Nobody’s going to accuse the marketing tactics for this towering, BeltLine-fronting townhouse of being too sheepish.

Described as the “Belle of the BeltLine,” with a location and features so choice that “nothing comes close,” unit No. 5 at 661 Auburn Avenue was listed last week for $1,475,000—a price that would set the 2021 benchmark for Old Fourth Ward home sales if met, according to listing services data.

Featuring four levels of elevator-serviced living, the property is part of the 19-unit Residences at Studioplex developed by Thrive Homes (since acquired by Toll Brothers) three years ago. With facades of painted brick, the townhomes stand over a bustling retail row along the Eastside Trail that includes Hawkers, Pour Taproom, and Nina and Rafi pizza, among other establishments.

So what’s nearly $1.5 million get in an Eastside Trail townhouse these days?

Collectively, the main floor is called an "entertainers' dream."Photography by Nick Hoisington/Virtual Media Tours; courtesy of Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty

For starters, more than 3,050 square feet and multiple outdoor spaces over a very tidy two-car garage. The highlight, however, could be the “true showstopper” 300-square-foot rooftop terrace, which includes a built-in outdoor kitchen with a mini fridge, ice-maker, gas grill, and fireplace.

Other perks include skyline views from the master suite, the kitchen’s Sub-Zero fridge and pot-filler, automated blinds here and there, and a living room fireplace mantel carved from European limestone, lending a classy but not stuffy touch.

The home’s three bedrooms could be a hindrance at this price point in O4W. But as Meredith Miller, an Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s Realtor who holds the listing, points out, a fourth-floor entertainment space could be converted into a more traditional fourth bedroom. For budgets that would allow for such modifications, that is.

A folding glass wall system opens to the rooftop kitchen and fireplace. Photography by Nick Hoisington/Virtual Media Tours; courtesy of Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty

Eastside Trail proximity is shown from the frontside balcony. Photography by Nick Hoisington/Virtual Media Tours; courtesy of Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty

For as tall of an order as the price may seem, it wouldn’t be an all-time record for the neighborhood. A larger end-unit in the same complex traded for just shy of $1.6 million in 2019, marking O4W’s top single-family sale in recent years.  

Which could be proof this idea of “BeltLine beachfront” has merit. 

• Before/after: A decade of changes in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward (Urbanize Atlanta) 

• 661 Auburn Avenue NE, No. 5 (Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's)