What was long held a dream by many in the Chattahoochee Hill Country area of South Fulton County is poised to become reality. In keeping with the concept that would contain development within a small fraction of the 40,000-acre Hill Country, plans have been submitted to create the 2,000-acre Friendship Village at South Fulton Parkway and Rivertown Road. Far from being an enclave, Friendship Village is envisioned to be a full-spectrum community designed to melt into the rolling hills of south Fulton while maintaining nearly two-thirds of the community as greenspace.

Planned from the ground up and conceived in 2000, the project is the work of Atlanta’s Minerva Properties. The Friendship Village plan has been submitted to the Georgia Dept. of Community Affairs and is currently in the Development of Regional Impact (DRI) process.

“Minerva was an original member of the idea, even before the formation of Chattahoochee Hill Country Conservancy (CHCC),” said project manager and former CHCC executive director Stacy Patton. “Minerva is interested in different ways to develop and preserve land. It’s all about quality of life.”

As proposed, Friendship Village is situated on approximately 2,000 acres north of Rivertown Road, east of Cochran Mill Road and west of Ga. Highway 154. A small portion of the village would be located south of Rivertown. Businesses totaling just under a million square feet would be located largely in the southeast portion of the village, near Rivertown Road, South Fulton Parkway and Hwy. 154. Also in the same area would be 96,500 square feet of civic and institutional space. Not appropriate for big box development, Minerva co-owner Brian Davison said the development would benefit from having a grocery store and a home improvement business. Minerva will seek a variance to include those businesses, he said. The community’s water might be accessed from the city of Atlanta and wastewater treatment capabilities from Fulton County.

But the hallmark of Friendship Village is to be in its allocation of 63 percent greenspace, with winding and arcing residential nodes spaced inside the winding creek beds of the Pea Creek basin.

“Those pockets of density will be largely hidden from view,” said Davison. “And the way the village will be laid out promotes the idea of neighborhoods, the idea of people getting to know each other.”

The development is projected to be home to a maximum of 5,981 residential units, mostly single-family homes ranging from $180,000 to $1 million. Plans also include pockets of condos and apartments, along with live-work spaces, Davison said. The village is also expected to be outfitted with inter-connected trails and pedestrian-friendly cart paths. Though years away, Patton said the village is projected to be home to 12,000-15,000 residents at build-out.

Patton said Minerva is also interested in the idea of establishing a charter school with an environmental education program in the village. Preliminary discussions about submitting a proposal are already underway, she said.

Friendship Village is proposed to be a fully engaged community where only 37 percent of the land will be developed. Such an idea is not without risk, but Davison believes that risk will pay off.

“We’re proud of the projects we undertake. We want people to check us out to see if we delivered on what was promised. With this project, we’ve tried to push the limit on what we do. For us, it takes more money, more time and more effort up front to do it right and in a way that makes it desirable. But it’s worth it in the long run. And we’re here for the long run,” Davison said. “We want Friendship Village to offer a wide range of choices. The intent is to have the top-selling market in metro Atlanta year after year. High quality reaps benefits.”

One of the things that is benefitting the 40,000-acre Chattahoochee Hill Country Conservancy concept will also benefit Friendship Village, setting it apart from any other development in Georgia. The glue that binds this mutually beneficial relationship is the use of Transferable Development Rights (TDRs). Essentially, a Chatt Hills resident in the 40,000-acre area can decide not to develop a portion of their property and, instead, sell that “right” to develop (with one TDR equalling one acre) to a designated buyer and be paid for that acreage while retaining ownership of their property. The buyer uses the TDR to develop in a designated area within the Hill Country. The process is already underway in Chatt Hills, with non-profit CHCC currently functioning as the bank for TDR sales. The process financially benefits property owners wanting to maintain the area’s rural character and assists in holding to the Hill Country vision of keeping approximately 80 percent of the entire 40,000-acre area as perpetual greenspace.

Now in the DRI process, Friendship Village is expected to begin the zoning process by summer, followed by a year of engineering. Infrastructure and other construction is projected to begin in 2009 with early occupancy in 2010.

Another of Minerva’s projects, Heron Bay Golf & Country Club in Henry County, was selected as 2006 Grand Award Winner for Outstanding Development by Georgia Urban Forest Council and named Community of the Year in 2005 by Atlanta Homebuilders Association.