Report: Glenridge Hall Set To Be Demolished

One of Sandy Springs most historic homes will soon be demolished.

According to Neighbor Newspapers, Glenridge Hall and nine other structures on the roughly 76-acre site will be torn down later this year.

Ashton Woods, a Roswell-based homebuilding company, earlier this year announced plans to purchase the property. In addition to the purchase, the homebuilder will also sell 12 acres of that property to Mercedes-Benz, which will build its U.S. headquarters on the site in Sandy Springs.

The property, which has been on the market since July, is comprised of two parts: a 47-acre parcel north of Abernathy Road and 29 acres on the south side of Abernathy between Glenridge Drive and Barfield Road. Mercedes-Benz’s headquarters will be located at the corner of Abernathy and Barfield Roads.

Mike Rabalais, director of the Glenridge Hall family office, told the newspaper that Ashton Woods had “nothing to do with” the decision to demolish the house. The property owner earlier this month obtained a demolition permit from the city of Sandy Springs, but Rabalais said work won’t get underway until later this year.

• Read more of Neighbor Newspapers’ report here.

Glenridge Hall was named to the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservations’ 2015 Places of Peril list, an annual compilation of historic properties the organization believes is “threatened by demolition, neglect, lack of maintenance, inappropriate development or insensitive public policy.”

According to the organization, Thomas K. Glenn built the Glenridge estate in 1929 on 400 acres of farmland north of Atlanta.

Designed by Samuel Inman Cooper, the Tudor Revival mansion required 60 men and a year to complete. The property also included stables, barns, smith and carpentry shops and housing for workers. Thomas and his wife, Elizabeth lived at Glenridge until his death in 1946.

Beginning in the 1980s, Glenn’s granddaughter and her husband fought to preserve the house and its setting. Glenridge Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and the couple thoroughly restored the home “with the dream that it be available for the public to enjoy,” Georgia Trust said.

The home has been the site for many charitable events and retreats over the years and has also been used in films such as Driving Miss Daisy and The Vampire Diaries.

What Should You Read Next?

• Glenridge Hall Named to 2015 Places in Peril List
• Mercedes-Benz Names Sandy Springs Headquarters Location