Though it broke ground just a few months ago, the massive, multifaceted Rowen project expected to claim 2,000 acres in Gwinnett County is already spawning related investment in Atlanta’s far northeastern suburbs.
Kaplan Residential, the developer behind downtown’s Generation Atlanta, a townhome project in the shadow of MARTA’s Indian Creek Station, and the Sawtell “village” proposal in Chosewood Park, among other projects, is setting its sights on Barrow County for its next venture under the Generation brand.
Kaplan reps tell Urbanize Atlanta that Rowen’s prospects as an academic-driven, economic engine between Atlanta and Athens were a deciding factor for moving forward with a 187-unit, build-to-rent community called Generation Winder.
The 187-unit project's 200 Hal Jackson Road site in proximity to downtown Winder and Fort Yargo State Park. Google Maps
Site plan for the two-phase, build-to-rent venture. Courtesy of Kaplan Residential
According to initial site plans, the rental community will rise in two phases at 200 Hal Jackson Road, a wooded, triangular site just north of Fort Yargo State Park and northwest of downtown Winder.
Kaplan’s strategy was to locate the Generation project 15 minutes from Rowen—an “ideal commuter location”—and meet an “extremely high… demand and need for diverse housing” as Rowen starts to pull in an estimated 75,000 graduates and generate 80,000 jobs, according to Kaplan officials.
An “economic, academic, and social transformation [is bound for] the area, and Generation Winder will contribute to this evolution,” a project rep wrote via email.
Specifically, this fifth iteration of the Generation brand will consist of 76 townhomes, 111 two-story, single-family houses, and a resident clubhouse with a “resort-style” pool.
Plans call for a mix of three and four-bedroom options—with an average square footage of 2,056—that include decks and backyards.
Expected price points weren’t specified.
The 2,261-square-foot Colin floorplan, a standalone rental home option. Courtesy of Kaplan Residential
Another selling point, per sellers, is 30-minute proximity to the University of Georgia in one direction, and Northside Hospital Gwinnett’s new 257-foot patient tower in Lawrenceville in the other.
According to Kaplan’s calculations, there are no other residential communities under construction within five miles of the Generation Winder site—and just two underway in a 10-mile radius.
Generation Winder's planned location in relation to Atlanta and Athens. Google Maps
The 2,285-square-foot Knox floorplan. Courtesy of Kaplan Residential
Rowan’s full buildout is expected to take multiple decades. But future plans call for a “nonprofit-led knowledge community” spanning about 10 times the size of Piedmont Park off the main highway to Athens.
The scope, as outlined by Rowen officials at December’s groundbreaking, could eventually entail more than 22 million square feet of lab, office, and civic spaces, alongside a mix of dense, multifamily buildings, cafes, start-up hubs, parks, and public trails.
...
Follow us on social media:
• At long last, game plan emerges for Gwinnett Place Mall's rebirth (Urbanize Atlanta)
