is a self-taxing district of shopping
and office buildings (including several high-rises), are both located in Dunwoody. The western part of the Perimeter Center
edge city
spans the Fulton county line into Sandy Springs. (The two sides of the PCID are legally separate, but work as one organization.) The tallest building in Dunwoody is the 34-story
Ravinia 3, at 444 feet (135.3 m).
Perimeter Center is served by the Dunwoody train station
on MARTA
's north line, while the other two stations in the area are both on the Fulton side.
On April 9, 1998, a major tornado
tore through parts of Dunwoody, running east-northeast from Perimeter Center and into Gwinnett County. Thousands of homes were damaged, hundreds seriously, and several dozen were condemned. In addition, tens of thousands of native forest
trees were downed. The vast majority of the tornado
's damage occurred here, leading it to be called the "Dunwoody tornado", the most vivid in local memory until the 2008 Atlanta tornado.
As of the census
of 2000, there were 32,808 people, 13,746 households, and 8,976 families residing in the CDP. The population density
was 2,715.7 people per square mile (1,048.6/km²). There were 14,599 housing units at an average density of 1,208.4 per square mile (466.6/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 85.02% White, 4.43% African American, 0.12% Native American, 7.78% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.34% from other races
, and 1.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.61% of the population.
ACS Demographics: 2005-2007 Estimates
There were 13,746 households out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples
living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 19.6% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 33.9% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $82,838, and the median income for a family was $100,796. Males had a median income of $70,460 versus $42,813 for females. The per capita income
for the CDP was $62,523. About 1.5% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
is Ken Wright and the first and current city manager
is Warren Hutmacher.
Dunwoody's city hall
is located in a Perimeter Center office building at 41 Perimeter Center East. It was originally at a temporary location in the city of Sandy Springs for most of its first year, until it signed a long-term lease
for its current space.
Dunwoody operates its own police force of 46 officers, as well as departments over zoning and land use. The city is still served by DeKalb County departments for some services and functions, particularly Dekalb County Fire & Rescue, as well as Dekalb's departments of sanitation, water, and sewage.
and in Dunwoody. In 2010 the newspaper relocated its headquarters from Downtown
Atlanta to leased offices in the Perimeter Center for financial reasons.
InterContinental Hotels Group
operates its American corporate offices in Dunwoody. Porsche
Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA) also has its American corporate offices in Dunwoody.
of the community, and the location of the iconic Dunwoody Farmhouse. The distinctive Colonial Williamsburg architectural style of the district originated with the construction of Dunwoody Village Shopping Center in the 1970s, for which the district gets its name. Since then, all other construction in the area followed suit, giving Dunwoody a unique architectural identity and sense of place.
is the major edge city
and neighborhood that has formed around Perimeter Mall
. The mall was developed in 1971, spurring major office, residential, and commercial developments in the decades since. It is one of Metro Atlanta's largest job centers, employing hundreds of thousands of people each day. The district is split by Dunwoody's border with Sandy Springs
. Perimeter Center is located at the intersection of two major highways, GA 400 and I-285. The Dunwoody Transit Station
provides public transit to the district.
. Over-development in Georgetown was one of the main reasons for the initiation of Dunwoody's incorporation movement, with many new apartments being approved for the area, even in some single-family residential areas. Georgetown, one of the most walkable areas of the city, contains both single-family residential subdivisions and its own retail district.
. The district shares a name with its main road, which travels through Fulton, Gwinnett and DeKalb County and was an important 19th century route connecting Decatur and Roswell via Holcomb Bridge Road. The district is named after Winters Chapel (now Winters Chapel Methodist Church), which has resided at its present location since the 1870s. The church itself is named after an instrumental founder, Jeremiah Winters. The area is a prime location for light commercial and retail redevelopment opportunities due to good demographics and traffic counts. Two parks, connected by sidewalks, dominate Winters Chapel. The 3/4 mile long, meticulously groomed, linear park running along DeKalb County's Twin Lakes water reservoir on Peeler Road is popular with walkers and joggers. Windwood Hollow Park, at Lakeside Drive and Peeler Road, offers tennis, a children's play area, a picnic pavilion, and a short trail.
and Doraville
. Landmarks in the area include the Dunwoody campus of Georgia Perimeter College
and Dunwoody's signature park, Brook Run. Brook Run, on North Peachtree Road near its intersection with Tilly Mill Road, boasts many wooded walking trails, a children's play area, a dog park, a Veterans Memorial, and a community garden. The 103 acre (0.41682658 km²) site will see major improvements as Dunwoody plans for its future. Also in Tilly Mill is the Marcus Jewish Community Center, an Orthodox synagogue, and a significant portion of Dunwoody's Jewish population.
operates local public schools.
