Whether it is frustration with Atlanta traffic, the need to live close to the airport, or just the desire to “get away from it all”, buyer interest in the communities south of Atlanta has grown exponentially over the past few years. This interest has been largely driven by Serenbe, the nature-centric sustainable artistic community that feels like an entirely different world of farmland, horses, farmhouse-inspired architecture and farmer’s markets.
Now another arts-driven fantasyland has sprung up south of town, this one movie-centric, indeed, looking like it is itself a movie set. PINEWOOD FOREST is a development just across the road from Pinewood Studios located northeast of Fayetteville, like Serenbe less than a half hour from the airport and from downtown Atlanta. It is picture perfect and design savvy, with and includes everything from tiny houses to manor homes. Generally speaking the offerings are more affordable than Serenbe, by design. The idea here is to encourage fewer cars, more walking, and more human interaction. Pinewood Forest is named after the production studios across the street, Pinewood Studios, where Marvel and other Hollywood studios have filmed some of their larger recent productions.
I took a tour of Pinewood Forest recently with the town’s President, Rob Parker, who describes Pinewood Forest as a “Town for Creating”. Part of the new urbanism movement, the town is designed to encourage artistic creation of all types and to provide an environment where residents can easily walk to restaurants, theaters, gyms, and to parks where children can play and adults can socialize. There is also lots of green sustainable features as well, including the fact that all the air conditioning is geothermal.
There are fifteen miles of walking paths, plenty of electric car plug-in stations, and in addition the garages are all positioned behind the homes and townhomes, which is a cool feature which keeps the focus OFF driveways and cars. (There is still guest parking situated in plain view, but at least the residents park off the main drag, adding to the pedestrian feel of the town).
And there are plenty of grand theatrical touches one might expect from such a place, including a Keith Summerour-designed, Roman inspired, movie star-worthy swimming pool and a large multiplex where it is hoped some of the movies filmed across the street at Pinewood Studios will premier. There’s a brand spanking new (well, heck, EVERYTHING here is brand spanking new) Piedmont Wellness Center where you might be able to work out next to your favorite Marvel superhero. (Among the movies filmed in full or in part across the street are Antman, Spiderman, Captain America, Passengers, Black Panther….)
Pinewood Studios across the street from Pinewood Forest is the second largest studio in North America, and it’s the only one stop shop for film makers in the Southeast. Everything one needs to shoot a movie is here – even the Georgia Film Academy, which trains students to work in various aspects of the movie business and provides skilled labor and interns to the movies that shoot here. More than 450 productions were filmed here last year.
So if you have an urge to get away from it all yet still be in the center of a thriving arts community, Pinewood Forest is your place. Just give me a call – I would love to give you a tour and show you the homes for sale there.
Atlanta Real Estate Wisdom 