‘Urban conservation’ project hires farmer, reaches 80 percent sold

Now here’s an amenity you don’t see every day (or ever) with new residential developments around ITP Atlanta: a full-time, onsite farmer who’s an expert on sustainable agriculture.

But that’s the latest addition at Pendergrast Farm, a unique single-family project billed as the city’s “premier urban conservation community” that’s aiming to set the bar for sustainable living while preserving farmland and woods near Emory University.

Project officials send word that 80 percent of Pendergrast Farm’s 20 energy-efficient residences have either sold or are under contract, as amenities and additional homes take shape, and the project’s 1-acre working farm takes root.

Vincent McKoy, a graduate of the HABESHA Works Program with five years of professional experience, has been hired to manage Pendergrast Farm’s onsite urban farm and spearhead its Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, program.

“This community represents everything I believe in—sustainable living, fresh food, and fostering a connection with the land,” McKoy said in an announcement. “I know exactly what’s in my food and that it’s completely from the earth, with no chemical fertilizers, no pesticides. Now I can continue that organic farming practice for others.”

At Pendergrast Farm, McKoy will be charged with planting and monitoring an array of seasonal vegetables, fruits, and herbs, creating educational programs such as gardening workshops for residents, and establishing the CSA program. The latter will allow onsite residents and surrounding neighborhoods to receive regular boxes of fresh produce by way of subscriptions.

Pendergrast Farm is tucked at the end of a wooded drive off Briarcliff Road in northeast Atlanta’s Briarcliff Woods community, just east of the point where Interstate 85 meets Clairmont Road. The 8.7-acre project is building a variety of housing and communal spaces with the goal of blending “farm-to-table living with urban convenience,” or what project reps have described as a “mini Serenbe, but intown.”

Site plans also call for a half-mile trail system, meadows, and other features tucked around the property. Homes will range between 1,600 and 3,000 square feet with garage options and courtyards, officials have said.

Prices for available homes start at $1.27 million, which buys a five-bedroom, four-bathroom stacked home across three levels and 3,000 square feet, over a two-car garage.

According to developer Healthy House of Georgia, 70 percent of the DeKalb County property will be preserved, to include 5 and ½ acres of woods. The site is being marketed as “the last key remnant of farm and woodland on Briarcliff Road.”

Other Pendergrast Farm amenities will include a communal saltwater pool, central green, and a Common House where wine tastings, book clubs, and exercise classes are planned.

Each new home is solar-panel ready, wired for EV charging stations, and rated as using 50 percent less energy than comparable new housing built to current codes, according to project officials.

Find more context, construction progress photos, and site plans in the gallery above.

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