Elementary schools operated by DCSS include:
Peachtree Charter Middle School
and Dunwoody High School
are DCSS schools in and serving Dunwoody.
DeKalb County, Georgia
DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population of the county was 691,893 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is the city of Decatur. It is bordered to the west by Fulton County and contains roughly 10% of the city of Atlanta...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is a northern suburb of Atlanta. Dunwoody became incorporated as a city on December 1, 2008. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of 46,267.
History
The Dunwoody area was pioneered in the early 1830s and is named for Major Charles Dunwody (1828–1905), an extra "o" added with the incorrect spelling of the name on a banking note. Charles Dunwody originally returned to Roswell after fighting in the Civil War, in which he fought for the secession of the Confederate states.One of Dunwoody's most historic buildings dates from 1829. The Ebenezer Primitive Baptist Church, at the corner of Roberts Drive and Spalding Drive
Spalding Drive
Spalding Drive is an approximately 12-mile east-west road connecting three suburban cities in north Atlanta: Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, and Peachtree Corners. The road, which roughly parallels the Chattahoochee River, is lined on both sides with affluent neighborhoods and private estates...
, is still active to this date and is also the home to one of the city's oldest cemeteries, where many of the founding fathers of Dunwoody are buried. The first public school, Dunwoody Elementary, first stood near the city center at the intersection of Chamblee-Dunwoody Road and Mount Vernon Road. It was in continuous operation from 1911 to 1986. A fire destroyed the school's cafeteria in 1966, which was on the corner of Womack Road and Chamblee-Dunwoody Road. On that site today, the Dunwoody branch of the Dekalb County Public Library now operates along with the North Dekalb Cultural Arts Center. In 1881, the Roswell Railroad
Roswell Railroad
The Roswell Railroad was a narrow gauge railroad that ran from south of Roswell, Georgia to Chamblee from 1881 until 1921. The railroad served as a passenger and freight carrier.- Overview :...
opened and ran along what is now Chamblee-Dunwoody Road north to the Chatahoochee River. It operated for 40 years, and in 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
made a campaign whistle stop in Dunwoody along the way to Roswell, Georgia
Roswell, Georgia
Roswell is a city located in northern Fulton County; it is a suburb of northern Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The 2010 Census population was 88,346. It is the eighth largest city in Georgia...
.
Movement for incorporation
In early 2006, a study was conducted by the Carl Vinson Institute of GovernmentCarl Vinson Institute of Government
The Carl Vinson Institute of Government is an organization that works closely with officials and employees from state and local governments in Georgia and internationally to help them achieve their missions and improve public service...
of the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
, to determine how feasible it would be to incorporate Dunwoody as a city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
. Critics claimed that incorporation of Dunwoody, as in the incorporation of Sandy Springs in 2005, would take away a great deal of tax revenue from the rest of the county, leading to shortages of services, tax increases, or both for everyone else in the county, as has happened in Fulton. Citizens for Dunwoody, Inc. was the non-profit advocacy group begun by Senator Dan Weber to promote the effort.
The bill for incorporation was withdrawn from the Georgia General Assembly
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, being composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate....
for further study in 2006 and passed only the lower house in 2007. In 2008, the bill of incorporation was re-introduced by Senator Weber, and due to increased pressure, it passed in the senate as well as the house. Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue
Sonny Perdue
George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III, was the 81st Governor of Georgia. Upon his inauguration in January 2003, he became the first Republican governor of Georgia since Benjamin F. Conley served during Reconstruction in the 1870s....
signed the bill allowing the residents to vote for a city of Dunwoody on March 25. The referendum for cityhood, which took place on July 15, was approved by an overwhelming majority of voters.
The Dunwoody City Charter was later ratified by the Georgia General Assembly, and on December 1, 2008, after a three-year movement, Dunwoody officially became a city.
