Serenbe taking shape in Chatt. Hill Country

Its the best-kept secret inside the best-kept secret in metro Atlanta and across Georgia. In times to come it will be a secret no longer.

Nestled inside the 40,000 rural acres that comprise Chattahoochee Hill Country in Southwest Fulton County, the emerging hamlet known as Serenbe is blossoming. And those early blooms are a sight to behold.

One of the last undeveloped stretches of land in the Atlanta megalopolis, Serenbe rests inside 900 acres off Hutcheson Ferry Road west of Palmetto. Serenbe co-founder and Serenbe Bed & Breakfast co-owner Steve Nygren said development of the hamlet began as a dream. Now well on the way to fruition, a late-afternoon visit to Serenbe Sept. 22 was proof positive that dreams exist not only in ones mind. Like some of the most potent offerings that human consciousness can inspire, Serenbe began as a cognitive construct and has become a living dream.

Nearly two dozen homes, townhome buildings and the first two businesses are currently open or under construction. Planned from the ground up, the rolling hills of Serenbe beckons the visitor to recall the quaint villages of Europe where homes and businesses exist side by side, just feet off the street. Such a view is far from the bustling city streets, strip shopping centers and bright lights that dot the American landscape.

Yet Serenbe is neither strictly European nor American. It is different. Everything, environmentally sensitive buildings and even the water treatment system, was thought out in advance.

Here everything is close. Here you know your neighbors. Here you can walk across the street or down the block from your home or townhouse to the Blue-Eyed Daisy bake shop and cafe, the first of Serenbes businesses. And with a limit of 220 homes and 70 percent of the land dedicated to greenspace, environmental sustainability and the benefits of walking, cycling and horse-back riding, Serenbes upscale mixed-use concept merging artistry with community creates a laid-back atmosphere where conversation and creativity are the icing on the cake.

Serenbe started out as a dream but it was also a reaction to what is happening with sprawl and development. And initially, it was a fear that traditional sprawl was actually going to destroy the woods around our farm, Nygren explained. We were concerned. Our first reaction was very typical, Lets see how much land we can buy to protect ourselves. And then I realized I didnt have enough money to do that. So then the next reaction was to figure out how to do a model that other people could copy. We realized that we probably couldnt do that fast enough and thats when we created Chattahoochee Hill Country to get new zoning and new overlays for this 40,000-acre area. So we started from the very basics. The first conversation started five years ago and we got those regulations through. We also realized that a lot of people didnt understand the concept we were talking about. So we decided we would just go ahead and build a hamlet to demonstrate that high density could look like this, and how it could join with the preserved land.

The overlay regulation required that 60 percent of land within the hamlet be set aside as greenspace. Serenbe went beyond the requirements, setting aside 70 percent for greenspace with complete build-out at just over 220 homes and townhomes, Nygren said with a smile.

It was not the perception, but rather the reality of a real neighborhood that drew Mindy and Daniel LaMarca to Serenbe. LaMarca said she and her husband had heard about Serenbe and decided to visit.

We heard about horse stables in the country. We pulled into town and our jaws dropped, LaMarca said excitedly. It was only partially done but it was so well done. The detail going into it was amazing. So we decided to buy a weekend house here. It was no-brainer. We knew we couldnt fail to be a part of this.

That was six months ago. Two months later the LaMarcas bought a house in Serenbe. Today, Lamarca said her family is considering leaving Atlanta and becoming permanent residents.

Our whole life changed in the past six months because of this, she said. I feel like my kids are safe here. There are great people here. Everybody is accepting of everybody else. Things are so casual and laid back and friendly. Its Heaven here.

LaMarca and her children, Morgan and Jack, had just finished shopping at the Blue-Eyed Daisy. During a break in the action, proprietor Angie Mosier spoke about operating Serenbes first business. Mosier said she and her husband Johnny were approached about operating the bake shop and cafe. Both had a background that made it a good fit.

Emerging from the kitchen, Johnny and Angie said they were from a long line of Southern cooks. The soups, salads and sandwiches found on the menu, and especially the baked goods, all carry a Southern flair, they said. As for their recent arrival in Serenbe, Angie said it is an opportunity to be a part of something so rapidly fleeting in America.

I was given the opportunity to make it what I want it to be and thats a place where community and communion are so important, she said. When mixed use stopped, gathering places went by the way side. Here people can come in and sit and talk and explore.

Set amid the rolling hills filled with pines and hardwoods east of the Chattahoochee River, Serenbe is more than quaint, even more than eclectic. Serenbe is unique. Its buildings feature a variety of architectural styles and art is everywhere. The winding gravel road off Hutcheson Ferry Road that leads to the hamlet is deceptive.

As Mindy LaMarca said, your jaw drops when you enter the place on Selbourne Lane, Serenbes main street. Serenbes first resident, Sandra Storrar, believes there is good reason for that type of awestruck sensation when people first enter the hamlet. Having moved there only months ago after a long affiliation with the concept that is becoming Serenbe, Storrar is clearly at home.

It just a cool place that already has a strong sense of community. We get together often and have conversations of substance, she explained, pleasantly animated and obviously a believer in the concept and the reality that has become and is becoming Serenbe. Sometimes people have to be willing to take a risk on something so new. Theyve got to be willing to think outside the box. Here at Serenbe, Ive found more of a sense of community here in just a few months than I did in six years in Roswell. Here there is a sense of connectedness and community.

As the blue afternoon skies faded to twilight on Selbourne Lane, one could mentally capture the alluring and beautiful melodies of the Moody Blues. Ray Thomas could not have put it better when he said, Twilight time to dream awhile in vales of deepening blue ... Standing transfixed on a beautiful little street so seemingly out of place yet so at home, those lyrics transcended space and time, compelling the observer to become the participant in a place that few in Atlanta and beyond would believe exists.

A lot of people have no idea that we are here, said Nygren. And its not that were trying to keep it a secret. Weve been telling people. But we havent been pushing it. Were here if people want to learn about a different way. We also realized it was too early to talk too much. When it was just plans and lines on paper people thought I was crazy or they didnt understand what I was talking about. So we decided to show them.

The idea of showing people what could happen was clearly evident as Nygren continued discussing the vision for Serenbe while standing on the sidewalk in front of the Blue-eyed Daisy, surrounded by the hamlets first homes and townhomes and next door to Studio Swan, soon to be opened by Atlanta artists Gail Foster and Tom Swanston.

We go to Europe and we see it and we say we love it. Why cant we have that right here? Why do we have to continue cutting our forests and everyone having their own acre or two where they dont know their neighbors? This is what they come back from Europe loving, said Nygren. And we have that right here. Instead of criticizing what everyone else was doing everywhere else we just decided to start taking care of our own backyard.

As residents and visitors gathered on the street in front of Blue-eyed Daisy, Nygren gave the signal for Serenbes sculptured street lamps to be lit for the first time. Far from casting a bright, glaring light, they gently illuminate the peaceful surroundings cast from a dream.

For everything that has happened to bring Serenbe into existence, there is much more on the near horizon. Construction on new homes, townhomes and commercial space continues, StudioSwan will open in November and, in coming months, ground will be broken for a 100,000-square-foot arts center and a destination restaurant featuring a celebrity chef. With art incorporated into so much of essence of Serenbe, the center will feature three components. Those will include an art studio, a large dance room and a multi-discipline media lab with state-of-the-art computer technology for use in the creation of art. These and all the other accomplishments already created in a little hamlet that had its beginnings in a dream.

A taste of Serenbe can be viewed at www.serenbe.com.

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