A real estate investment fund is hoping to attract remote workers, entrepreneurs and families to a mixed-use development in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains outside Atlanta.
DDB Capital Fund said The Reserve will have 165 single-family homes in a variety of styles and lot sizes on 90 acres near downtown Toccoa, Georgia, and the South Carolina border in Stephens County.
It's one of a handful of for-sale and rental projects in the pipeline for the area to accommodate people looking to move from Atlanta and Greenville, South Carolina, according to Brittany Ivey, CEO of the Stephens County Development Authority.
Adding more residences is a goal of the city, county and development authority, she said.
"Growth is coming," Ivey told Homes.com. "We're just trying to control the kind of growth we're getting."
Toccoa, 90 miles northeast of Atlanta, has about 9,000 residents, while the county has a population of 28,000. The 187-foot Toccoa Falls, on the campus of Toccoa Falls College, is one the tallest waterfalls east of the Mississippi River, according to the city.
Consumers concerned about affordability
Toccoa's median home price is $250,000, compared to Atlanta's $420,000, Homes.com data shows.
Home affordability remains a top concern among consumers, even as mortgage rates trend down. The share of first-time U.S. homebuyers has reached a new low, according to a National Association of Realtors survey released this week.
Aside from the homes, The Reserve, along State Route 17, will have 38,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, including a coworking and innovation center, according to Alpharetta, Georgia-based DDB.
The Reserve will be a walkable development with 37 acres of green space and amenities such as a pool, pickleball courts, walking trails, a dog park and a community garden, DDB said.
The goal is to make the development "a local economic and social hub, one that anchors long-term value through resident participation, business incubation and placemaking," DDB Capital said in a statement.
The fund said it received rezoning approval for the project but did not address home prices or a time frame for construction. Its officials did not immediately return a phone call for comment.