Ben Hill

When I was a little girl I remember visiting this neighborhood with my parents to go shopping at Greenbriar Mall and visit friends that lived there. It was a thriving area with shops, food, and easy access to entertainment and events in the city.

Greenbriar Mall was the place to be in the late 70s and 80s. All the major retailers were there and new ones were coming in all the time. The area was relatively safe and the home were well maintained and moderately priced.

There are a few now famous people who came from the Ben Hill area, including recording artists Kriss Kross, the kid rap music duo that had all the girls going crazy for them.

These days the Ben Hill area is very different. The mall is all but shut down because most of the large retailer left due to crime and a shift to the Camp Creek area. There was an industrial park that was quite active. It has very few companies left now.

Despite the decline in retail space there has been an uptick in the entertainment industry for the area. Greenbriar Pkwy is the location of the Tyler Perry Studios. There are also several record labels that call the area home.

The Ben Hill area is trying to recover but it is still marred by social decline, crime, and the continuous shift of major retailers to other areas.

You will find reasonably priced homes in the area, a couple of parks, and churches. The schools are not top schools so you may opt to choose a private school for your kids.

Located in Southwest Atlanta, Ben Hill borders unincorporated Fulton county. Major roads and interstates that are featured in this community are Campbelton road and interstate 285. Perhaps the the most notable landmark in Ben Hill is Greenbriar Mall. Greenbriar Mall was once the epicenter of economic activity for this area. This mall was the site of the first Mall Chick-fil-A restaurant in 1967.

Since the late 70s though, The Greenbriar Mall area has experienced much decline. Most major retailers have either relocated or are barely keeping their doors open. This area of Ben Hill now consist mainly of fast food restaurants, beauty supply stores and a host of other vacant former retail establishments.

Much of Ben Hill’s development has actually shifted to its southern section closer to the Camp Creek exit on I-285. This area is known as Camp Creek Market place. The Camp Creek Market place hosts an array of national retail and restaurant chains and small businesses. The area also has an expanding office park area that hosts a distribution center for Dick’s sporting goods. This development has improved the lifestyle of the residents of the area. Many middle class families that once lived closer to Atlanta have relocated to this community to take advantage of the many real estate developments in this area.

The Ben Hill neighborhood is a very affordable area of South Fulton County, close major thoroughfares such as Interstate I-285, Interstate I-20, Camp Creek Parkway, and Campbellton Road/Highway 166. In Ben Hill you will not find many things to do; however, it is located just a few minutes from the Greenbriar Shopping Mall (one of the oldest malls in the U.S.), Camp Creek Marketplace shopping centers, and the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, and public outdoor recreational centers like Adams Park and Welcome All Park. It also borders the Lakeside Country Club and Wolf Creek. While in recent years new homes have popped up in the area, houses here are generally older (built in the 1960-1980s) and very inexpensive in this suburban locale, making it a good place to find a decent/smaller, brick starter home for a young family. One of the best characteristics of Ben Hill is that it is close to everything. It is also a tight-knit community, where everyone seems to know one another. Go to the gas station, grocery store, or the Ben Hill Post Office and you are likely to run into your neighbor, your pastor or the school principal. Near a choice of public, private, and charter schools, and just 20 minutes from downtown Atlanta, the Georgia Dome and Turner Stadium, you have access to the best that Atlanta has to offer. If you are looking for animity this is not the place for you, but it you want a small town a stones' throw from everything, Ben Hill may be the place for you.