Geography
Dunwoody's geographic center is at 33°56′34"N 84°19′4"W (33.942751, -84.317694).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the CDP had a total area of 12.1 square miles (31.3 km²), of which, 12.1 square miles (31.3 km²) of it was land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) of it (0.33%) was water.
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
line on the north and west, Interstate 285
Interstate 285
Interstate 285 is an Interstate Highway loop encircling Atlanta, Georgia, for . I-285 is also known as unsigned State Route 407 and is colloquially referred to as the Perimeter. Suburban sprawl has made it one of the most heavily traveled roadways in the United States, and portions of the highway...
on the south, Peachtree Industrial Boulevard
Peachtree Industrial Boulevard
Peachtree Industrial Boulevard is a very long road that runs from Peachtree Street just south of Chamblee, and ends in Buford.-DeKalb County:-Gwinnett County:-See also:*Georgia State Route 141...
on the southeast, and Peachtree Corners
Peachtree Corners, Georgia
Peachtree Corners is a city in western Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. It is a northern suburb of Atlanta, located east of Dunwoody and south of Johns Creek. Out of all of Atlanta's northern suburbs, Peachtree Corners is the only one that was developed as a planned community...
(in Gwinnett County
Gwinnett County, Georgia
, Gwinnett County had a population of 805,321. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 53.3% white , 23.6% black , 2.7% Korean, 2.6% Asian Indian, 2.0% Vietnamese, 3.3% other Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 8.8% some other race and 3.1% from two or more races...
) on the northeast. Officially, the city limit extends only to the DeKalb County
DeKalb County, Georgia
DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population of the county was 691,893 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is the city of Decatur. It is bordered to the west by Fulton County and contains roughly 10% of the city of Atlanta...
line in the north. However, the name Dunwoody was previously used as far west as GA-400
Georgia State Route 400
Georgia State Route 400 is a highway in the U.S. state of Georgia, concurrent with U.S. Route 19 from exit 4B until its terminus just south of Dahlonega. ST 400 goes from Atlanta, at Interstate 85 , to Buckhead, Sandy Springs, Roswell, Alpharetta, Cumming, Dawson County, and Dahlonega...
and north to the Chattahoochee River
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...
. To this end, the Dunwoody name is present in the narrow Sandy Spring panhandle's many apartment complexes, roads and shopping centers (such as the Dunwoody Place Shopping Center). This narrow strip was originally part of DeKalb, but was then ceded to Milton County
Milton County, Georgia
Milton County was a county of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1857 to 1931. It was created on December 18, 1857 from parts of northeastern Cobb, southeastern Cherokee, and southwestern Forsyth counties. The county was named for John Milton, Secretary of State of Georgia from 1777 to 1799...
, which later merged into Fulton.
Perimeter Mall
Perimeter Mall
Perimeter Mall is a super-regional shopping mall in Dunwoody, Georgia, just north of Atlanta, near the highway interchange of Interstate 285 and Georgia 400....
and approximately 40 percent of the Perimeter Community Improvement District
Perimeter Center
Perimeter Center is a neighborhood and major edge city in metro Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is centered on Perimeter Mall, the nucleus around which it has formed. Perimeter Center is located north-northeast of Atlanta proper, and lies within two cities - Dunwoody and Sandy Springs...
, is a self-taxing district of shopping
Shopping
Shopping is the examining of goods or services from retailers with the intent to purchase at that time. Shopping is an activity of selection and/or purchase. In some contexts it is considered a leisure activity as well as an economic one....
and office buildings (including several high-rises), are both located in Dunwoody. The western part of the Perimeter Center
Perimeter Center
Perimeter Center is a neighborhood and major edge city in metro Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is centered on Perimeter Mall, the nucleus around which it has formed. Perimeter Center is located north-northeast of Atlanta proper, and lies within two cities - Dunwoody and Sandy Springs...
edge city
Edge city
"Edge city" is an American term for a concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional urban area in what had recently been a residential suburb or semi-rural community...
spans the Fulton county line into Sandy Springs. (The two sides of the PCID are legally separate, but work as one organization.) The tallest building in Dunwoody is the 34-story
Storey
A storey or story is any level part of a building that could be used by people...
Ravinia 3, at 444 feet (135.3 m).
