Construction starts on pioneering geothermal homes across from Pinewood Atlanta studios
History is being made in west Fayetteville with the initial phases of construction of the first home at Pinewood Forrest, the New Urbanist community that will feature a mix of residential, retail, office and commercial offerings. The homes will feature geothermal heating and cooling.
It was on April 22 that the first group of virtual reality tours were held on-site for the initial 58 residential lots. As of May 15, 28 of those lots have been reserved, Skyline PR representative Adrienne Heintz said Tuesday.
Heintz said that since opening day, Pinewood Forrest Real Estate has received a total of 48 deposits for 28 individual homesites through its reservation system. This includes reservations, waitlists and backup reservations, and expedited waitlist deposits on certain homesites.
“We couldn’t be more excited about how brisk sales have been since launching our reservation system on opening day less than a month ago. We see the pent up demand for home types we are delivering and will continue to provide homes that people love and want to buy. Also, there is some modest inventory still available, so come take a look,” said Pinewood Forrest President Rob Parker.
The first home under construction is being built by Atlanta-based Redwood Home Builders. As with all 600 single-family to be constructed at Pinewood Forrest, the one under construction today will feature geothermal heating and cooling.
“We are pleased and extremely honored to be building homes in Pinewood Forrest. Working with (Pinewood Forrest Project Director) Bill Lynch and (town planner and urbanist) Lew Oliver is a wonderful fit for Redwood Home Builders. We are excited to be involved in bringing their vision and creativity to life,” said Jason Morris, founder of Redwood Home Builders.
As one of several builders involved in home construction, Morris said Redwood will invest the next three to five years building in Pinewood Forrest.
“This will be the first all-geothermal community of its scale in the United States,” said Lynch.
Now under construction, Phase 1A is comprised of 58 residences, with floorpans designed by Oliver. The homes will range from 1,214 to 3,880 sq. ft. and are priced from $349,900 to more than $1 million, according to Pinewood Forrest.
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.
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.
The first phase of multifamily flats is currently under design and will be delivered in 2019.
Pinewood Forrest will partner with the Capstone Companies, Comer Companies and Woodford Capital, instrumental in developments such as Alys Beach and Rosemary Beach, to develop the urban town core that will come complete with four-story buildings which will house retail on the first floor, a variety of apartments, and price points, on the upper floors and parking in garages behind the buildings and screened from view.
“We are enthusiastic about the vision of Pinewood Forrest. Our team is very market-focused, so we tend to design product types to match the creativity of the environment and the people that will inspire it. Being located in the shadow of Pinewood Atlanta Studios gives us a tremendous amount to work with. I know these flats will bring an experience that is unmatched in Atlanta today,” said John Acken, executive vice president of Pinewood Forrest Multifamily Partners.
In all, 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.
“It’s our responsibility to deliver on Dan Cathy’s vision,” said Acken, who 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.”
The Pinewood Forrest Sales and Experience Center is located across the street from the community in the Pinewood Production Centre at 461 Sandy Creek Road.
For more information on Pinewood Forrest visit https://pinewoodforrestrealestate.com.
