It could be the look of the

future even though it feels like the past. The 900-acre Serenbe Community

is a dream that's fast becoming a reality in South Fulton County. The

community is the first development in the Chattahoochee Hill Country Alliance

and the first lots went up for sale in late October. Plans are to complete

the project by this time next year.

Serenbe public relations representative

Candace McCaffrey said Selborne is one of the two hamlets that make up

Serenbe.

It is an arts-oriented community

which will have a variety of townhomes, live/work spaces, estate homes

and cottages, over 200 units in all. A farm community of 5 five-acre organic

farm lots, a horse stable, blacksmith shop and organic food market completes

the master plan begun by founders Marie and Steve Nygren, Nan and Rawson

Harvey and Ryan Gainey.

Utilizing energy efficient,

EarthCraft homes while retaining a good 70 percent of its green space,

the Serenbe Community plans to grow in harmony with it's surroundings

and avoid the sprawl that has surrounded Atlanta in recent years.

"We are committed to creating

a place where neighbors will be drawn together by their common interests

in nature, art and a way of life removed from the pace of the city."

Steve Nygren stated recently.

Established as a Bed and Breakfast

in the early '90's, Serenbe is "a community unlike any other"

Nygren asserts.

Marie and Steve Nygren purchased

60 acres of land just west of Palmetto which became the Serenbe Bed and

Breakfast. They relocated from Atlanta where they started the popular

Pleasant Peasant Restaurants. They steadily expanded their business and

became involved in a new vision of living.

Rawson Harvey, whose background

in American Red Cross social work, real estate, residential contracting

and his years with Haverty's Furniture, is another key to the development's

success. His wife, Nan, who founded Swann Sevices in Atlanta, a high rise

cleaning and corporate apartment rental business has also brought her

expertise to the table. With Ryan Gainey, internationally known garden

designer on hand to add his finishing touch to the landscape, a unique

and beautiful environment is now an available option to commuters and

non-commuters alike.

For more information on the

development, call 770-463-9997.