Perimeter Center is served by the Dunwoody train station
Dunwoody (MARTA station)
Dunwoody is an elevated metro station on the Red Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system. It is located at the southwest corner of Perimeter Mall, and also serves the surrounding high-rise office parks in the Perimeter Center business district...
on MARTA
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority or MARTA is the principal rapid-transit system in the Atlanta metropolitan area and the ninth-largest in the United States. Formed in 1971 as strictly a bus system, MARTA operates a network of bus routes linked to a rapid transit system consisting...
's north line, while the other two stations in the area are both on the Fulton side.
On April 9, 1998, a major tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
tore through parts of Dunwoody, running east-northeast from Perimeter Center and into Gwinnett County. Thousands of homes were damaged, hundreds seriously, and several dozen were condemned. In addition, tens of thousands of native forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
trees were downed. The vast majority of the tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
's damage occurred here, leading it to be called the "Dunwoody tornado", the most vivid in local memory until the 2008 Atlanta tornado.
Cityscape
Demographics
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 32,808 people, 13,746 households, and 8,976 families residing in the CDP. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,715.7 people per square mile (1,048.6/km²). There were 14,599 housing units at an average density of 1,208.4 per square mile (466.6/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 85.02% White, 4.43% African American, 0.12% Native American, 7.78% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.34% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.61% of the population.
ACS Demographics: 2005-2007 Estimates
- 79.2% - non-Hispanic White
- 8.4% - Asian
- 7.9% - Black or African American
- 4.2% - Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
- 1.5% - Some other race
- 0.9% - American Indian or Alaska Native
- N/A - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
There were 13,746 households out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 19.6% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 33.9% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $82,838, and the median income for a family was $100,796. Males had a median income of $70,460 versus $42,813 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the CDP was $62,523. About 1.5% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The city has a council-manager form of municipal government. Its first and current mayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
is Ken Wright and the first and current city manager
City manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief executive officer or chief administrative officer in some municipalities...
is Warren Hutmacher.
Dunwoody's city hall
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
is located in a Perimeter Center office building at 41 Perimeter Center East. It was originally at a temporary location in the city of Sandy Springs for most of its first year, until it signed a long-term lease
Lease
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee to pay the lessor for use of an asset. A rental agreement is a lease in which the asset is tangible property...
for its current space.
Dunwoody operates its own police force of 46 officers, as well as departments over zoning and land use. The city is still served by DeKalb County departments for some services and functions, particularly Dekalb County Fire & Rescue, as well as Dekalb's departments of sanitation, water, and sewage.
Economy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has its headquarters in the Perimeter CenterPerimeter Center
Perimeter Center is a neighborhood and major edge city in metro Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is centered on Perimeter Mall, the nucleus around which it has formed. Perimeter Center is located north-northeast of Atlanta proper, and lies within two cities - Dunwoody and Sandy Springs...
and in Dunwoody. In 2010 the newspaper relocated its headquarters from Downtown
Downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta is the first and largest of the three financial districts in the city of Atlanta. Downtown Atlanta is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters, city, county, state and federal government facilities, sporting facilities, and is the central tourist attraction of the city...
Atlanta to leased offices in the Perimeter Center for financial reasons.
InterContinental Hotels Group
InterContinental Hotels Group
InterContinental Hotels Group plc is a global hotels company headquartered in Denham, United Kingdom. It is the largest hotels company in the world measured by rooms , and has over 4,500 hotels across over 100 countries...
operates its American corporate offices in Dunwoody. Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA) also has its American corporate offices in Dunwoody.
Top employers
According to the City's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | InterContinental Hotels Group InterContinental Hotels Group InterContinental Hotels Group plc is a global hotels company headquartered in Denham, United Kingdom. It is the largest hotels company in the world measured by rooms , and has over 4,500 hotels across over 100 countries... |
967 |
| 2 | Macy's Macy's Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States... (corporate) |
785 |
| 3 | T-Mobile T-Mobile USA T-Mobile USA, Inc. is an American mobile-network operator, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, that provides wireless voice, messaging and data services in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company is the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the U.S. market with 33.73... |
767 |
| 4 | Walden Security | 606 |
| 5 | Philips Philips Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company.... Healthcare |
492 |
| 6 | Universal Health Services Universal Health Services Universal Health Services, Inc. is a Fortune 500 company based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. UHS is one of the leading hospital management companies in the United States and operates, through its subsidiaries, acute care hospitals, behavioral health facilities and ambulatory surgery centers in... |
453 |
| 7 | AutoTrader.com AutoTrader.com AutoTrader.com is an American automotive classified Web site operated by AutoTrader.com L.L.C.; Cox Enterprises owns 75% of the company, Providence Equity Partners owns the rest. It was founded in August of 1997 and is the largest classified automotive site in the United States... |
435 |
| 8 | Computer Generated Solutions | 420 |
| 9 | Macy's Macy's Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States... (store) |
412 |
| 10 | ER Solutions | 400 |
Districts/neighborhoods
Dunwoody Village
Dunwoody Village is the historic heartDowntown
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....
