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Durham Lakes tees off

Groundbreaking, or perhaps more accurately, teeing-off ceremonies were held recently at Durham Lakes Golf and Country Club, Killearn’s new mixed-use community inside the city limits of Fairburn in South Fulton County.

The event, held in conjunction with the 150th anniversary of the City of Fairburn, attracted a large crowd, including officials from the Fairburn and Fulton County governments and the South Fulton County Chamber of Commerce, as well as other interested parties. Representatives of the city included Mayor Betty Hannah, who said the occasion was “a really exciting day for us,” and council members Glenn Higgins, Roy Farr, Frankie Arnold and Marian Johnson. Also on hand was Karen Handel, who chairs the Fulton County Commission, who referred to Durham Lakes as “the kind of development we want here.”

Located at the intersection of Virlyn B. Smith Road and U.S. Highway 29 a short distance from Exit 61 of Interstate 85, the 600-acre community is being developed by Durham Lakes Development LLC, which is owned by Killearn Inc. The community will contain 872 single family homes priced from the high $100,00s to the $400,000s, many with golf course or lake views. Seventy-four acres of the development is for a mix of retail and office sites, while amenities will include an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Scott Pool, a resort-styled pool, a cabana, four tennis courts, a basketball/sports court, and a playground.

All utilities in the development will be underground, and water and sewer services will be provided by the City of Fairburn.

David Williams, Killearn president, noted that Durham Lakes is the organization’s seventh golf course community. He added that 2004 is not only the 150th anniversary of Fairburn but is also the 40th anniversary of the Killearn organization.

Pointing to work already underway on the golf course, he also told the crowd that the first 10 homes in the community are already under construction by Majestic Residential LLC, a member of the Durham Lakes builder team.

Killearn founder J.T. Williams expressed appreciation to the City of Fairburn for allowing the groundbreaking to be a part of the city’s sesquicentennial celebration. “We’re delighted to be part of Fairburn,” he said. Williams also thanked the city officials for taking part in Killearn’s event. “I want to thank the mayor and council for taking part in the celebration. If we don’t have the cooperation of the government, we just can’t make a success of it,” he said, adding that “Fairburn is a great place for a Killearn community.”

Golf architect Pool described the new Durham Lakes course as “a championship golf course that everyone can play.” He said the course will have deep bunkers, large greens, and wide fairways.”

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the crowd moved to a tee which had been set up for the occasion at the future site of the 18th hole’s tee box, and led by Fairburn Mayor Hannah, the officials and other attendees were able to hit some of the first tee shots ever at the Durham Lakes course.

Killearn was founded in 1964 in Tallahassee, Fla., with the idea of creating communities catering to the lifestyles of the upwardly-mobile middle class in Florida’s capital city. Among the Florida projects were two 4,000-acre master planned communities, Killearn Estates and Killearn Lakes Plantation, which includes Golden Eagle Country Club.

Since entering the Georgia market and relocating its headquarters to the Eagle’s Landing area of Stockbridge in the late 1980s, the company has developed four Georgia golf club communities, including Eagle’s Landing in Stockbridge, Eagle’s Brooke in Locust Grove, and Waterfall Country Club at Lake Burton and Kingwood Golf Club and Resort in the North Georgia mountains near Clayton.