It was in mid-May that construction began on the first home in Pinewood Forrest. Today there are nearly 10 homes being constructed on the site of the large New Urbanist community in west Fayetteville, a project envisioned and financed by Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy, a Fayette resident.
Set to feature a mix of residential, retail, office and commercial offerings, construction on the first home began in mid-May. Today, eight homes and counting are under construction in Phase 1A that will include 58 lots.
Above, construction is underway on the first batch of homes in Pinewood Forrest. Photo/Ben Nelms.
A team of four custom home builders from the Atlanta area – 10/23 Construction, Brightwater Homes, McKinney and Son Builders and Redwood Homes – will manage the construction.
Pinewood Forrest will be home to approximately 250,000 sq. ft. of commercial space, including 90,000 sq. ft. for restaurants and retail centrally-located in the Village Square just of Veterans Parkway across from Pinewood Atlanta Studios.
At buildout, Pinewood Forrest will include 600 single-family homes, 100 townhomes and 600 apartment flats to be located on the 234-acre development that will feature a unique mix of retail, office and other commercial offerings.
“It’s our responsibility to deliver on Dan Cathy’s vision,” Pinewood Forrest Multifamily Partners Executive Vice President John Acken said recently as he described the first phase of apartments, and the accompanying retail downstairs, as an environment designed to generate a dynamic urban feel.
Also coming in 2018, and previously announced, will be the first of two hotels on the property. It will be a 95-room upscale, independent boutique hotel. In total, the two hotels will provide 300 rooms.
And in terms of walkability and recreation, Pinewood Forrest will provide 118 acres, more than 50 percent of the total acreage, of public greenspace.
The development in the future also includes a state-of-the-art community wellness center and an arts center.
Yet another facet of the activity at Pinewood Forrest is the green building program that is integral to the upcoming construction.
Pinewood Forrest, in partnership with its Builders Guild and the Coweta-Fayette EMC, has developed a set of best-in-class green building standards more stringent and streamlined than existing national certification programs, according to Pinewood Forrest.
All homes in Pinewood Forrest are required to meet the rigorous components of the program, which include ground source heat pumps, total zip sheeting insulation, whole house mechanical ventilation and other criteria designed to improve indoor air quality and reduce energy and water consumption, according to Pinewood Forrest.
“From day one we’ve been focused on creating a community that we hope will ultimately produce more energy than it uses,” said Parker. “We will continue to focus on this initiative, seeking out new resources and building practices that will set Pinewood Forrest up as a model for sustainable, livable communities nationwide.”
Below, Dan Cathy in front of a map of Pinewood Forrest. Photo/Ben Nelms.