of the community, and the location of the iconic Dunwoody Farmhouse. The distinctive Colonial Williamsburg architectural style of the district originated with the construction of Dunwoody Village Shopping Center in the 1970s, for which the district gets its name. Since then, all other construction in the area followed suit, giving Dunwoody a unique architectural identity and sense of place.
Perimeter Center
Perimeter CenterPerimeter Center
Perimeter Center is a neighborhood and major edge city in metro Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is centered on Perimeter Mall, the nucleus around which it has formed. Perimeter Center is located north-northeast of Atlanta proper, and lies within two cities - Dunwoody and Sandy Springs...
is the major edge city
Edge city
"Edge city" is an American term for a concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional urban area in what had recently been a residential suburb or semi-rural community...
and neighborhood that has formed around Perimeter Mall
Perimeter Mall
Perimeter Mall is a super-regional shopping mall in Dunwoody, Georgia, just north of Atlanta, near the highway interchange of Interstate 285 and Georgia 400....
. The mall was developed in 1971, spurring major office, residential, and commercial developments in the decades since. It is one of Metro Atlanta's largest job centers, employing hundreds of thousands of people each day. The district is split by Dunwoody's border with Sandy Springs
Sandy Springs, Georgia
Sandy Springs is a city in north Georgia, United States. It is a northern suburb of Atlanta. With a 2010 population of 93,853, Sandy Springs is the sixth-largest city in the state and the second-largest city in Metro Atlanta. Sandy Springs is located in north Fulton County, Georgia, just south of...
. Perimeter Center is located at the intersection of two major highways, GA 400 and I-285. The Dunwoody Transit Station
Dunwoody (MARTA station)
Dunwoody is an elevated metro station on the Red Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system. It is located at the southwest corner of Perimeter Mall, and also serves the surrounding high-rise office parks in the Perimeter Center business district...
provides public transit to the district.
Georgetown
An older part of Dunwoody, Georgetown was developed in the early 1960s. It is located near I-285 and borders with the city limits of ChambleeChamblee, Georgia
As of the 2010 Census Chamblee had a population of 9,892. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 45.0% white , 7.0% black or African American , 2.1% Native American , 1.8% Vietnamese, 1.6% Asian Indian, 4.6% other Asian, 33.5% from some other race and...
. Over-development in Georgetown was one of the main reasons for the initiation of Dunwoody's incorporation movement, with many new apartments being approved for the area, even in some single-family residential areas. Georgetown, one of the most walkable areas of the city, contains both single-family residential subdivisions and its own retail district.
Jett Ferry/Williamsburg
Jett Ferry/Williamsburg is a commercial and residential district located on the eastern edge of Dunwoody, adjacent to the Dunwoody Panhandle of Sandy Springs.Winters Chapel
Winters Chapel is located at Dunwoody's border with Peachtree CornersPeachtree Corners, Georgia
Peachtree Corners is a city in western Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. It is a northern suburb of Atlanta, located east of Dunwoody and south of Johns Creek. Out of all of Atlanta's northern suburbs, Peachtree Corners is the only one that was developed as a planned community...
. The district shares a name with its main road, which travels through Fulton, Gwinnett and DeKalb County and was an important 19th century route connecting Decatur and Roswell via Holcomb Bridge Road. The district is named after Winters Chapel (now Winters Chapel Methodist Church), which has resided at its present location since the 1870s. The church itself is named after an instrumental founder, Jeremiah Winters. The area is a prime location for light commercial and retail redevelopment opportunities due to good demographics and traffic counts. Two parks, connected by sidewalks, dominate Winters Chapel. The 3/4 mile long, meticulously groomed, linear park running along DeKalb County's Twin Lakes water reservoir on Peeler Road is popular with walkers and joggers. Windwood Hollow Park, at Lakeside Drive and Peeler Road, offers tennis, a children's play area, a picnic pavilion, and a short trail.
