By JUANITA THOUIN
For The Tennessean
Construction is under way on Kennesaw Farms, a 300-acre community in Gallatin that developers say will be the first in Sumner County to combine single-family homes with retail and office space.
The $25 million development's 486 residential properties will include estate homes, cottages and townhomes with prices ranging from the high $200,000s to about $500,000.
Estate homes are being built, and some people already have moved in. Streetscape for Kennesaw Village, the cottage and townhome phase, is under way.
Minimum square footage of the one- and two-story townhomes will be 2,000 square feet. Other residential property will start around 3,000 square feet.
David Luckey, co-developer and owner of Southeastern Building Co., said construction of the homes in Kennesaw Village is scheduled to begin this month.
The residential style resembles that of Westhaven in Franklin, with a front porch on each home and nearly all of the two- to four-car garages accessed by a rear alley, Luckey said.
"We want people to know their neighbor, to sit on their front porch," Kennesaw Farms marketing director Heather Petrocci said.
The developers, who include Luckey and Tim Wheeler of Wheeler Construction, are using hardy plank siding and painted brick to give the community a unique look. They're also including 50 acres of pocket parks and a clubhouse with Olympic-size and children's pools.
"We wanted to bring a real quality project to Sumner County," Luckey said.
Wheeler, who grew up on the farm next to Kennesaw Farms, always felt a special connection to the Kennesaw property, he said.
"I grew up listening to my father telling how great a farm it is," Wheeler said. "It's one of the most prime development locations in Gallatin."
Luckey said, "Tim really had the vision for the community, and we got together to figure out how to make it a reality."
Historic home restored
Luckey and Wheeler began development of the community by restoring the 1856 plantation house that was occupied by Union troops during most of the Civil War. The home now provides temporary housing to Kennesaw Realty and is available to the public as a special-event facility.
More than 2,000 feet of the property borders Old Hickory Lake. Wheeler and Luckey decided to build the business center, rather than homes, near the lake so that all residents of the community could enjoy the lake, Luckey said.
Kennesaw Farms' Town Center will include 45,000 square feet of office space that will lease for about $18 a square foot and 45,000 square feet of retail space that will lease for $22-$25 a square foot. Both the office space and the retail space are expected to open in spring or summer 2008.
Forty-two acres of big-box commercial/retail will be completed in early 2009, Luckey said.
One of the big advantages of the community, Wheeler said, is that the developers will soon run a connector road from the Big Station Camp Creek exit on Vietnam Veterans Boulevard straight into Kennesaw Farms.
Ragan-Smith Associates were the site designers of the development and Shapiro & Company was the home architect.
For more information on Kennesaw Farms call 615-452-8484.