The developer of Serenbe — the mixed-use, connected-to-nature community 35 miles south of Atlanta — is planning a major commercial expansion 20 years after building its first homes.

Serenbe’s real estate arm, Serenbe CH Properties LLC, filed an application to add 1,700 residential units, 235K SF of commercial space, nearly 75K SF in civic spaces, 180 hotel rooms and a two-building school to accommodate 450 students.

The estimated $1.7B project would span 1,532 acres at the southeast intersection of Hutcheson Ferry and Atlanta Newnan roads in Chattahoochee Hills, straddling Fulton and Coweta counties, according to the filing with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, which reviews projects that have a regional impact on infrastructure.

Serenbe founder Steve Nygren said Tuesday he tapped JLL to shop for debt financing to fund construction on the first components of the development's next phase: an “aging-in-place” community and a 110-room hotel.

“We have a group of partners, but for this scale of development, we will need to bring in additional investors and debt to make this happen,” Nygren said.

That includes a development partner for the hotel. He hopes to break ground on both within the next year but acknowledged that the timeline “is certainly dependent on the market.”

The senior housing will include 97 one- and two-bedroom apartments — 45 of which would be built above street-level retail — 24 attached cottages and another 24 single-family cottages.

Serenbe now has more than 600 homes — some selling for more than $1M, according to Zillow — with more than 1,200 residents, Urbanize Atlanta reported. Nygren started with just 30 homes in the 1990s after he sold the Atlanta restaurant Pleasant Pheasant.  

The community already has retail, including a restaurant, clinics, coffeehouses and a spa. Nygren said the largest commercial building is smaller than 30K SF and has been fully leased for five years.

The developer filed the Development of Regional Impact application to prepare for the next expansion of Serenbe, which is celebrating its 20th year. The master-planned development is expected to be complete by 2035, according to the application.

“As we’re looking at the future, this is the key commercial area that can have condominiums, apartments and offices,” he said. “It was on our master plan forever, but was never on the horizon enough.”

Alongside the senior housing and hotel, Nygren said they hope to build a 45K SF office building in the district with the aim of luring a corporate presence to cement the mixed-use mantra of live-work-play. That would require preleasing to start construction, he said.

The community also shares a 25-acre garden, and blueberry bushes dot the edges of its sidewalks, according to Urbanize.

The biophilic design has been intentional. Serenbe's owners have committed to preserving 70% of its land as virgin territory in perpetuity. The intent, Nygren said, is to keep Serenbe’s connection to nature.

“No matter if you’re sitting on the porch or the balcony, you’ll be able to see down into the preserved woods,” he said. “If you’re back door doesn’t open to nature, you’re no more than 400 feet from nature.”