Tilly Mill
Tilly Mill is named after the pioneer Tilly family, who owned a late 19th century farm and mill on land bisected by Tilly Mill Road, which connects Dunwoody to Peachtree IndustrialGeorgia State Route 141
State Route 141 is a north–south route which begins where Roswell Road and Peachtree Road split in Buckhead....
and Doraville
Doraville, Georgia
Doraville is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 8,330.-History:Doraville was incorporated by an act of the Georgia General Assembly, approved December 15, 1871...
. Landmarks in the area include the Dunwoody campus of Georgia Perimeter College
Georgia Perimeter College
Georgia Perimeter College is a two-year associate degree-granting unit of the University System of Georgia. In May 2011, the state Board of Regents approved two bachelor's programs: a Bachelor of Arts in Sign Language Interpreting and a Bachelor of Science in Health Informatics...
and Dunwoody's signature park, Brook Run. Brook Run, on North Peachtree Road near its intersection with Tilly Mill Road, boasts many wooded walking trails, a children's play area, a dog park, a Veterans Memorial, and a community garden. The 103 acre (0.41682658 km²) site will see major improvements as Dunwoody plans for its future. Also in Tilly Mill is the Marcus Jewish Community Center, an Orthodox synagogue, and a significant portion of Dunwoody's Jewish population.
Primary and secondary schools
The DeKalb County School SystemDeKalb County School System
DeKalb County School System is a school district headquartered at 1701 Mountain Industrial Boulevard in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States...
operates local public schools.
Elementary schools operated by DCSS include:
- Austin Elementary School
- Chesnut Charter Elementary School
- Kingsley Elementary School
- Vanderlyn Elementary School
Peachtree Charter Middle School
Peachtree Charter Middle School
Peachtree Charter Middle School , formerly known as Peachtree Middle School, and originally Peachtree High School, is a public middle school located in Dunwoody, a recently incorporated city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States...
and Dunwoody High School
Dunwoody High School
Dunwoody High School is a public high school in Dunwoody, an incorporated city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States and is operated by the DeKalb County School System...
are DCSS schools in and serving Dunwoody.
Colleges and universities
- Georgia Perimeter CollegeGeorgia Perimeter CollegeGeorgia Perimeter College is a two-year associate degree-granting unit of the University System of Georgia. In May 2011, the state Board of Regents approved two bachelor's programs: a Bachelor of Arts in Sign Language Interpreting and a Bachelor of Science in Health Informatics...
, Dunwoody Campus - American InterContinental UniversityAmerican InterContinental UniversityAmerican InterContinental University, commonly called AIU, is an international for-profit university with open admissions owned by Career Education Corporation ....
(AIU Dunwoody) Just across the county line in neighboring Sandy Springs. - Troy UniversityTroy UniversityTroy University is a public university that is located in Troy, Alabama, United States. It was originally founded in 1887 as Troy Normal School. Its main campus enrollment is 7,194 students. The total enrollment of all Troy University campuses is 29,689...
, Atlanta site
Notable people from Dunwoody
- Harris BartonHarris BartonHarris Scott Barton is a former American football offensive lineman who played for the San Francisco 49ers.-Early life:...
, former professional football player, San Francisco 49ersSan Francisco 49ersThe San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and... - Kip PardueKip PardueKevin Ian "Kip" Pardue is an American actor and model, best known for his roles in the films Remember the Titans, Driven, The Rules of Attraction, and Thirteen....
, actor - Ryan SeacrestRyan SeacrestRyan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...
, host of American IdolAmerican IdolAmerican Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment... - Jeff WilliamsJeff Williams (poker player)Jeff Williams is an American poker player from Dunwoody, Georgia. He graduated from Dunwoody High and University of Georgia....
, American poker player - Erin AndrewsErin AndrewsErin Jill Andrews is an American sportscaster, journalist, and television personality. As of 2011 she is a co-host of the ESPN entertainment show College GameDay and a contributor for Good Morning America on the ABC network...
, ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
reporter