National builder will be selected for ‘active adult’ subdivision

Timbering operations are due to begin Monday on the extension of MacDuff Parkway, according to Donna Black of Scarborough Properties, which owns a 403-acre tract the road will partially cut through.

Peachtree City officials are still reviewing the construction plans for the road, and developers also need a permit from CSX railroad to build the necessary bridge over the railroad tracks, Black said.

The road will link up with Senoia Road and also Ga. Highway 74 at the current intersection for the north leg of Kedron Drive.

Scarborough is joining forces with developer John Wieland Homes to build the road, which will be welcomed by residents living off MacDuff. The road will allow them to circumvent the intersection of Ga. highways 54 and 74 and specifically Hwy. 54 West, cutting several minutes off their commute.

Scarborough will be bringing in a national builder for the approved 650-unit subdivision aimed at seniors that was initially proposed by the Levitt and Sons company before it ran into severe financial difficulties and pulled out of the project. The property has already been annexed into the city along with a 379-acre tract that will feature 475 homes built by Wieland.

Wieland’s property is located south of Scarborough’s parcel.

Black said there has been much interest from several national companies in building out the subdivision including amenities. It will be up to that builder to determine what amenities will be included with the development, Black said.

The amenities will be important because that type of lifestyle is what the target market of 55-and-over residents are seeking, Black said.

“This type of community is very amenity-driven,” Black said, adding that activities and programs are expected to be provided for residents.

It’s not yet clear when construction of homes in the subdivision will actually begin, and that will largely depend on the market, Black said. Right now there are few bright spots in the local real estate market, and the target buyers are typically waiting for their current home to sell instead of paying two mortgages at the same time, Black noted.

Should a builder want to break ground soon, they’d still have to wait until there’s road access to the land, Black said. That access will come via construction of the road extension that’s only just now beginning.

The road extension, once complete, may also be a key to helping Fayette school officials decide if they are going to build an elementary school on donated property off MacDuff Parkway. Officials have previously said the lack of a secondary access point to MacDuff was a reason they hadn’t acted on building a campus on the school site.